What's the best way to stop getting a sore throat when I sing a lot?

Question:

What's the best way to stop getting a sore throat when I sing a lot?

I mean, I'm not a great singer, but I enjoy it, and sometimes I want to sing for a long time, and I've found that my throat gets sore after a while- is there a way to build stamina for the throat, or do I have to accept what I was born with?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Easy answer. Find a good voice teacher and learn how to sing properly. That's the bottom line. Everyone is different and only a good voice teacher that can see and hear you will be able to correct whatever you are doing wrong.

Young singers, i.e., those that are still new to using a correct technique, shouldn't sing more than about 30-60 minutes a day until they figure out how to do things properly. So, untrained voices usually feel the impact after about 30-60 minutes of uninterrupted vocalization. You didn't say what constitutes "a long time", but if more than 60 minutes you're pretty normal.

If you still have a sore throat after learning to sing properly, you should look into physiological problems, allergies, atmosphere (humidity, altitude), diet, etc. Pet hair, pollen, dry weather, acidic foods, carbonated beverages, medicines, alcohol, calloused vocal chords, and spicy things can irritate or dehydrate the vocal chords making things even worse.

Also, you shouldn't be thinking about stamina for the throat. You need stamina for the diaphragmatic muscles that are necessary to properly support the voice. Your neck, or actually from the tip of your nose to just below the collar bone, should stay as relaxed as possible in order to avoid strain.