Liquid energy

Caffeine: the world's drug of choice.

Seriously. According to Dr. Solomon Snyder, director of the neurosciences department at Johns Hopkins University, caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive substance on earth. It's so popular, in fact, some people use "cups of coffee" as a way to measure a year in the life. (*groan*)

It's no secret why caffeine is so popular: It makes us feel better, gives us a jolt of energy, and helps us stay focused and awake for all that we have to do. College campuses seem to have a particular predilection for caffeine since their populations are chronically overtired from a lack of sleep. In the Department of Theatre this is partly because of your own lifestyle choices and partly because we keep you up late for rehearsals and make you get up early for dance classes (sorry!).

As I've discussed in this blog before, caffeine in all its forms (coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, and even chocolate) acts as a diuretic and can dehydrate the body and vocal folds. It is crucial that the body stay well hydrated in order for the vocal folds to function optimally.

But I've learned some new information in reading a recently published book called Manual of Singing Voice Rehabilitation: A Practical Approach to Vocal Health and Wellness by Leda Scearce, who is a speech-language pathologist and singing voice specialist at the Duke Voice Care Center.

Scearce writes that caffeine may be getting a bad rap when it comes to how it impacts vocal health. According to recent studies, the dehydrating effect of caffeine kicks in at around 250 mg. For reference, a tall, 12-oz. coffee from Starbucks has around 235 mg of caffeine. A 12-oz. cola has about 45 mg and 12 oz. of tea has roughly 37 mg. (Don't worry, chocolate is significantly lower than that...depending on how much you eat!) She also writes that people who consume caffeine regularly and at these moderate amounts can develop a tolerance to its dehydrating effect.

You should consult the trusty internet to know what the caffeine levels are in the beverages you regularly consume. Take note that espresso shots have more caffeine than brewed coffee and the caffeine levels in energy drinks can vary widely.

For singers who regularly consume caffeine, Scearce does not necessarily advocate eliminating it entirely from your diet. Rather, she recommends singers keep their levels less than 250 mg. in combination with increasing their water intake throughout the day for general health as well as to offset the dehydrating effects.

However, she also counsels that caffeine can be a trigger for reflux. Singers who experience GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) or LPRD (laryngopharyngeal reflux disease) need to further monitor or limit the amount of caffeine they are consuming (especially coffee, which can be more acidic than other forms of caffeine).

And, of course, as with all foods, drinks, and drugs, they impact us all differently. Some of us who are more sensitive to caffeine may need to make different choices than those who are less sensitive to caffeine. Know your body, what it can handle, and what it can't.

How has your practice been going this week? How are you doing on the goals you set in the last blog?

Now go practice.

Goals

The start of a new year is a good time to set resolutions for a more positive future. Similarly, the start of a new semester is a good time to revisit goals for vocal practice and improvement.

Before you set goals, it’s a good idea to look back and acknowledge your areas of strength and the areas where you have made noticeable improvement. Then you can compare that to the areas you need to continue solidifying.

Goals can be related to building technique, developing artistry, honing musicianship skills, learning and memorizing music, maintaining a consistent practice regimen, or all of the above.

Remember as well that this blog was designed to provide motivation and bi-weekly check points. Each time a blog assignment is due you can look back to see if you have been taking the steps necessary to meet your goals, assess how those steps have been working, and see if adjustments need to be made.

My main goals are:

1. Be more true to my established practice times (last semester got so busy that I often used that time for other things).
2. Continue working exercises designed to release the constrictor muscles of my neck, tongue, and throat.
3. Set memorization deadlines for repertoire I am learning for the fall

So, halfway through the 2016/2017 school year, what progress are you proud of? What are your top goals moving forward?

Now go practice.