Cold Weather Voice Care: 7 Tips for Singers
The colder months bring plenty of things I love. A dry throat and chapped lips are considerably lower on the list.
If you’re wondering how to protect your voice in cold weather, my recommendations are simple: stay hydrated, turn on the humidifier when the air is dry, warm up gently, and pay attention to how you sing.
Whether you’re practising at home, singing with a choir, recording in the studio, trying an open mic, or performing on stage, caring for your voice matters both before and during the singing.
I’m Rebecca, founder and director of Chorus Studio in Vancouver. Here are the cold-weather vocal-care habits I recommend to singers, and a reminder that you don’t need to turn looking after your voice into a second job.
1. Stay hydrated throughout the day
My first recommendation is the least glamorous: drink water regularly throughout the day. Hydration is part of healthy voice care year-round, so give it a place in your everyday routine.
Keep a bottle at your desk, have water with meals, and bring it to lessons, rehearsals, recording sessions, and gigs. I’d rather you find a habit that sticks than try to catch up on the entire day’s water five minutes before you sing.
2. Turn on your humidifier, especially overnight
When the indoor air gets dry, I recommend using a humidifier, especially in your bedroom overnight.
My personal cue? Chapped lips. Once I notice mine getting drier, that’s my reminder to check the humidity and get the humidifier going.
For an actual reading, use a small hygrometer to check the room’s humidity. My lips are useful reminders, but they haven’t completed their meteorology certification.
Keep indoor humidity at or below 50%, and turn the humidifier down if you notice condensation on windows or dampness nearby. Empty and dry the tank daily, refill with fresh water, and follow the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions. More moisture isn’t always better.
3. Sing with good technique
This is a big one! Water, rest, and a humidifier are great, but they can’t cancel out repeatedly pushing your voice.
If you take care of your voice and then trash it while singing, that defeats the point. Your water bottle cannot negotiate with your vocal folds on your behalf.
Here’s what I recommend when you’re practising:
Choose a comfortable key when practising.
Work through tricky passages gently before adding volume.
Ask your voice teacher, vocal coach, or choir director for help when a phrase feels effortful.
Avoid trying to overpower other singers or loud backing tracks. At open mics and on stage, ask for a microphone or monitor adjustment if you’re struggling to hear yourself.
Healthy technique is something you learn. If a phrase always feels like a wrestling match, ask for help. That’s what we’re here for.
4. Give your warm-up more time
On colder days, I recommend giving yourself a little more time to ease into singing, especially when you’ve just come in from outside.
Start with easy sounds in a comfortable part of your range. Gradually explore the notes you’ll need for your music, without jumping straight into your highest, loudest, or most demanding passage.
I like to start with a simple check-in: “On a scale of 1–10, how do you feel today, with 10 being the best you’ve ever felt?”
I ask my students this because the answer helps us decide how to approach the singing that day.
If you feel like a 7, give me a 7. You don’t need to force a 10 just because that’s what you managed last week. That might mean choosing an easier song, keeping the volume comfortable, or taking more breaks.
Pushing beyond what feels comfortable can add strain, prolong fatigue, and increase the risk of vocal injury. The number is a cue to adjust, not a target to push through: if singing hurts or your voice is hoarse, give it a rest. Listening to your body is part of good technique.
Give yourself more time to build gently. Listen to your body and honour where it’s at that day.
5. Use gentle SOVT exercises as a vocal reset
I recommend gentle SOVT exercises in the morning and at a few points throughout the day.
SOVT stands for semi-occluded vocal tract: making sound with the vocal tract partially closed. These exercises can encourage healthy, efficient phonation with less effort.
The name is a mouthful. The exercises are much simpler:
Straw exercise: Make a gentle “oo” sound through a straw, starting on one easy note and then adding small pitch glides.
Lip bubble or lip trill: Let your lips flutter on a relaxed “brrr,” adding voice without forcing the air.
Tongue trill: Use a voiced rolled “r,” if it comes easily. If it doesn’t, choose a lip trill or straw instead.
Try a brief, gentle vocal reset in the morning, before you sing, or during a break in a rehearsal or recording session. If you’re new to these exercises, ask your voice teacher or vocal coach to show you how and help you choose an appropriate straw.
The goal is ease. Stop if you feel pain, strain, or worsening hoarseness. These exercises don’t replace rest or treatment when you’re unwell.
6. Consider zinc if it’s right for you
I like zinc lozenges, and I feel they’ve helped me fend off colds. Based on my own experience, I recommend considering them as part of your cold-season toolkit, after checking whether they’re suitable for you.
That’s my personal experience, rather than a guarantee. Research suggests some oral zinc formulations, particularly lozenges, may shorten a cold when started early. But evidence is uncertain and doesn’t clearly support zinc for preventing colds. The findings for lozenges don’t necessarily apply to ordinary tablets.
Check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking zinc, especially if you have health conditions, take medications, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or already use supplements containing zinc.
They can help you choose a product, dose, and duration that make sense for you. Too much zinc can cause nausea, and prolonged high doses can interfere with copper absorption. Zinc can also interact with certain medications, so this is one recommendation to make your own informed decision about.
7. Let your voice rest when it needs to
If your voice is hoarse, tired, or painful, my advice is to give it a break. Skip over any demanding singing and avoid speaking or shouting over noise.
Whispering isn’t necessarily gentler just because it’s quieter. A forced whisper can make the muscles around your voice box tighten, adding strain when you’re trying to rest. If you need to speak, keep it brief and use an clear, comfortable voice rather than pushing out a whisper.
If hoarseness persists, keeps returning, or speaking becomes effortful, contact a healthcare professional.
I want singers to enjoy making music for years to come. You don’t have to prove your commitment by singing through discomfort, whether you’re at choir, in the recording studio, or preparing to go on stage.
Sometimes, rest is the best practice.
Build Habits That Make Singing Feel Good
My advice is to keep it simple: water nearby, a humidifier when the air is dry, a patient warm-up, gentle exercises, and good technique.
Choose a few habits you can sustain. We’re built for joy, not perfection — and that applies to looking after your voice, too.
If you’d like some help finding more ease in your voice, we offer private voice lessons and welcoming adult pop choirs at Chorus Studio in Vancouver.
We’d love to help you enjoy your singing through the colder months and beyond. → Sing With Us
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