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June 2001 Table of Contents
Your Voice For God
Being The Best We Can Be
By Chris Beatty
 "Lord Jesus Christ, death could not hold you in its grip. Grant that we might see beyond the grave and be touched with your resurrection presence." This prayer by Robert Webber speaks for all New Testament believers. It is our heart's desire to walk with Him and lead others to do the same. To that end we must encourage ourselves, and those we serve and lead, to walk in vocal excellence each and every day. Our goal: Being the best we can be.
The challenge is to constantly recognize that we are literally His voice to the world. And, though the written and recorded forms of this voice can live on and on, the physical will one day fail. Let's not cut that life short unnecessarily. I recently spent time coaching yet another very busy and successful ministry group. Perhaps like you, they are seeing lives changed on a weekly basis, as a result of their work combined with the power of God's spirit. But things are changing. What was vocally easy 15 years ago no longer is. And that inexhaustible stamina is giving way to some vocal fatigue. Hoarseness, tiredness and an occasional ache in the throat greets many a Sunday night.
Not surprisingly, the solutions are found is getting back to, or in some cases discovering for the first time, THE BASICS. The "John 3:16" of singing. Another part of the solution is taking the title, "Vocal Athlete for the Lord," seriously. That means taking no vacations from the foundations. And what are those basics? Here's the list:
1. You are to be an Upright child of the King in spirit and body. Your posture should reflect a "long back of the neck" and a "short front of the neck." Our example? Toddlers. They project a heart-felt message over great distances for long periods of time with no vocal fatigue. Also, like a toddler, align the ears over the shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. Keeping the tail bone tucked under, rather than overly arching the back, will make this easier.
2. Breathe like a child, allowing the abdomen, sides and back to expand as you receive the breath. Don't hyper-expand your chest and ribs. They are already as high and wide as they need to be as a result of good posture. Leave them alone! As you exhale, allow the ribs and back to continue in an expanded position while the frontal, abdominal muscles slowly contract, as needed.
3. Literally 'feel' the tone vibrating and resonating in the head, face and throat, but don't allow any local muscular manipulation in the throat.
4. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Drink half your body weight in oz of water daily. (200 pounds = 100 oz). More, if doing a lot of singing and speaking.
5. Warm up EVERY time you sing or do extensive speaking. Singers and teachers who don't warm-up and prepare the voice are subject to premature vocal fatigue and injury. Check our web site for a complete series of CDs and tapes to help you warm-up easily.
In summary: The voice is a mechanical, acoustical instrument. It can fail.The good news is that most, if not all, of the failures are preventable. If you have specific questions you would like to see addressed in this column, please e-mail them to chris@vocalcoach.com for consideration.
Chris Beatty
Vocal Coach/Upright Foundation
P.O. Box 2144, Brentwood TN 37024
Office: 615-331-1080
Fax: 615-331-8847
E-Mail: chris@vocalcoach.com
Web: www.vocalcoach.com
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