Do you think drinking something with alcohol content during a gig helps you sing better or worse?
I always thought Beer loosened up my throat. People have told me it's not possible, but I really think it helps my vocal chords.
Am I imagining it?
One drink may help you relax a bit, wether that is beer or shot or a mixed drink. Sometimes the problem with singing is that you just need to relax.
However, alchohol dries out the lining of the throat and makes singing harder. Drink a few drinks and the alcohol fumes that evaporate as you drink effect your vocal cords and make singing well impossible. I was drinking vodka at a party and tried singing as joke after about five of them. Nope, sounded like a duck. Drinking alchohol will make you sound much worse beyond one or two drinks.
I have however drank ALOT and sang in the past in my wilder days. Here is my drinking and getting FUBARD guide, if you are intent on doing it.
1. avoid beer. It causes too much phlegm after just one and will clog your throat. Avoid drinks you know clog you up.
2. drink a lot of water while you are drinking to mitigate the drying effects of the alchohol.
3. If you are going to drink hard alchohol, make it a mixed drink, not a shot or straight. Again this will mitigate the drying effect of hard alchohol on the throats lining. My favorite was jack and coke. Got my buzz from the jack and the coke kept it from being to harsh. The caffiene in the pop also kept me from wanting to take a nap and relax too much from drinking.
4. Realize that you would most definately sing/sound better tottally straight, but the alchohol makes you relax and enjoy it more in many cases. Often times the quality of your singing isn't appreciated as much by an audience as you enthusiasm. Realize that you may be using drinking as crutch to get you into the performance. Keep in mind I could pull this off alright because I am a skilled singer and had practiced with this band for a couple of years. So, all the songs were well practiced in both straight and inebraited conditions. But, I would have sounded better were I always straight when singing.
Also, when you drink any fluid it does not directly flow over your vocal folds. When you drink or eat a little flap goes down to protect the airway from things getting into the lungs. This is why sometimes you choke on water, sometimes things get around this flap. This is why when it is really dry out and you have to sing it's a good Idea to use a humidifyer, the steam will go directly to the cords.
I'd also like to warn against having to have a drink or few to get in the mood or get over stage fright.
I and many musicians I've known have developed drinking habits because of performance. Best to nip that in the bud so you can seperate the two.
Now I use having a few as a reward for singing well AFTER a show. I don't even touch a beer before singing. After show, I have one or ten.
... unless I joined a barbershop quartet!
