Around 34% of people never learn to play an instrument, yet half wish they had.

Music is something that most people enjoy, whether it’s playing or listening to it. But most people also love singing along with the songs they hear. Unfortunately, a lot of people wish they could sing better.

You can learn to sing better by taking voice lessons. If you decide to do this, you’ll need to learn how to prepare your voice for the lessons.

Preparing your voice helps you get the most out of your lessons, and here are some tips to help you with this.

Stay Hydrated 

Hydration is vital for your health and well-being but also affects your ability to sing. A dry throat makes singing more challenging, as the vocal cords need hydration.

Fortunately, being and staying hydrated is simple – drink more water. Drinking more water provides your vocal cords with the hydration they need. Water improves the vocal cord’s elasticity they need when singing.

Adjust Your Diet

People take voice lessons to learn how to sing. Learning from experts is the best way to learn and will yield many benefits. But it helps to prepare your voice by adjusting your diet before your lessons.

Certain foods and drinks cause excess mucous, and mucous inhibits your ability to sing. As a result, avoid dairy products before your lessons.

Some beverages also impede your singing voice. For example, caffeine dries the throat, making it harder to sing. 

Avoid Bad Habits

Voice preparation might also require some long-term changes. Some bad habits affect your singing voice. The primary one is smoking. 

Smoking adversely affects your body, but it also affects your vocal cords and throat. When you smoke (or vape), you expose your vocal cords to toxins. Additionally, smoking dries the throat.

Another bad habit to avoid is yelling. Yelling strains the vocal cords, impeding their ability to vibrate properly. 

Exercise Your Vocal Cords

Your instructor might give you a preparation guide as you begin taking voice lessons. This guide illustrates other steps to take to prepare your voice for lessons. One thing it might teach is exercises for your vocal cords.

Yelling and screaming harm your voice, but certain activities strengthen it. As a result, performing the correct exercises is beneficial before your lessons.

Start exercising your voice by humming. Humming warms things up and won’t harm your vocal cords. 

Next, lightly sing notes, going up and down the scale. After doing that for a few minutes, you can sing out a little more. Warming up prepares your voice and vocal cords for your lessons. 

Prepare Your Voice for Lessons

Voice lessons teach you to sing better, but you’ll get more out of your lessons if you prepare your voice. Following these tips will help you prepare for your upcoming lessons.

If you haven’t signed up for lessons yet, why not give it a try? You can sign up here with Music Lab Nashville to learn the best singing techniques.