One should / should not expect to sing soon after eating ___________
  • mmeladirectress
    Posts: 1,100
    I want to ask our Pastor if he might agree to offer some Saturday AM Mass for the choir, and join us for a brunch afterwards. Following that, we could have a 2 hr practice (with a break).

    I mentioned this to one of my singers, who was professionally trained, and she remarked that pizza is a major phlegm causer & should be off the menu if you want people to sing afterwards. Also milk.

    I am wondering, if anyone knows, what foods might be served? Or should definitely not be served?

    thanks!
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,093
    https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/do-dairy-foods-cause-mucus-production/
    Thanked by 1mmeladirectress
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,471
    Our choir director mentioned cream, and chocolate, especially chocolate.
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  • francis
    Posts: 10,827
    ah... just wash it down with wine... that'll clear it out

    very hot water right before singing
    Thanked by 4melofluent CHGiffen mmeladirectress Vilyanor
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,415
    .Avoid sweets like the plague
    .It is not optimal to sing on a full stomach
    .Avoid cold drinks - they constrict circulation of blood in the vocal apparatus
    .For best results chew on a lemon
    Thanked by 5mmeladirectress CHGiffen StimsonInRehab JulieColl Adam Wood
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,415
    A little elaboration on the above -

    Blood distribution is an important factor in the various activities of us humans -
    Anything more than very moderate eating before singing is detrimental to singing - if one wants really to sing.

    Food in the tummy naturally draws blood there for the digestive process - and in addition, away from the brain - which needs to be really sharp and focused for smart singing.

    For singing one wants that blood available to the brain and vocal faculties for the very demanding vocal and mental process of serious singing.

    Whether I am singing and/or directing chant or choral music, or giving an organ recital (or even engaged in serious practice) I would never have more than a morsel of food in my stomach.
    Thanked by 2mmeladirectress CHGiffen
  • Chris Garton-Zavesky
    Posts: 6,902
    To quote Chesterton,

    I don't care where the water goes, as long as it doesn't get into the wine
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  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    A little elaboration on the above


    .
  • francis
    Posts: 10,827
    a happy stomach can also contribute to overall well being which can contribute to less stress on the brain fingers eyes and feet, not to mention you have put fire in the furnace for maximum energy output. not sure i buy into the morsel philosophy. i also think age and overall health are factors.

    i have on occasion soaked my hands in a bowl of warm water before an organ concert. that can really limber up the digits.
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  • FidemInFidebusFidemInFidebus
    Posts: 611
    Coffee. Very drying and constricting, add in cream or whatever else and then you're junky and constricted at the same time. I never eat before singing and rarely right before performing on an instrument. It makes me instantly sluggish and tired.
    Thanked by 1mmeladirectress
  • CCoozeCCooze
    Posts: 1,259
    Maybe a 2-hour practice, followed by brunch, then? ;-)
    Thanked by 3M. Jackson Osborn mmeladirectress Priestboi
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,982
    Whiskey before rehearsal. You may not sound good but you won't care.
    Thanked by 4CCooze mmeladirectress JulieColl bhcordova
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,611
    Really, a rehearsal following brunch would hardly be an instance when singers must be on their best!
  • Bobby Bolin
    Posts: 420
    I had Buffalo wings before Mass once. That was a mistake.
  • mmeladirectress
    Posts: 1,100
    I can't ask for the Mass time to be moved. oh well.
  • ClergetKubiszClergetKubisz
    Posts: 1,912
    I have also found that it's better not to eat anything immediately before singing. Francesco Lamperti recommends at least an hour between eating and singing tasks.
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  • francis
    Posts: 10,827
    I should qualify that I was speaking mostly of playing the organ (above), and not so much about singing. I never sang solos, (and once in a while sing in Dr. K's choir and schola) but I did cantor often, and I find that hot water with lemon works well.

    Also, if you really want to get serious, use a syringe with warm salt water (the same temperature as your body) and flush your sinuses with that. I can sing a very high contra tenor after that treatment.
    Thanked by 1mmeladirectress
  • StimsonInRehabStimsonInRehab
    Posts: 1,933
    Well, if you're living off a regular musician's salary, you'll have plenty of opportunities to abstain from eating . . .
    Thanked by 3CharlesW CCooze PaxMelodious
  • mmeladirectress
    Posts: 1,100

    our average salary is 60 minutes an hour ;-)
    Thanked by 2StimsonInRehab CharlesW
  • bhcordovabhcordova
    Posts: 1,165
    .
  • CCoozeCCooze
    Posts: 1,259
    I mean, in all honesty, if I haven't eaten fairly recently before a rehearsal (especially a 2-3 hour one), I'm going to feel pretty crummy and probably a bit anxious to leave. This is true of both church choir and symphony chorus. I need to have eaten, and definitely need to have plenty of water at my disposal, to maintain the highest degree of focus and strength.

    So, a taco place probably wouldn't be good, because then you have to deal with chips in gums/throats. Pasta can make some people feel bloated, maybe. But it's most important simply to make sure they aren't going to be fainting after a Mass + 2-hour rehearsal.
    Thanked by 2mmeladirectress CHGiffen
  • CradleRevert
    Posts: 23
    Our schola master has stated that drinking milk before chanting actually helps his voice.
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    One should / should not expect to sing soon after eating ___________


    Pufferfish
  • mmeladirectress
    Posts: 1,100
    Melo - remind me not to come to your house for dinner on a Friday.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,827
    oh, i have had them... they are delicious and are a perfect hoursderve before singing Mozart.
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    oh, i have had them

    Not ze vey I cook zem, fwancees!
  • francis
    Posts: 10,827
    I caught them three at a time on my fishing line deep sea fishing back when I was a kid. We ate them that night and they were incredibly good.

    Melo, how doest thou cookest thy ferociously-teethed sea balloons?

    This was the variety we had eaten:

    https://www.nccoast.org/2013/04/our-coasts-food-the-chicken-of-the-sea/
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    https://youtu.be/oolJWcOhHCw
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,415
    How sad!
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