If you experience vocal fatigue from singing, there are several very common reasons why.
When singers experience vocal fatigue from singing it is usually the result of improper and/or inefficient breath support. If a singer does not have stable and consistent support for their sound, then the body will adapt by using other less efficient and often damaging ways of getting the sound out.
If you are singing correctly the voice should not tire with a normal amount of use. Singing should feel good. If it does not, then your body is giving you a signal that something is not right with the way you are producing the sound.
If you feel that your technique is solid but you are are still experiencing vocal fatigue, check the list below for other possible culprits.
Top 10 Most Common Causes Of Vocal Fatigue:
10. Unsupported Belting (which I define primarily as tensing and pushing too much chest voice too high up in your range)
9. Smoking and/or drinking alcoholic beverages
8. Periods of excessive and unsupported loud talking (for example spending time at a loud
party trying to have a conversation over the DJ)
7. Singing with a high larynx (which manifests most often as pushing the larynx up in
the throat to “help” the pitch rise and can create a lot of tension).
6. Tongue tension (primarily manifesting as a grabbing or bearing down by the base of the
tongue onto the larynx while singing to create the perception of a richer tone).
5. Singing without proper soft palate stretch.
4. Jaw tension while singing (which does not allow for the proper stretch of the soft palate).
3. Pushing too much breath pressure through the larynx.
2. Singing with the head/neck pushed forward (as though the singer were reaching for the
notes out/up in front of him).
1. Lack of stable diaphragmatic support for breath so the singer
ends up “supporting” their sound by other detrimental unintended means.
** A singer should NEVER fatigue after a voice lesson. I have heard singers say that past teachers have told them that their voice might get tired while adapting to a different singing technique. This is a red flag that the teacher is not properly educated. Proper vocal technique will never tire the voice. It should be considered a red flag to any student if their teacher does not take vocal fatigue seriously because it can lead to future vocal damage if not addressed.