The Singer’s Toolkit
Fifty years of performing teaches you one thing above everything else: your instrument is your body. No instrument in the world demands more care, more discipline, and more daily attention than the human voice.
I have performed over 4,000 shows across five decades. I have sung in Jamaica, Japan, North America, the Caribbean, and on stages I never imagined when I was a young girl growing up in Kingston. I have learned what works and what fails when your voice is the only thing standing between you and a room full of people who came to be moved.
Everything on this page is something I believe in personally. These are the tools and remedies that have kept my voice strong, my recordings clear, and my performances consistent across a career that spans generations. I recommend nothing I would not use myself.
Voice Health
Take care of your instrument first. Everything else follows from a healthy, protected, well-rested voice.
This is the first thing I reach for before any performance and the last thing I drink at night when my voice has been working hard. Throat Coat Tea is a blend of slippery elm, licorice root, and marshmallow root that coats and soothes the throat from the inside. It does not numb the way sprays can. It calms, protects, and restores. I have been drinking it for years. If you are serious about your voice, this belongs in your kitchen permanently.
Steam is one of the most powerful tools a singer has. When my voice feels tight, strained, or dry, ten minutes with a personal steam inhaler makes a measurable difference. The Mabis inhaler delivers warm, moist steam directly to the vocal folds, relieving inflammation and restoring moisture. I use it before long rehearsals, after a difficult performance, and any time the air is particularly dry. It is small, effective, and worth every penny.
For serious vocal care, the PARI Trek S Portable Nebulizer is a professional-grade tool that delivers saline mist directly into the respiratory tract. This is what I turn to when my voice needs deeper hydration than a steam inhaler alone can provide. It is battery-operated, quiet, and designed for travel, which means it goes with me on the road. If you are a working singer, teacher, or anyone who depends on their voice professionally, this is an investment in your livelihood.
Slippery elm has been used for centuries to soothe irritated throats. In lozenge form it is portable, discreet, and effective. I carry Slippery Elm Lozenges in my bag at all times. Between sets, during soundcheck, on a long flight to a performance, these keep the throat calm and coated without the numbing effect of menthol that can mask problems you need to feel. They are gentle, natural, and consistently reliable.
A singer’s vocal health begins in the nasal passages. Dry, congested sinuses affect resonance, tone, and comfort during performance. A simple saline nasal spray keeps those passages clear and hydrated naturally, without medication, without dependency. I use it morning and evening, especially in winter or during long flights when cabin air is brutally dry. It is inexpensive, safe, and something every singer should have within reach.
Some remedies endure because they work. Honey and lemon is one of them. Honey coats and protects the throat with natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Lemon cuts through mucus and provides vitamin C. Together in warm water they form the simplest, most effective vocal remedy I know. My mother knows it. Her mother knew it. I have sung through many challenging moments with this as my first line of defence. Keep quality honey in your kitchen always.
Studio Setup
Once your voice is healthy and ready, these are the tools that ensure your sound reaches the world with the quality it deserves.
Dry air is the enemy of every singer. Whether you are recording at home or performing on the road, a travel humidifier in your space makes a genuine difference to vocal comfort and endurance. I keep one running in any room where I am recording or rehearsing for extended periods. It is particularly essential in winter months when central heating strips every trace of moisture from the air. Small enough to pack, powerful enough to matter.
Every video you record is a representation of your brand. Lighting is the single most important investment you can make in video quality after the camera itself. A good ring light eliminates unflattering shadows, creates even, beautiful illumination, and makes your face the focal point of every frame. I use one for every video session. The difference between a well-lit and poorly lit video is the difference between professional and amateur, regardless of what camera you are using.
Shaky footage undermines even the best vocal performance on screen. A phone tripod solves this completely. It gives you stable framing, consistent positioning, and the freedom to perform rather than hold a device. Most singers today record high-quality content on their phones. A tripod is the difference between footage that looks considered and footage that looks accidental. This is one of the most affordable and highest-impact additions to any singer’s home studio.
Your voice deserves to be captured with clarity and warmth. Built-in laptop and phone microphones compress and flatten the very qualities that make a trained voice extraordinary. A USB condenser microphone plugs directly into your computer with no additional equipment, and immediately captures the full, rich, detailed sound of your voice. For demos, social media videos, voice notes, and home recordings, this is the tool that closes the gap between what you sound like in the room and what reaches your audience.
A pop filter is the small circular screen that sits between your mouth and your microphone, and it solves a problem that has derailed countless recordings. Plosive sounds, the hard P and B consonants that burst air directly into the capsule, create a distortion that no amount of editing fully corrects. A pop filter eliminates them entirely. It is inexpensive, it clips onto any microphone stand, and it is non-negotiable in any serious recording setup. Do not record without one.
You cannot mix or monitor what you cannot hear accurately. Consumer headphones colour the sound in ways that make your recordings sound better than they are. Studio headphones are designed to give you a flat, honest representation of exactly what is being captured. When you record and listen back through studio headphones, you hear the truth. That truth helps you perform better, edit with confidence, and deliver recordings that translate well on every system your listeners use.
No professional singer records or performs cold. A structured vocal warm up book gives you exercises designed by vocal professionals to prepare the voice safely, extend range gradually, and build the muscle memory that makes great singing feel effortless rather than forced. I have been warming up systematically for fifty years. It is not optional, it is not something you do only when you have time. It is the difference between singing that sounds laboured and singing that soars from the first note.
I built this page because singers ask me constantly what I use, what I trust, and what has kept my voice strong across fifty years of performing. The answer is never one thing. It is a combination of daily discipline, consistent hydration, honest rest, and the right tools used properly and regularly.
Your voice is your gift. Protect it like the extraordinary instrument it is.
Every product on this page is available through Amazon. If you purchase through any link here, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. That commission helps me continue creating music, content, and resources for singers around the world.
Now please go warm up and serve vocals!