By Marquita Waters

What do Ariana Grande and Bon Jovi have in common?

What if I told you that the way you speak is damaging your voice?

I’ve heard them both speak in a hoarse voice in interviews.

So what does this have to do with singing? I’m going to show you that your speaking voice has a lot to do with whether you help or harm your singing voice.

Do you have problems singing? Do you lose your voice when singing or do you get tired quickly? Would you like to change the cause?

I had burst blood vessels, nodules, and a growth on my vocal cords (caused by doctors) that covered 40 percent of my airway.

I know what it feels like to lose your voice, but I also know what it feels like to get it back and have new strength.

It starts with your speaking voice.

When I was a teenager, about 16 or 17 years old, the newspapers said I was going to make it. I got a contract with the biggest agency, the William Morris Agency, and my career took off.

The problem was that my home life was really bad. My dad was my agent, manager and music teacher, which worked really well, but there was a lot of abuse and I took it out on my voice. I started straining when I sang. I would scream inside because I couldn’t defend myself. This took a toll on my voice and resulted in burst blood vessels. Somehow I got through it, moved out of home and slowly started a path of healing and health. However, I continued to strain myself by over-exerting my voice, not warming up and still having emotional problems.

I was hoarse most of the time and started speaking in a very low, throaty voice, similar to Ariana Grande and Bon Jovi’s voice during interviews.

Eventually I went to a doctor who told me I had nodules, which are benign tumors on my vocal cords, and he sent me to a voice therapist. I started changing a lot of things, and my speaking pitch was one of them.

I didn’t sing for eight months and the lumps disappeared. Surgery is not necessary, but patience is necessary. I was determined and it was worth it.

I already knew a lot, but when I started reading the books recommended by the therapist and applied this knowledge to my voice, I learned a different approach for chest and head voice and later also for the mix.

I paid more attention to my breathing and support and began to build strength and discipline. My speaking voice slowly changed from Bb2 to Bb3, the B below middle C.

That’s a difference of an octave. At first I thought the therapist was crazy. I was stubborn, so it took longer to achieve the change in my speaking. Normally it’s hard to raise the speaking voice because it feels strange to our ears and the way we usually speak. We singers have to deal with that in order to have a healthy voice.

We don’t realize how deep these throaty or harsh notes are unless we want to sing them and can barely or not at all sing them because they are so low.

In the recent interview being discussed, Ariana Grande raised her pitch to, according to her, protect her voice, but I would add that the harsh sound that was still there also needed to be addressed.

The same goes for Bon Jovi. In an interview I saw, he talked about his surgery to repair one side of his vocal cords, but while he was speaking, he wasn’t as articulate as he needed to be to protect the health of his vocal cords and voice. This wasn’t because of his surgery, but rather the placement of his pitches, his breathing, and the support of his sound.

A throaty sound when speaking does not sound fluent. It is difficult to hear and gets on the listener’s nerves, even if he is not aware of it, it is subconsciously irritating.

If you hear a throaty, rough, or gravelly sound when you speak, you should work on these four areas.

1. Pitch – The pitch at which you speak should be optimal for you. This is the pitch at which you produce the strongest sound with the least effort. If your voice is deep or scratchy, it is too low. This puts strain on the vocal cords through which you produce your sound.

The problem comes when you try to raise your pitch because you think it sounds weird. When my clients try to change the way they usually speak, they often say things like “that’s too high” or “I sound squeaky.” It feels like it’s in the stratosphere, even though it’s much lower than perceived. So be patient with yourself and keep working on raising your pitch.

2. Clarity – Your speech needs to be clear. You’re trying to save your voice and a clear tone does that. Your vocal cords come together to produce a sound, but if you speak too low and throaty, you irritate them. You want your muscles to be ready to sing and strong enough to sing your songs. If you speak too low and throaty, your voice will just break down.

3. Breathe – In tense situations, we forget to breathe. An interview can be tense, so watch out for situations where you tense your body and voice. This can cause your voice to deepen and have that harsh sound you want to avoid.

Negative or positive topics can affect your breathing. With negative topics, we tend to tense up, and with positive topics, we tend to rush. In both cases, your breathing can fly out the window, so to speak.

4. Support – When you breathe and then support while speaking, it flows. You don’t constrict the throat and your words don’t trail off. A common problem is the ends of sentences. The voice tends to drift too low. Your support will help you maintain a healthy sound throughout your speech.

Each of these points work together to prevent your speaking voice from affecting your singing voice and to ensure it has everything it needs to do a great job. Remember, you use the same muscles to speak and sing, so you don’t want to overwork them when speaking. You can sing great and with the right technique, but you need to apply the same discipline when speaking to maintain your overall voice.

You can do it and I am here to guide you on your singing journey until you sing freely and effortlessly.

Marquita Waters is a singer, voice teacher and author. She was signed to the William Morris Agency and major labels during the Frank Sinatra era. She has written a book, I don’t get tiredabout her life and singing and specializes in helping singers correct and avoid vocal strains so they can sing for life. For more information and a free 20-minute consultation, visit marquitawaters.com.