An email subscriber sent me a question last year about advice for keeping their voice clear for singing. I’ve also seen a lot of people finding my website searching for exactly the same reasons. Hence, I thought it was worth covering my thoughts on it this week.

Most of you will have some idea of what I mean by “keeping your voice clear” for singing, but before we dive in, there’s some background info you’re going to need.

Some context

Mucus is the primary issue we face as singers for keeping our voices clear for singing. It’s what primarily clogs up our throat, voice and sinuses, and makes our voice feel claggy and horrible. But here’s the thing: mucus is something our body generates to protect us.

Consider this: Here is a cross-sectional view of the vocal folds.

See that outer layer? That outer epithelial layer is essential a lining of mucus to protect the inner layers of the vocal folds from damage. It’s mucus that is MEANT to be there. When that gets stripped away or irritated, the body will generate more mucus to continue protecting the vocal folds.

Mucus is something our body generates to protect itself.

Snot in our nose, post nasal drip from our nasal cavity and sinuses, etc is all intended to capture germs and microbes and enable your body to discharge them. Without that, we’d get very ill indeed. Mucus in the nose, throat or vocal folds is generated to lubricate and protect us from germs or irritation that could wreak more havoc than just feeling a bit gunky.

So mucus itself is not an issue… it’s EXCESS mucus that we desire to minimise. But we also need to be cautious about trying to clear it aggressively (e.g. excess coughing/hacking), as that will only exacerbate the issues.

My protocol for dealing with mucus/gunk on the voice

Now that we’ve got the background, let’s talk about some things I find very helpful for keeping my voice as clear as possible. Most of these are prevention rather than cure, as by the time we actually need to shift it, it’s usually too late to dramatically improve things with a sinus spray, lozenge, or staying off caffeine.

1. Drink lots of water
The more hydrated your body is, the thinner and easier to shift the mucus is. So drink lots of water. That way, whether the mucus is essential for protecting your body or not, it should shift more easily.

You can also leverage the heat of drinks to your advantage. Cold drinks are good for soothing the voice, and hot drinks are good for shifting mucus. But be aware, as cold drinks can also make mucus seem more stubborn to shift, and hot drinks can also aggravate your throat if too hot – the challenge is to deploy the tools you need as and when you need them. Continue reading “Keeping your voice clear for singing”

The last 3 weeks have been horrific. A sore throat started at the beginning of my holiday, and just kept ramping up and ramping up, until I needed an anaesthetic spray just to numb the pain in order to sleep! Cue a trip to the doctors and antibiotics for a tonsillitis-like illness, and I’m finally coming out the other side.

I do not wish illness on anyone

So please know, I do not enjoy being ill and I do not wish it on anyone, whether it’s very severe or a mild cold. But the reality is, every one of us will get ill from time to time. Those of you who have worked with me for a while will know I am no exception. My voice is pretty robust, but every so often, I’ll get hit by something more severe that knocks my voice into an unusable state. From then it will take time to recover physically then rebuild the voice.

And THIS period of recovering and rebuilding is something I absolutely love to go through. That might seem a little masochistic but here are the reasons why:

1) Your tolerance for error is MUCH smaller

Many stronger and more experienced singers get away with a fair amount when they are healthy. What I mean by this is that they are doing things that would be detrimental in weaker voices, or running their voice to the edge when they sing, and it’s only their relatively good health and fortunate physical robustness that prevents them slipping into a vocal hole and struggling to get out again.

But when we get sick, we lose that edge. We lose the bandwidth that allowed us to get away with so much, and we have to rely on our muscle memory… this is supremely revealing. It shows us what we REALLY can do and can’t do. When we get sick, we’ll really expose when we’re actually forcing notes, because we just won’t be able to make it happen. But perhaps you’ll find notes you were worried you were forcing are actually fine.

You simply don’t get this window into how accurate you’re actually being until you have your tolerance/bandwidth for error taken away through ill health. When you are recovering and rebuilding your voice, this is a perfect time to cautiously go through your voice and see what works and what doesn’t. Continue reading “What I love about getting sick”

Is Chocolate Bad for Your Voice?

Happy Easter!

If you’re anything like me, you’ll have been trying your best not to tuck into your Easter eggs early. Normally for big holidays I just send a well wishing email to all my subscribers, but a few people had asked me “Mark, is chocolate bad for your voice?“

But is chocolate bad for your voice?

As in all things, the real answer is “it depends“. There are certainly worse things to eat or drink for good singing — e.g. copious amounts of alcohol, anything dry and sticky like peanut butter or porridge, or anything that might give you reflux like spicy foods or curry.

Some people will know that when they eat chocolate, they notice their voice tends to feel mucous-y and gunky. Maybe not to an extreme degree, but enough that when trying to sing the gunk seems to get in the way.

For those people, the working assumption I’ve come to adopt with clients and singers who complain about this is that they may have a very mild lactose intolerance. Darker chocolate with less or no dairy component is a helpful way to sidestep or test this theory. Though some people do also react badly to high sugar or additives in certain chocolate, that seems to be a less common complaint.

For those who feel a bit more gunky after eating chocolate, they may well also find this to be the case after drinking tea or coffee with milk in. That plus caffeine can both dry out the throat, and make it feel gunkier than normal.

In short, I personally think most people are not that badly affected by eating chocolate before singing. If anything, the feel-good endorphins can help with further enjoying the act of singing. So if you enjoy it, don’t worry about it.

When should I avoid chocolate or something else?

Try not to overthink it. Enjoy what you like, and if you start to notice something gives you grief (vocally), then try cutting it out before singing. It doesn’t matter how minorly it bothers you — feel free to cut it out if it gets in the way. Singing is difficult enough without having to worry about those things.

On the other hand, perhaps some things have a noticeable effect, yet the effect doesn’t bother you that much. It’s entirely down to you to gauge what affects you and whether it’s a problem.

When it comes to dairy, I could personally drink a pint of milk before singing and not notice any ill-effects. But there are other foods that bother me. I REALLY don’t like how my throat feels after eating bananas. This might seem bizarre, but it really bothers me. I find it really negatively affects my ability to focus and control my voice, so I cut them out. Spicy foods can sometimes trigger hiccups, so they too need to stay out.

Conclusion

The take-home message today though, is that you should enjoy any Easter eggs you’ve received guilt-free… at least from the perspective of singing!

The Things I Love (and Hate) About Being a Vocal Coach

When I meet new people and they ask what I do for a living, they’re naturally curious. Some of that is novelty—I mean, how often do you meet someone who teaches singing for a living? But I think a lot of the curiosity comes from people wondering what it must be like to work in a completely different world from theirs.

Like any job, mine has highs and lows. So in this guide, I’m sharing both sides: what I love about my job—and what I don’t.

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Four Things I Love About Being a Vocal Coach

1. I get to spend all day every day making music

If you’re reading this, you probably love music—especially singing. It’s a massive perk of the job that I get to work on my own singing voice and dig into songs every single day. In a way, I’m paid to work out how songs tick and how different voices interact with them.

Just like an athlete warms up each morning, I start my day with exercises that get my singing voice coordinated. Most of the time, these go to plan—some days, not so much. But I get to build my instrument daily and develop it further over time.

2. I get to sing my favourite songs every day

These aren’t just warm-ups—I’m singing my actual favourite songs. I have a core group of 10–20 that show me how my singing voice is doing, help me improve, and just feel great to sing. Some songs get swapped out, some evolve, but it’s a joy to shape my singing voice by singing what I love.

3. I work with clients who love singing as much as I do

It would all be pretty meaningless without the people. I get a huge kick out of helping others build their voice, often seeing them conquer songs they never thought possible. The real magic happens when they say: “I didn’t even notice how I got there—it just feels natural.”

Helping someone realise that they’ve become a truly great singer is immensely satisfying. A great singing voice is its own reward.

4. It’s great for my mental health and headspace

Singing is my daily reset. On days I don’t sing—maybe I’m unwell or away—I notice a real shift in my mood and mental clarity. Singing keeps me balanced, and I know many of my clients feel the same. It’s a grounding habit that clears the mind, even when life gets noisy.

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Four Things I Hate (Well… Dislike) About Being a Vocal Coach

1. I have to get my singing voice firing every day, whether it wants to or not

One of the best things about my job is also one of the hardest. When I’m unwell, overtired, or recovering from a sore throat, I still have to get my voice working—because my work depends on it. Sometimes I can’t cancel, even if I’m feeling rough.

Unlike hobbyists or part-time singers, I can’t push through and then rest for days. My singing voice needs to be dependable every day, and that can be mentally and physically draining.

2. Even a mild cold can wipe out my work week

You’d be surprised how even a tiny infection can totally derail a voice. Pharyngitis, laryngitis, sinusitis—they all hit differently. Post-nasal drip alone can make it impossible for me to sing or teach properly, even if I feel fine otherwise.

When your singing is your livelihood, even a sniffle can mean lost income. There’s no sick pay, no holiday pay. No singing voice = no work.

3. Your self-worth can get tangled up in your voice

When your skill is so central to your work, it’s easy to feel like your worth is tied up in your vocal performance. If my singing voice is underperforming, even temporarily, it can affect my confidence—just like it would anyone who’s struggled to sing a song they normally nail.

Even seasoned professionals admit this gets to them. It’s a psychological weight that comes with the territory.

4. There’s a constant low-level stress in the background

Running your own studio means there’s always uncertainty. Imagine this:

It’s Friday night. You’ve wrapped the week and you’re off the clock—but you get a text from someone who says they might need to cut their sessions. They don’t say how much or when. You reply. No answer. Then another message arrives the next morning about something else affecting your income. You try not to worry, but it lingers.

This happens to small business owners all the time. It’s not always dramatic, but the threat of loss, disruption, or instability is never far away. It’s like living under a low, buzzing cloud of uncertainty.

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Final Thoughts

I meant it when I said the good outweighs the bad. Singing, teaching, making music—these are deeply fulfilling, and I’m incredibly lucky to do them every day. But the reality is more nuanced than most people realise.

If you’re a singer, hobbyist or pro, I hope this gives you some insight. And if you ever want to explore your own singing voice more deeply—whether for mental wellbeing or musical ambition—you know where to find me.

I was chatting with a client this week about taking a rest day for your voice, i.e., days we don’t work on our voices or do singing of any kind.

To be honest, I work on my voice near enough every day. I’m a practice-a-holic. But there is still HUGE power in taking days off on a consistent basis. I actually schedule them in each week, such that I have to opt out of them rather than opt in.

As such, I want to talk about three reasons it’s worth taking vocal rest days.

Preface

Working on your voice for vocal development is like going to the gym. Turning up consistently is worth more than doing several long sets sporadically. However, gym-work and lifting weights is about causing microscopic damage to your muscles, such that your body repairs those holes and build muscle. With voice training we are not seeking this. We are aiming to smoothly co-ordinate our voices better, with as little excess tension as possible, or wear-and-tear due to imprecise/inefficient behaviour.

If you are working on your voice in a consistent, sustainable and healthy way, you SHOULD be able to practice every day with little to no ill-effects. Nevertheless, rest days are important for the following reasons. Continue reading “Why Taking a Rest Day Helps”