The Day Dave’s Voice Asked for a Break
22/06/2025
This week, Dave came to his voice lesson after a very fun day. I could tell… just by listening to his speaking voice 😉 So instead of diving into the song he had brought, we ended up having a heart-to-heart about vocal care during rehearsals, because Dave’s voice was very clearly asking for a break.
Why? Here’s what Dave’s day looked like:
- Morning: 2-hour band rehearsal, working on 12 songs
- Afternoon: Karaoke party by the swimming pool (yup!)
- Evening: Voice lesson with me
A very ambitious day for a voice that had already started to wave the white flag after the rehearsal!
Let’s just say that I, as his voice teacher, agreed wholeheartedly with his vocal folds, who were practically begging him to plan his vocal schedule with a bit more love.
Here are four tips I shared with him. I hope you’ll apply them too!
Oh, and if you like this kind of insight? Book a private voice lesson with me! These are the kinds of deep-dives we can have!
Tip 1: Regular Swelling Checks
I could tell Dave’s vocal folds were swollen, just from two things in his speaking voice:
- His pitch was lower than usual. If you slapped your skin for 2 hours straight, you’d get a blister. Similar story with your vocal folds. When your vocal fold mucosa are swollen, vibration becomes harder. The folds are larger and stiffer, so they slow things down, which results in a lower pitch. This is why some female smokers sound male: fluid accumulation in the outermost layer of the vocal folds (a.k.a. Reinke’s edema) weighs them down.
- He had unusual breathiness in his higher speaking register. When we speak or sing higher, the folds stretch and thin out. The outer mucosal layers are more active in vibration, while the deeper lying vocalis muscle is less engaged. The result of that outer layer being swollen is incomplete closure and air leakage. So that breathy sound? It’s not a stylistic choice anymore.
Curious about the geeky science behind this? I’ve linked some cool resources below!
Bottom line: If your voice sounds different than usual, hoarser, deeper, breathier, your vocal folds might be swollen. That’s your body saying, “Hey, maybe check in with me before adding more singing.”. When we ignore these signals and keep pushing, other muscles jump in to compensate. Hello, excessive tension. Goodbye, ease.
And here’s the kicker: Dave is hypermobile. That means his interoception (awareness of inner body signals) is challenged. He often doesn’t notice something is wrong until it’s really wrong, like hoarseness, raspiness, or vocal damage such as nodules. Check out my blog post: Hypermobile Singers: From Pretty Impressive to Pretty Painful for all the ins and outs on this subject!
Since starting his band, his vocal load has grown significantly. And he hasn’t yet built the stamina to handle it all. Two hours of rehearsal without real breaks, then karaoke, then a voice lesson? A tad ambitious. You can get nodules if you overuse or misuse your voice for a long time. If you continue to slap your already blistered skin, you will eventually create calluses. The same goes for vocal folds.
So I suggested Dave to add regular Swelling Checks to his daily vocal routine, which are a pair of short, simple vocal exercises that help you to monitor the health of your vocal fold mucosa and detect the presence of any possible swelling. This will allow you to take action – or rather lower your level of vocal fold activity – in time! Want to learn how? Check out my blog post: Why you should add a Swelling Check to your Check-in.
Tip 2: Real Breaks vs. Fake Breaks
Dave looked puzzled when I said, “You didn’t take any breaks.”.
“But we had an 8 minute break after an hour,” he said. “And I didn’t even sing every song. The guitarist sang a few!”
Sorry, Dave. I love you, but that’s not a real vocal break.
Socializing isn’t resting. If you’re chatting during your so-called break, your vocal folds are still working. You’re not resting your instrument, you’re using it. Singers should be the boring band members during breaks. SorryNotSorry.
Being mentally engaged with your band rehearsing without you still counts as work. When your bandmate sings and you’re following along mentally, your brain is working very hard! Also, did you know that your vocal muscles empathize? Yes, even if you’re not phonating, your brain ànd voice are still in rehearsal mode. Yep. Your vocal muscles are moving subtly as if they’re singing too. It has to do with mirror-neurons – Scroll down for geeky resources!
So if you want to take a real break when somebody else is singing, you need to leave the rehearsal space and do whatever you need to give your body, voice and mind some rest.
I reminded Dave: “I’m not the bad guy here. Your voice told you it was too much. I’m just translating.”. He got it. The disgruntled look on his face disappeared and he left his voice lesson smiling, with a clear plan to avoid this in the future. Here it is:
Tip 3: Vocal Resets & Cool-Downs
Now, breaks don’t have to mean shutting up completely. Your biggest goal is to help the tissues recover from high intensity activity. Think of your voice like an ankle injury: total immobility doesn’t help recovery very well. Balanced movement does.
Enter: the Vocal Reset
If you have been singing intensely, with loud volume or for a long time, the best way to start your break is a vocal reset. Just like a runner doesn’t go from sprint to sofa, your voice shouldn’t go from belting to silence. An athlete will go from sprinting to jogging a bit, get their muscles to medium intensity and then they stop. SOVTs (Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract exercises) like Lax Vox, lip trills, gentle humming,… these are all great for a reset. It’s like physiotherapy!
You could also integrate some stretching of the overworked muscles of your tongue, the muscles surrounding your jaw and larynx,… Then: silence. Go for a walk. Breathe. Meditate. Whatever helps you rest your mind.
Bonus tip: Nebulize! It’s the only way to instantly hydrate your vocal folds. Drinking water? Takes 2 hours to get there. So if you weren’t hydrated before rehearsal, it’s too late now. Downing a whole bottle of water will not soothe the delicate tissues of your vocal folds. A nebulizer gives them what they need instantly. Check out my blog post How Do You Take Care of Your Voice? to read everything about systemic and topical hydration.
By the way, this whole Vocal Reset-routine is perfect to use for your Cool-Down when the rehearsal is over. It ensures that you recover much quicker than you would with mere rest, so the next day, your instrument is in optimal shape for the next vocal load. You already guessed it: Just like athletes do 🙂
Tip 4: Building Vocal Stamina
“Yeah, but I want to be able to sing for 2 hours straight. Like, that’s what pro singers do.”
Sure. But do you know what else pro singers (should) do? They build stamina looooooong before the premiere of their tour. They:
- Hit the gym
- Eat well
- Take voice lessons and coaching
- Work with a performance psychologist
- Gradually increase vocal load over months — sometimes years
They don’t just show up and hope for the best.
It’s not only about enduring a long set. It’s about building a surplus so you can sing your set safely even on a bad day.
Start with figuring out your baseline: How long can you sing efficiently without fatigue? 15 minutes? Schedule breaks in your rehearsals after each 15 minutes of singing. and then gradually build up your load, increase as your stamina builds.
Singers who perform for 2 hours in a row are elite athletes! Olympians take years, decades to train their bodies to be able to deliver those peak performances. Singers do too. This might be a good time to read my blog post (Non)Sense About Training Your Core as a Singer 😉
Rehearsals can be more taxing than performances. You’re in a creative process, making mistakes, looking for the vocal coordination required for your desired sound,… That’s all much more tiring for your voice than going through a set that you know inside and out. Performances are (ideally) muscle memory in action.
Set clear goals each time you rehearse. Is this a creative session? A run-through? Know the difference, and adjust your breaks and energy use accordingly.
TL;DR: Vocal Care During Rehearsals
- Check for swelling regularly. Don’t wait until you’re hoarse.
- Redefine breaks. Vocal Resets and silence, not chitchat.
- Cool-downs. Your voice will thank you.
- Build your stamina. Slowly. Like an Olympian.
Dave’s voice taught him a valuable lesson this week. He listened. Will you? Want help building your own vocal stamina? Book a private voice lesson with me!
Let’s make your voice last, without having to give up karaoke parties.
PS: Did you notice that I didn’t mention warm-ups? Yeah, that’s a whooooole nother blog post for a later time. Stay tuned!
Susanne Vahle - Vocational singer
I love that she doesn’t teach by using a theoretical approach. She uses methods that allow the body to do more of what comes naturally and as a result, you get healthy vocal sounds and song.
She couples this with her use techniques that allow one to manage things like performance anxiety with much greater ease. It’s a win- win as I have in the past 6 months started to perform at jam sessions and more. I love it!
Kim, Vocational Singer
Janet Wilson - Vocational singer
Kenneth Ottoy, Singer of Plagiaat & Piron
Esther De Bièvre - Recovery therapist
It's not pre-made shit, it's to the point.
Esther De Bièvre - Recovery therapist
Dr. Tracy Smith Bessette - Singer, Voice Instructor, Early Music Coach & Course Lecturer
Breg Horemans - Vocational singer
Stella Handley - Vocational Singer
Manon Campens - Singer
Bec Tilley, Voice Coach & Singer
What I also appreciate very much is her respect for every one of her clients / students.
Singer
Diane Speirs - Singer & Voice Teacher
Maud Retter - Speech therapist
Susanne Vahle - Vocational singer
Haike D'haese - Singer & Actress
Amy Bebbington - Director of Training bij Association of British Choral Directors
Jess Blatchley, Singing Teacher and Jazz Singer
M.J. Johnson, Singing Teacher and Vocal Coach
Ariane De Dom - Vocational singer
Nele Willekens - Library youth worker
Nele - Singer & Youth Library Worker
Kelly Van Hove - Entertrainer focused on Soft HR & communication workshops / Vocational Musical Theatre Singer
I highly recommend Sarah if you are looking for a voice specialist!
Gwendy - Vocational singer
Pieter Van Hecke, Vocational singer
Bec Tilley, Voice Coach & Singer
RESOURCES:
- Sataloff, R. T. (2017). Professional Voice: The Science and Art of Clinical Care (4th ed.). Plural Publishing.
- Kantor, E., & Sataloff, R. T. (2021). Reinke Edema. StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf.
- Titze, I. R. (2000). Principles of Voice Production. National Center for Voice and Speech.
- Fatoye, F. et al. (2022). Joint hypermobility and injury risk in musicians: A systematic review BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 8(1).
- Rizzolatti, G., & Craighero, L. (2004). The mirror-neuron system. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 27, 169–192.
- Watkins, K. E., Strafella, A. P., & Paus, T. (2003). Seeing and hearing speech excites the motor system involved in speech production. Neuropsychologia, 41(8), 989–994.
- Kleber, B., Veit, R., Birbaumer, N., Gruzelier, J., & Lotze, M. (2010). The brain of opera singers: Experience-dependent changes in functional activation. Cerebral Cortex, 20(5), 1144–1152.
As always, feel free to send me your thoughts, questions, and feedback in the comments below this blog, via the contact form or in the singsing! online community 
Cordially,
Sarah
Thanks for this great blog post! It lays out quite simply how to take the “right kind of breaks” and how to do cool downs. I really appreciate the ideas here that will help in maintaining my voice and growing stamina. When one gets a chance to work with more musicians, it’s easy to want to say yes to every event or gig. Sometimes, the right answer is probably no, not right now.