Singing on the Road

We see people singing in their cars while driving all the time. It's a great way to kill time. I mean, how much fun is  it to sing along to your favorite song on the radio or your music player? As a singer, I can tell you that singing while driving is a great way to build power and endurance in your vocal chords, and a means to flesh out any vocal issues you may have without the hindrance of an unsympathetic ear listening close by.

Since July of 2009, I've taken two road trips per month for various reasons. And during each trip, I took the opportunity to sing for an extended period of time. On my first road trip, I found that my voice would tire after only 90-120 minutes, yet slowly but surely and with each subsequent road trip my vocal endurance increased. It didn't take long before I was singing for two, then three, and up to four hours. On a recent road trip to LA, I sang for five hours almost continuously. I did take breaks of course, to stop for gas, get something to eat, etc. Even still, it was more practice than I ever got singing at a karaoke club, or at band practice.

The end result of all this practice is a seemingly tireless voice. While other's voices tire out after 2 to 3 hours of karaokeing--which is singing a song followed by some singing along to other people's songs, talking, and waiting around for your next song--a highly trained voice will continue to deliver power and clarity. There is no way around training your vocal muscles. Like every other voluntary muscle in your body, they work best with routine exercise.

Treat your next five hour road trip like it's a marathon. And like running a marathon, you will need to build up the endurance in your vocal muscles in order to cross the finish line. Train  hard and you will always end up a winner.