Traveling and singing can be difficult while on the road. Here is a look inside dealing with hydration and singing in 3 different climates during winter travel.
I have been on the road the majority of the last three weeks, with concerts in New York, Oklahoma, and South Florida. One thing that I have learned from personal experience is that winter travel and singing work against each other. The first 11 days I spent in New York City singing and studying at the historic Players in Gramercy Park as part of Sherrill Milnes’ V.O.I.C.Experience foundation. The weather in New York the week that I was there was particularly cold and dry, even by February standards.
While a part of this program, I was fortunate enough to attend a lecture by Dr. Scott Kesler, a leading E.N.T. specialist dealing with singers. It was a great check-up about hydration techniques, rest, travel, airplanes, reflux, and other things that singers have to deal with to be able to stay in peak form while on the road. One thing that I was dealing with while in New York, and continued in Oklahoma, was my nasal and sinus passages were so dried out that it was causing nosebleeds. When you are in older buildings, like my hotel or the historic Players, you have to deal with dry, irradiated heat. Steaming, over-hydration, and irrigation (with a spray like Simple-Saline) helped me through the dryness and the subsequent nosebleeds.
Similarly, after I returned to Florida, the weather here changed to warmer than normal. I went from 10-12 degrees up north to near 80 in Florida with a heavy dose of tree pollen. With severe sinus and chest congestion, I was contracted to sing a performance in Fort Myers. I worked for nearly 8 hours over 2 ½ days to clear the congestion using a variety steaming techniques, hydration, and non-drying decongestants such as Mucinex. Eight hours for 5 minutes of singing? It is part of the job, and the audience deserves my hard work!
