October’s Backstage Pass
THE VOICECONNECTION
Welcome to October! The weather is getting a little cooler, the air is becoming crisper, and before long many of us will be turning on the heat. This is a good time to start wearing a scarf when you’re outside, sipping more hot water, and paying closer attention to how the changing temperature and drier air affect your voice.
A few simple adjustments can help keep your throat comfortable and your voice on point as we move deeper into fall. So, grab a mug of hot water, wrap up that neck, and let’s jump into this month’s vocal hack.
This Month’s Vocal Hack
The Gargle & Slurp
Hydration is a much bigger subject than simply telling a singer to drink more water. Your personal needs depend on your body, activity level, environment, health, and several other factors. We will dig deeper into all of that in next month’s issue. For now, I want to give you a quick hydration hack that I call the Gargle & Slurp.
Take a generous sip of water, tilt your head back, and gargle for several seconds. This allows the water to reach and refresh the back of the throat and pharyngeal wall instead of immediately swallowing it. Then bring your head forward, lower your chin toward your chest, inhale on a large slurping sip, and after your lungs are full swallow normally. Do not deliberately inhale liquid into your airway. The slurping allows the humidified air to reach your vocal cords.
The Gargle & Slurp does not replace staying hydrated throughout the day, but it can give your mouth and throat a quick refresh when they feel dry. Try it before you begin warming up, between songs, or anytime your throat starts feeling parched. Next month, we’ll go deeper into the difference between drinking water, surface hydration, steam, and nebulization, because they do not all affect the voice in exactly the same way.
Where’s Jaime?
Last month, I told you that Vocal Strength Trainer was on the way. Well, it is finally here! The iOS version is now available, and the Android version is coming soon. This is much more than another collection of warmup scales. It includes breathing exercises, my ISO exercises, guided training sessions, practice and water trackers, pitch tools, a metronome, a scale builder, song importing, vocal effects, audio and video recording, and even a glass-shattering pitch challenge. Visit VocalStrengthTrainer.com to check it out. Don’t just practice. Train.
PS- We have other apps coming too, including Vocal StompBox, Auto Comper, and Song Mapper. I’ll tell you more as we release them each.
Beyond the app launch, I am currently neck-deep in updates. I have been working through my entire book catalog, revising descriptions, researching stronger keywords, and updating categories through both my printing company and Amazon KDP. It is definitely not a quick or easy task, especially when you have personally written and released 60 books!
The funny part is that many of my students do not even realize I am an author. They know me as a Vocal Strength Trainer, but they have no idea just how many books I’ve written on singing, songwriting, creativity, mindset, and performance. I suppose that means I need to start promoting that side of what I do a little more. Ha ha!
Now Playing
Now that our VSE cover of Ed Sheeran’s “I See Fire” is officially out and singers like Tony Harnell (TNT) and Josie Scott (Saliva) have told me how amazing they think the song sounds, it has given me the fire to start releasing more music, both covers and originals. So, I recently created a Jaime Vendera playlist on Spotify that brings together all my previously released songs from my various band projects. There are only six tracks on it so far, featuring music from VSE, Vendera & Stith, and Angel Fire East, but that number is about to grow.
This month, I will be adding two songs from another one of my projects, Time Stamped, another cover band project. I’m also currently recording several other songs that I plan to release in the future. After spending so many years fighting to get my voice back after that freak glass-shattering accident in Tokyo, it feels great to be creating and releasing music again. I’ll keep you updated as new songs become available!
Fresh Off the Press
I’m currently working on a new book called Voice Rescue. The manuscript is complete and is now going through the editing process. This book is for those moments when your voice is struggling, the gig is approaching, and you desperately cannot or do not want to cancel. It gives you a straightforward plan for responding quickly, protecting what you still have, and making an honest decision about whether and how you should perform.
I’ve discussed many of these ideas throughout several of my other books, but Voice Rescue brings everything together in one concise, quick-reference guide. There are no lengthy detours or any unnecessary filler. It gets directly to what you need to know when your voice is in trouble and time is running out. I’ll share more information as we get closer to the release.
On another note, I’ve also finished two harmony books that are part of the Organic Songwriting Series. You might already own Super Simple Songwriting or Lyric Lab. These next two installments will teach you how to score harmonies and record them as well as how to sing and blend in a live gig situation. Those books are due out in 2027. Before then we have to release Voice Rescue AND one other little book I’m writing for recording artists who experience performance anxiety every time they hit the “record” button. I’ll share more next month:)
This Month’s Deal
If you missed the 20% DOCTORVOX discount offered in September’s newsletter, I have some good news. I’ve talked my team into keeping the discount code active for my subscribers. However, they made me meet in the middle, which means Voice Connection subscribers can still receive 10% off their orders at DoctorVox.shop.
Simply enter the code THEVOICECONNECTION at checkout to receive your discount. I am also working on something special for Black Friday, so keep an eye on next month’s issue for an even bigger offer!
Upcoming Events
If you follow DoctorVoxVocalShop on TikTok, stay tuned for my upcoming TikTok Lives. These live sessions give me an opportunity to connect with singers, answer questions, demonstrate vocal techniques, and talk about how I use DOCTORVOX in real-world training and recovery. In fact, I did my first TikTok live yesterday for an hour. It was a blast!!!
Also, if you are already on the DOCTORVOX mailing list, keep an eye on your inbox for information about our monthly Zoom session. These sessions are open to every VOX owner, and the access details will be shared through the DOCTORVOX mailing list. I hope to see you at one of our upcoming live sessions!
Off the Record
I’ve been having an absolute blast designing T-shirts with RockAndRoadie.com. It has become another creative outlet for me, giving me a chance to turn the wonderfully strange world of rock music, singers, roadies, glass-shattering, and inside jokes into shirts that probably should not exist, but absolutely need to. We plan tpo start5 a video series that I will share on my Socials, so you can see all the new shirt designs. There are already several on the website, so check them out. And if you buy one, I need a picture of you in it…or it didn’t happen;)
That’s all for this edition:)
See you next month,
Jaime Vendera
