How to Get Your Singing Voice Back

Are you panicking because you have a studio session booked and your vocals have disappeared completely? Or maybe you’re planning to return to singing after years of inactivity.

On this page, from River Recording Studios in Southampton

Find out how to get your singing voice back so you’ll be on top form. Rest, remedies, coaching and technique will all help you to sound on top form. Not only will this mean that you ace that recording, but it’ll also help you to future-proof your vocals.

Read on to identify what you need to do, how you can restore it and whether you need to seek professional help.

How can I get my singing voice back?

There are a number of possible loss of singing voice causes, with varying degrees of severity and likely duration. But don’t worry, the good news is there’s much you can do to get your voice back – and ways to prevent the same thing from happening in future.

These are the possible vocal issues that cause voice loss. You might encounter them in your career as a singer.

Vocal Fatigue

The most likely reason for a lost voice will be overuse. This kind of hoarseness or voice loss should pass quickly. But you should follow these rules:

Don’t scream and shout excessively
Avoid too much alcohol, nicotine and vaping
Rest when your voice feels tired and never continue if it’s hurting in any way
Avoid singing on your throat – learn correct breathing technique and release any tension
Don’t sing beyond your range (apart from gentle exercises to gradually increase your range safely)

Mucus from a virus

If you’ve not been oversinging or pushing your voice while preparing for your recording session, the next most likely cause is an infection. Common colds, flu and other viruses can all create mucus to protect the delicate membranes from invading germs. However, this clogs up the vocals, causes coughing and sinus blockages. Reduce the number of viruses you catch by doing the following:

Wash your hands regularly, especially when out and about touching surfaces in public spaces
Eat a healthy, nutritious balanced diet to boost your immunity
Exercise regularly
Supplements like echinacea and vitamin D during the winter months can be helpful

If you strain or tire your voice at all while suffering from a respiratory infection, you’re much more likely to develop laryngitis as the voice is already compromised. This is why it’s so important to go easy when you’re sick.

Can you lose your singing voice completely?

Yes, although voice loss (except in very unusual circumstances) is temporary.

Laryngitis

If your infection is more pronounced, you may develop laryngitis. This is an inflammation and swelling of the larynx, or voice box, usually resulting from infection. Your vocal cords can’t move freely when they’re enlarged, meaning you struggle to speak and can only make a croaking sound. You may also develop laryngitis from oversinging if you’ve sufficiently irritated the larynx. However, if your laryngitis occurs simultaneously with a cold, the virus will be the root cause. Laryngitis may persist for up to a fortnight.

Nodules

Here we venture into more serious territory. Many singers get nodules (or cysts, or polyps), so it’s not a reason to panic. However, it is a reason to re-evaluate your technique and make some changes. Most importantly you must rest and seek medical advice. At this stage, it’s not an option to carry on regardless, or you could find yourself with major problems. Symptoms of nodules are:

Raspiness
Breathiness
Inability so sing the notes you used to
Sudden change in register
Persistent, ongoing hoarseness

Vocal cord paralysis

One or both of your vocal cords can be affected by this rare syndrome. It’s usually triggered by an injury or health condition such as a tumour, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s. Occasionally it’s a result of extreme inflammation. Surgery is sometimes required to restore communication between nerves in the vocal cords and brain, but it may just resolve on its own after around a year, alongside speech therapy. Symptoms of vocal cord paralysis are:

Breathiness
Hoarseness
Noisy breathing
Loss of pitch
Trouble swallowing and loss of gag reflex
Increased need for breath refills
Inability to project when speaking
Persistent coughing and throat clearing

Vocal cord haemorrhage

Adele and Jess Glynne have both had to cancel gigs due to this. Adele now has to avoid acidic foods that cause reflux – something that contributed to her haemorrhage. If you’re prone to this too, you may need to make changes to your diet.

Loss of voice

Voice loss is not uncommon among singers, just like an injury is not unusual in sport. But, as professional athletes must do everything possible to look after their bodies (eating well, warming up and down, recognising when there’s a weakness), so must you. Many of the famous names in the industry haven’t heeded these warnings and have paid the price as a result.

Björk had vocal nodules and spent three years doing special vocal exercises, so as to avoid surgery.
Jess Glynne underwent vocal cord surgery in 2009 and 2015 to cure her haemorrhage.
Elton John opted for surgery to remove his nodules in 1987 and recovered, but his voice deepened as a result. Frank Sinatra took a month-long vow of silence and carried on crooning afterwards.
Miley Cyrus recently underwent vocal cord surgery followed by several weeks of silence.
Sam Smith used the same surgeon as Adele for a procedure to correct unstable blood vessels in his vocal cords – preventing a future haemorrhage.
John Mayer was diagnosed with vocal granuloma (a kind of inflammation) in 2011 and for which he had surgery. It changed his voice, but he works with the new sound.
Rod Stewart had surgery for throat cancer. It took 9 months to get his voice back afterwards.
Keith Urban was prescribed three weeks of vocal rest after undergoing surgery for a polyp in 2011.
Meghan Trainor had to endure a long period of silence and re-train her voice after multiple vocal haemorrhages in 2015 and 2018.

How to get your singing voice back in shape

So how do you get your voice back to health, so you can carry on as normal?

The first thing to do is to rest until your voice returns to normal. This includes getting plenty of shut-eye. Most muscle and tissue repair happen while we’re in REM sleep. So if you’re burning the candle at both ends, you’re reducing your time to heal. Lay off the belting and vocal fry, instead choosing songs that don’t tax or stretch you.

Many of the cures for loss of singing voice causes are similar – rest, steaming, remedies and over the counter medicines. Colds are relatively easy to recover from and there are several relatively quick-fix solutions to the hoarseness that comes with a bug. Steaming, throat coat tea, VocalZone pastilles and plenty of liquid will make a big difference to your gig.

Can you fix your singing voice?

Yes. Loss of singing voice causes vary and most are nothing to worry about, just a sign that you need to take a little extra care and rest.

The golden rule is, if it persists, see a doctor. We all experience occasional hoarseness and intermittent changes. However, significant changes are signs to which you must pay attention. Most healing regimes for more serious issues will involve rest and gentle exercises to recuperate.

If nothing else works, you may need some tests to investigate. This is nothing to worry about and maybe a fascinating insight into how your own vocal anatomy works. But you should follow the guidance of a specialist. Working with a recognised vocal coach who has plenty of experience, is always a good idea too.

How can I restore my voice?

If the reason for your hoarseness and excess mucus is an allergy, then you may need to take a slightly different course of action. Anti-histamines are a simple, cheap, fast and effective solution. However, some have a soporific effect, so opt for the non-drowsy versions if you have a busy day ahead.

Once your voice returns, make sure it stays back, by gently warming up and down before singing. Humming and sirens are excellent techniques to safeguard the vocals while they’re weak.

How do I get my singing voice back after not singing for years?

The very best way to achieve this is by working with an experienced vocal coach. This will get you to where you want to be faster, and more safely (in terms of your vocal health). Should this be impossible, we recommend following a quality singing programme online – YouTube has lots of teachers from which you can choose. A good indicator of how effective their coaching is will be the number of views and subscribers they have.

How to rebuild your singing voice

You’ll need to build strength, range and tone. Begin with working on your breath control, including breathing from the correct place. This is the foundation for good singing. Then move onto scales using closed-mouth sounds (the diphthong ‘ng’ is a helpful one).

Always start with some exercises, before moving onto songs. This may seem less exciting, but neglecting the groundwork risks voice loss and damage. Keep your scales within comfortable range initially, then add a note in, once you’ve achieved a clear and confident tone within your natural register.

How to keep your singing voice in shape

Be sure to practice regularly. If you want to sing professionally do your exercises daily. Otherwise set aside time every few days or weekly. Here are some more lifestyle tips to follow:

Keep alcohol consumption to a minimum.
Don’t smoke or vape, this dries out the voice and makes it raspy.
Consume plenty of lukewarm water.
Drink throat coat or liquorice tea, it’s great for the voice.
Avoid dairy products – they’re not great for the voice.

Hoarseness, a sore throat or cracking shouldn’t hold you back long term. Learn the lessons (and mistakes) from other singers and adapt before you too, have to cancel gigs. Think of your voice like a priceless instrument and care for it in the same way as you would a valuable violin. And if you’re having ongoing issues, or have little experience, consider booking some lessons with a top vocal coach in Hampshire.