How to Maintain the “Morning Voice”
By Susan Berkley
A VoiceCoach subscriber asks:
“What is the reason for the deeper/nicer morning voice and how could I maintain it?”
Susan Berkley:
This man likes the deeper sound quality of his morning voice because he is a voice-over artist. But for many people who wake up sounding “froggy” or hoarse, morning voice can be a problem. In fact, some speakers or singers won’t even work before noon because they think their voice doesn’t “wake up” until later in the day. Actually, your voice can sound good at any time of the day if it’s properly warmed up and cared for.
Our voices tend to sound lower when we first wake up for three reasons. First, fluids collect in the tissues of the throat while we sleep. It’s the same temporary phenomenon that makes our eyes look puffy when we first wake up. Second, mucous builds up overnight from lack of use. And third, our vocal chords dry out from breathing through the mouth while we sleep. Due to lack of lubrication they cant move together as well as they should to form the higher pitch.
Always drink a big glass of room temperature water first thing when you wake up, before coffee, orange juice or any other liquid. Squeezing a little fresh lemon juice in the water is also healthful. Coffee is dehydrating so make sure you follow your morning cup with a glass of water. Milk and orange juice can cause phlegm and throat clearing, adding to any extra mucus that built up over night. I avoid them in the morning.
Next, do a little humming. You should feel your nose and lips buzzing when you hum. This helps you find your facial mask and wakes up your voice.
Finally, turn on the TV or radio news and spend a couple of minutes warming up by imitating the announcers. Just copy everything they say, trying to match their inflection, pacing and timing. It doesn’t matter if you get the words right or if you try to imitate a member of the opposite sex or someone speaking another language. You’ll have fun and wake up your voice in the process.
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Susan Berkley is a top voice over artist and founder of The Great Voice Company, a company devoted to teaching great voices around the world how to become successful voice over actors. The Great Voice Company is an international leader in voice over training and in providing top quality voice over recordings in all languages to discerning businesses and marketers. For additional information visit www.greatvoice.com.
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