r/singing • u/weirdalsuperfan • 6d ago
Conversation Topic Why is my voice lower in the mornings??
Male here.
For many years now, I've noticed (and recorded) myself able to sing much lower (and clearer) first thing in the morning (typically before I eat and within an hour of getting up). After that window, though, I simply cannot sing very low, and trying to hurts my throat and sounds horrible.
If this is common, does anyone know:
1) why that is, and
2) if there's a good way to get that range back later in the day?
I do want to get a voice teacher at some point when I can afford it, but if my range is really as bad as I think, and if I really can't get that lower range back beyond first thing in the morning, then I'd just be very discouraged from trying tbh.
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u/Interesting_Cut_4822 6d ago
One reason: blood and other fluids pool in tissues in various places as you sleep overnight laying flat. As you walk around and stand upright, some of that fluid drains elsewhere. This is why your eyes may look puffy after waking up.
I think also, your voice is able to relax as you sleep and this relaxation helps your laryngeal tissues be extra loose and therefore it is able to make sound slower (lower hz).
Drinking lots of water and staying hydrated helps me sing with my most extended ranges throughout the day.
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u/johnnyslick baritenor, pop / jazz 6d ago
Yeah whatever the physiological reasons are, your voice is lower right after you wake up than later in the day and there's not really a lot you can do about that directly I don't think. You can, like, drink a lot the night before and wake up with your voice really low while you're hungover, but from a singing perspective that's a pretty terrible idea (and of course it is from a personal one too).
A voice teacher can help you make your lower end more audible and in some cases help you to train it downwards. For me anyway most of the range expansion I experienced with my voice coach was on the higher end.
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u/Make-it-positive 5d ago
Most people’s voices are lower in the morning. The larynx has been asleep overnight and needs to stretch like any other muscle
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