Ask yourself the following questions:

-Do I have days where my voice just isn’t working, but I”m almost positive I’m signing with good technique?

-Do you have days where you voice works perfectly, then the next day, absolutely nothing is working.  You didn’t over sing, you are not sick, you feel like your allergies are under control, and you didn’t eat any foods that might have given you heartburn.  What’s going on?

-Do I have unexpected decreases in stamina in rehearsals, lessons, or practice sessions? 

-Do I have odd occurrences at certain points in my range where my voice just cuts out? 

-Do I have trouble singing at certain dynamics for no apparent reason?

-Do I sometimes experience discomfort or even pain when singing and my coaches, teachers and conductors say that everything sounds and looks fine? 

You may just be dealing with a lot of tenacious and annoying phlegm. We often associate phlegm with being sick, but remember that phlegm to the voice is like oil to a car engine.  We need a little bit of it at all times to make sure all those moving parts are working smoothly.  

Too little phlegm and the voice has trouble phoning easily which leads to inflammation, pushing and just general fatigue among other things.  

Too much phlegm and some of the situations in the questions above can arise.  

What in the world can I do about it?

This is a little harder to answer, and it depends on what you are dealing with. A few things to remember:

• Warm up: Almost every one’s voice is lower in the morning.  Have you ever wondered why? Well, you breathe in cold air all night, drying out the vocal folds, which trigger’s the body’s defense mechanism and phlegm is sent to cover the vocal cords and protect them.  So, even if you’re not suffering from any particular affliction, you’ve got to clear off that phlegm!  When you warm up, in addition  to inviting blood to flow to your vocal muscles, you also gently clear off excess phlegm.  So…warm up!  Physically, as in drinking water and moving those muscles, AND as in working out.  Even 20 minutes of physical exercise which elevates your heart rate (say to at least 120), can serve as a fantastic warm up before you phonate at all. You’ll be amazed and how much less “excavating” you’ll have to do when you do start actively warming up, if you’ve exercised for a few minutes early in your day. 

• Hydration: Water.  Yes, we know…drink water!  But, remember from my hydration post, many have found that “force hydrating” or drinking at least a liter of water, first thing after you wake up, can significantly decrease your phlegm levels, jump start hydration and decrease your warm up time. 
• Breathe: You don’t often have the luxury of warming up either early in the morning or during the day before you have to sing.  When you audition in New York, sometimes there’s no time to warm up before your audition, or there’s no room available to book at
  Opera America, or wherever you’ll be singing.  If you’re in school, you frequently running from class, lunch, or from across campus right in to a lesson, coaching or rehearsal. You can find some tutorials on some breath work here and here. 

Stronger Measures

If you’re still struggling with excess phlegm levels after trying the above suggestions, it may be time to resort to stronger measures: 

• Spice it up: Spicy foods thin mucus.  Anything will do, jalapeños, Thai food, wasabi, or just good old hot sauce (my personal favorites are Cholula, Tapatio and Valentina). 
• The Big Apple:  Apple Cider Vinegar.  There’s a post coming on this soon, but start with a teaspoon in the morning.  If that’s not enough, try a tablespoon.  It takes about 30 minutes to work for most people and wears off after approximately 3-4 hours.  A great thing to try that won’t have long-lasting effects. 
• Think Thin: Mucinex.  It does what it says, it thins the mucus.  However, take small doses to start, don’t take a full 24 hour pill, start with a half or 1/4th of a pill to see what it does first.  Take it at night before bed if possible, and don’t by the brand name stuff.  Guaifenesin is the generic name, and exactly the same stuff, at a much lower price.  Also, avoid the Mucinex-D, anything with a decongestant as well, that’s not very singer friendly. Remember, this stuff is supposed to dry you out, so use it carefully.  It doesn’t wear off as fast as apple cider vinegar. 
• I’m Allergic, boogie woogie woogie: Even if you’re not suffering from allergies, some judicious use of fluticasone, can help stop some post nasal drip contributing to extra mucus.  Taking the generic version of Allegra or Zyrtec can also offer some phlegm relief, but again, take only part of a full pill and take it at night.  It will absolutely dry you out, it’s just a question of how much and for how long. 

For those of you that have excess phlegm on a regular basis, what are your best solutions for getting rid of it so you can actually sing without significant trouble?