VOCAL TIPS from Lisa Thorson 

1) Stay healthy and eat healthy.  Your voice comes out of your body.  If your body is wasted your voice will be too.  That also means avoid cigarettes, alcohol and caffeine.  If you must party, do so in moderation.

2) Breathing is the key to singing and the hardest aspect of technique to fully understand.  Be conscious of breathing and working on it all of the time.

3) Drink Water!  Bring it to lessons, all practice sessions and rehearsals.

4)  Avoid yelling or talking over loud noise.  Be aware of vocal strain.

5) If you experience vocal fatigue, chronic hoarseness or throat pain do not sing and avoid talking.  If it persists, see a laryngologist immediately. Your voice is very delicate.  You must be aware of what your body is telling you.

6) Work out and exercise.  The better your body is in shape the better your voice will thank you for it.

7) Get plenty of rest.  Lack of sleep and stress causes vocal fatigue and strain.

8)  If someone asks you to sing something that hurts, strains or is  beyond your current ability say no.  It's good to stretch your limits, foolish to tear your voice up.

9) Establish a routine for warming your body and voice up.  Work on vocal technique and tunes.  Be focused, but leave time to have fun singing too.

10) Listen to yourself.  Tape performances, rehearsals and lessons.  You need to hear what everybody else is hearing so that you can correct mistakes, ask questions and pat yourself on the back for sounding great!