Singing lead after a cold

[RitchS]

So we have a gig this Saturday night and I'm coming off of a pretty good cold. I feel fine, but I sound like Barry White. Problem is, we don't cover any Barry White songs. Anyone out there have any products or techniques to get through a 3 hour gig vocally?

[jz75]

Try a nasal flush. There is one in the drugstore called Ayr. Its warm water and a powder packet you drop in. I do it about 2 hours before a gig because your nose may run afterwards. Be careful when you blow your nose afterwards and have your mouth open so as not to hurt your eardrums. I usually boil the water and let it cool to avoid any bacteria in the water.

It all sounds nasty and weird but it should help.

[jz75]

And our guitarist swears by tea with honey, lemon and brandy. Though lemon can dry your vocal cords it seems to do the trick for him. Good luck.

[electracoyote]

Only time will restore your voice. You can pamper it meanwhile, but Saturday is pretty close. If you push through the swelling, you might damage something.

I recommend the Freddie Mercury approach. He couldn't sing half as high live as he could in the studio. So he re-wrote the melodies into his live register. He still sang with dynamics and emotion, but the melodies were markedly lower and different than the studio versions.

Singing through a cold is a bitch. I wish you only the best. Play your asses off, audiences will forgive you.

[5StringBlues]

A couple of vocalist friends of mine swear by this stuff. I've never used it myself so YMMV.

[James Judson]

Honey and lemon. I would not go near a mic until I got a sip of my concoction mixed about 50/50.

[RitchS]

Thanks for all the advice. Sounds like honey, lemon, a shot of booze and taking it a little easy for me come Saturday. Wish me luck!

[lowfreq33]

Probably not the best advice, but I find that a shot or two of jack daniel's can get me through a rough vocal night better than anything.

[sammyp]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

Only time will restore your voice. You can pamper it meanwhile, but Saturday is pretty close. If you push through the swelling, you might damage something.

I recommend the Freddie Mercury approach. He couldn't sing half as high live as he could in the studio. So he re-wrote the melodies into his live register. He still sang with dynamics and emotion, but the melodies were markedly lower and different than the studio versions.

Singing through a cold is a bitch. I wish you only the best. Play your asses off, audiences will forgive you.

this is the plain truth ....as far as meds i'll take advil cold n sinus or cold n sinus plus for the gig ...helps clear the passages and dry up the snot ...keep on the water cause the meds can dry the vocals as well.

i'll also use nasal mist if it's' bad too ...this stuff is highly addictive but does work to clear the nasal passage. won't hurt you for a night or two ...but after that you get rebound congestion when you come off it....

There are many different types of colds ...some just sneezy and congested but no real bother to the throat - these ones are easy to deal with if you use the meds

then there are the ones that get to your throat, rasp it up....who knows the difference in the viruses but these are the ones that are scary for singers.

good luck ...it sucks!

[agent77]

Originally Posted by jz75

And our guitarist swears by tea with honey, lemon and brandy. Though lemon can dry your vocal cords it seems to do the trick for him. Good luck.

That's called a hot tottie, when I have a cold it will clear me up for about 2-3 hours.

[ronaldpdbrandt]

Just do a bunch of Coldplay covers. That guy always sounds like he has a bucket of mucus in his head.

Seriously though, get a Neti pot and do a saline flush, like jz75 said. As a guy who has lived with allergies my whole life, I swear by it.