Drinks that make your voice deeper

Drinks to avoid when you’re singing

1. Green tea

A lot of people ask me ‘Nicola, is Green Tea good for your voice?’. Well, although green tea is generally good for you; it’s packed with antioxidants and has a plethora of other health benefits, for singers, it’s not the best drink to consume during singing practice.

Green team actually has a really drying effect on the throat and reduces the lubrication around your vocal folds making you more susceptible to developing things like a sore throat (at best) or a vocal node (at worst).

So does that mean you have to avoid drinking green tea altogether? Not at all. I drink green tea every day at breakfast, I just make sure I reach for a different type of drink when I’m singing.

 2. Milk

Unless you are lactose intolerant, milk is pretty good for you. It is packed with calcium and it has been debated that it can actually help with weight loss. However, milk is the #1 cause for phlegm build up in singers and phlegm is every singer’s worst enemy.

It sticks to the back of your throat and nasal cavity requiring you to clear your throat when you are singing. Sometimes phlegm can cause your voice to sound as if it is cracking; which is actually your air breaking through the phlegm at the back of your throat.

Those with a tendency to sound nasal sound also steer clear of all milky drinks because it can exacerbate the problem. Milk and singing just don’t mix.

 3. Beer and wine

It is common practice to be given a bar tab when you are performing but steer clear of wine and beer as both can affect your singing in different ways. Wine is generally packed with preservatives which dry out your throat. Depending on the brand and quality of the wine, this is not quite as bad as green tea, but you generally don’t want to do anything that will affect the quality of your voice so try a rum or brandy instead.

Beer (or anything carbonated for that matter) causes bloating and gas and you don’t want either when you’re up on stage singing into a mic. When you sing, you need to keep your stomach muscles relaxed so you can use your diaphragm to breathe. If you are bloated, you feel tight around this area and your breathing will suffer.

And as for gas? Well it speaks for itself. If you’re singing into a microphone, the audience can hear every little noise you make and it’s really not attractive trying to stifle a belch during a romantic ballad!

4. Ice cubes (or any cold water)

Avoid ice in your drink because anything cold is not good for your vocal folds. Think of singing like you would playing sport. You want to be nice and warm before you go for that massive sprint to avoid injury. Same goes for singing. I prefer to drink warm tea during a gig, (preferably peppermint or licorice root tea; both are fabulous for singers. Click here to see my full list of Natural Home Remedies for singers.)

 5. Garlic

Well, this a food not a drink and we’re actually talking vocal hygiene here but if you think about how close your mouth gets to the mic and how long you spend breathing into that one spot, it makes sense to steer clear of super smelly foods like garlic before you do a gig.

Many singers use their own mics at gigs and it’s for this very reason. I personally don’t like putting my lips on someone else’s leftover bacteria and I’m pretty sure you won’t either. Garlic can leave a lingering smell on your microphone, so unless you are prepared to clean your mic thoroughly with each use, choose another dinner companion.

Nicola x

I hope you enjoyed this list of drinks that are bad for your voice when you’re singing. Let me know if this helped you in the comments below, or if you have another drink that you think should be added to this list. 

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Honey will in no way, shape, or form cause your voice to be lower. It can, however, help prevent your voice from going higher.

Honey does a few important things to your voice. First off, it lubricates your vocal cords. This is important to avoid scratches or cracks. Secondly, it relaxes them. When your voice is relaxed, it has the low-end resonance that is appealing.

Likewise, there are some things you should completely avoid before speaking/singing/whatever. Stay away from caffeine, it causes your cords to tighten, and raises the pitch of your voice. Don't drink cold anything. If you are going to drink (which you should), make sure it is warm or at least room-temperature. Just like caffeine, cold drinks constrict your cords. Also, don't eat chocolate. It makes your voice sound like poop.

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