My Biggest Challenge:

"I

always find warming up the hardest — and I’m not talking about the London weather. I’m often a baal tefillah for Shacharis, early in the morning, when the last thing I feel like is belting out a full-throated niggun. So I’ve developed a sort of voice warming-up ritual, which I’d recommend to anyone whose work involves a lot of talking. Running around the house (or hotel room), crazy as it seems, up and down stairs, around the kitchen table, or even jogging on the spot, wakes you up, gets the heart rate going, and opens up the voice. When I performed in concert with Avraham Fried we even went on a jog together backstage.

“Water is good, too, but not ordinary tap water. It must be warm or, preferably, steaming — a blissful sauna for the voice. I’m always explaining that food and water don’t touch the vocal cords — the only element that touches them is warm steam. It reduces inflammation, soothes the vocals, and prepares the body for singing. Yes, the body — because it isn’t just the voice that sings, any more than an actor simply stands still and recites words. Actors act with every muscle in their body, and that’s how good singers sing, too.

“It’s nerves that freeze the vocal cords, make them tense and anxious. But how do you make yourself less nervous? I wish I knew. What I try to do is throw those nerves into my singing. That gives it the real feel, the feeling of being human, powerful, and vulnerable, too.” (Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 721)