The Truth About Vocal Rest (Why It’s Better To Sing)

Do you ever go on vocal rest before a performance? Many singers think resting their voice the day of a performance is the trick to getting through the entire night without experiencing vocal fatigue or losing their voice. 

But here’s the truth: It’s more damaging to try to “save” your voice than it is helpful. When you put yourself on total vocal rest in anticipation of singing full-out for a few hours at the end of your day, you’re creating a huge potential for vocal damage.

In this post, I’m going to dive deep into this myth and explain when and why vocal rest is bad for you. You’re also going to learn when is the ONLY time you should go on vocal rest.

If you’re more of a visual learner, check out the video below!

Vocal Warmup, Duh!

How many of you do some kind of vocal warmup or exercise before you sing? I’m guessing many of you do. And you’d be right! The reason why is our bodies (that includes our vocal cords!) do not know how to react from zero to full-out use. 

What happens when you put yourself on vocal rest all day and then perform with big, powerful vocals is you put yourself at risk for damage. You’re not giving your body time to warm. Whereas instead, if you had spent the entire day using your voice, by the time it comes to your evening performance, you may not even need to do a vocal warmup.

To further emphasize the importance of a warmup, all you need to do is think of a dancer on the day of any show. She’s got her legwarmers, her scarf, all those layers of clothing. She’s stretching, moving her body, and keeping her muscles warm to prevent injuries. 

That’s the same thing as doing those vocal exercises. You’re using your voice, keeping it warm. 

When your voice is inactive all day, and then all of a sudden use it with all your power, you’re creating a situation for a huge vocal problem. 

My advice is to use your voice throughout the day of your performances. When it comes time for you to sing, your voice is already warm and ready for your vocal cords to do their magic. It can be your choice to do a vocal warmup at that point. 

So, what’s going on to cause me to feel my voice needs to rest?

If you’re blowing out your vocal cords, losing your voice, or feeling hoarse, that’s a sign something is off with your singing technique. 

Singing with healthy vocal technique allows you to sing as long and as loud as you want without any consequences to your voice.

The ONLY Time To Go On Vocal Rest

There’s only one circumstance in which you should go on vocal rest. And that is if you have lost your voice or are suffering pain or discomfort in your vocal cords. 

If you learn and practice Unlimited Vocal Health™, however, you can learn how to never lose your voice again—ever. Days of worrying about whether or not your voice will be there for you are over.