Stewarding Your Voice
Here’s the deal: the voice is unlike any other instrument. Not only is it an instrument that has language built into it, but it is the only instrument that is internal — our voices are a part of us. Because of that, our voices are inextricably tied to our identity. They are intimately personal. They convey, in part, our identities, our insecurities, our beliefs, and make up a large part of how we communicate with other people. In the beginning, when the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters, the scriptures tell us that God spoke into the darkness and said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. James tells us that the power of life and death are in the tongue. And over and over again in the New Testament, Jesus spoke and sickness was healed, demons were cast out, and the lame walked. Not only that, but how many times do the scriptures command us to sing praises to the Lord? Our voices are powerful and a beautifully intricate aspect of who God made us to be.
This is one of many reasons why I believe that it is so, so important to steward our voices well. Not only are they a gift from the Lord that enables us to communicate in amazing ways but, anatomically, our vocal cords need care. They are tiny little guys, typically ranging from about half an inch to an inch thick. They are complex and delicate. How many times have you heard about one celebrity musician or another losing their voice due to neglect? Here are some practical ways you can steward your physical voice well:
Drink lots of water! We’ve all heard this, I know, but it truly is one of the cheapest, easiest, and most effective ways to support your vocal health. A good rule of thumb is the 8x8 rule (8x 8oz glasses of water per day). This turns out to be ~ 2 liters or half a gallon.
Give your voice rest. Don’t overuse your voice on the weekend leading up to your worship service. No one needs to hear your killer belt during rehearsal - save it for the set. Rest your voice after a worship set as well.
Breathe deep. The voice is similar to wind and brass instruments in that breath makes the sound happen. Imagine the amount of breath it takes to make the sound come out of a giant tuba; in our case, breath makes our vocal cords vibrate against each other to form pitches. The more breath support you give, the less your vocal cords will have to strain to produce sound.
Warm-up before you sing. This can be as simple as humming or lip buzzing a 5-note scale (scale degrees 1-5 and back down again) and moving up/down by half step in the car on your way to church, or humming/lip buzzing through the songs in your set for the morning. A little bit goes a long way.
Finally - don’t try to make your voice something that it’s not. Something that I hear often, especially with young singers, is this straining and striving for that coveted “pop” sound. If that’s your natural voice, bless you; that’s awesome. But I often hear singers choosing keys that are much too low and putting unnecessary strain on their voice, not because it feels good and natural, but because they’re trying to make their voice into something it’s not. On the other hand, if you love to belt high notes, do it — but learn how to belt in a healthy way that won’t place extreme strain on your vocal cords. Spend some time uncovering your natural voice and strengthen the unique qualities that are a natural part of your voice. Delve deeper into your own vocal identity rather than trying to duplicate someone else’s.
My challenge to all of us as worship leaders is to rest in the voice that God has gifted us with - he gave us exactly the voice he wanted us to have (and I’ll bet you anything that he loves it just as much as he loves Adele’s). God used the same vastness of diversity in creating the human vocal soundscape as he did when he created the millions upon millions of species of animals and plants on Earth. Find your voice, love your voice, and steward it well unto the glory of God.
Naomi Latta is a pastoral coordinator and worship leader at Vineyard Church Delaware County (OH), and a choir director at Buckeye Valley Middle School. As a graduate of Miami University's Choral/General Music Education program, she has spent the last 10 years studying vocal performance. In addition to teaching voice lessons, leading worship, and singing background vocals on Hansen & Meyer’s 2018 worship album King of Glory, Naomi has a passion for discipleship, raising up young worship leaders, and equipping worship leaders to maintain healthy and uniquely powerful voices.