I regularly have conversations with clients and singers about vocal robustness, i.e. being able to sing for long periods, and for sustained touring schedules.
I’ve written numerous articles on the primary causes why people lose their voice on a regular basis, through overuse, misuse, and abuse. I’ve got a full listing of related articles at the footer of this article.
A lot of people see vocal robustness as something wholly separate to vocal technique. Robustness is somehow “just one of those things“, and technique is something separate, primarily determining range, tone, ability to riff, etc. However, they are not at all separate. Vocal robustness is inherently a by-product of good technique, and here’s why…
What do we mean by technique?
Most people misunderstand the word “technique”.
Technique, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary:
“a skilful or efficient way of doing or achieving something”
Instrumentalists like guitarists/pianists often think about technique in terms of (say) how fast can one play, how many notes can one play, what is one’s chord vocabulary, etc. And these are all wonderful goals, but they miss the wood for the trees.
All these wonderful acts of virtuosity are enabled by cultivating the most skilful and efficient pathway to those goals.
How does this relate to vocal robustness?
The more efficient one becomes at a particular behaviour, the easier and less physically/neurologically demanding it becomes – e.g. to play fast, play more notes, etc.
All such impressive aspects are merely by-products of being efficient at the required set of actions.
In turn, as you better your technical ability and control, not only does your range increase, your power, your articulation, etc, but you’ll find you can do it for far longer. Countless clients – especially gigging artists – report this time and time again. But it does take time, and not rushing the process.
In turn, when people with less technique start to lose their voice, when it gets raspy, or mucus-y, or dry and scratchy, or tight and tired – these are all symptoms of the instrument working way too inefficiently to deliver what the user is asking of it. This is when it can seem like a cold or throat infection, when in reality it’s a voice that’s been “red-lining” for far too long.
IMPORTANT: If your voice is “complaining” in this way, this is your body telling you that you are not efficient enough at the task you are asking of it. Whether that’s a single gig, or a sustained/intense tour period, or even just singing at church.
Don’t be a gym-bro
Stamina and robustness in vocal ability is not developed simply by “pushing through the pain” to try and creep up the duration you can live with exhaustion/fatigue. This is a sure-fire why to blow your voice out. We are not trying to grow the muscles like going to the gym – the muscles are far too small for this analogy to hold true. While there is muscle tone and development in some cases, in all cases it is about developing optimisation of very fine muscle control.
Perhaps the best illustration I can give to link efficiency and robustness is like those “gym-bros” trying to lift a weight they have never fully prepared for. Often such individuals insist to themselves and to others that “of course they can do it“… then hope against hope, trying to will themselves through it. Injury is the most likely outcome, along with frustration and reduced physical capacity.
In a musical context, you can see the same thing with beginning guitarists/pianists trying to play fast and precisely for sustained periods. They can keep it up for a short moment, but they lack the ingrained efficiency of the necessary motor patterns to sustain it for very long. The hands and forearms seize up, the movements become sluggish and erratic, and long term pain can arise from repeated attacking of such inefficient pursuits (e.g. carpal tunnel, etc).
In contrast, more trained instrumentalists can do the same movements for incredibly long periods, such is the level of efficiency they have built into their bodies. Vocal robustness is much the same thing. The more efficient we become with our voices, the longer we can sustain doing increasingly hard things for, with no ill effects.
Technique equals efficiency; efficiency begets robustness
Two final thoughts in closing:
1) Efficiency is a journey, not a destination – We can ALWAYS become more efficient at doing things. Sure, at some stage it becomes diminishing returns, but most give up pursuit of efficiency (read: technical development) in most disciplines long before they ever reach that limit.
2) People are built differently – As a small caveat, some people are physiologically more robust than others off the bat. And vice versa. Some are extreme outliers in both regards, but I’ve seen singers with exceptional physical robustness unpick their voice through poor technique and “gym-bro-ing” their way through sets… and I’ve seen people with incredibly injury prone instruments become robust vocal powerhouses through focus on their technique.
If you want your voice to last longer in singing, more range, power, etc, all these issues are tied to your technical level. Focus on improving that, without strain, and you’ll find robustness takes care of itself.
If this is something you’d like to discover and develop in your own voice, then you can book in your initial consultation with me via my booking form right here.
Learn More: Related Articles
If you want to learn more about vocal health and voice issues, you may enjoy the following articles:
Shouting masquerading as singing: Why so many singers are just yelling
Why vocal problems so regularly derail careers, permanently
Famous Singers with Voice Problems
Vocal Health Issues
My Singing Voice Hurts: 5 Habits for Vocal Health
Vocal Longevity: The Icarus Effect
The Seriousness of Vocal Fold Nodules