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Smoking weed and singing

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Frozenaddict

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Mar 10, 2015
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Ok does anyone else have this problem? When i smoke weed my voice gets significantly less powerful, and less easy to control. Does anyone else get this? Its weird, its not like i'm getting confused in the sense that im still able to play guitar or piano fine, maybe even a little better. But with singing my throat seems to lose much of its power and precision. Does this happen to anyone else? My guess would be that there is some kind of cannabinoid receptor presence in the larynx or on the vocal chord muscles, but yet i hear all the time about musicians who are able to smoke and sing a gig - man i wish i could do that! As far as i can tell, cannabinoids directly impair my voice :/
 
The herb croaks my voice too m8. But some singers adapt. Nothing abnormal about it.
 
Funny kinda off-topic comment is when I smoke I suddenly think I'm the next winner of American Idol. Needless to say I can't sing at all.. rofl Anyways to answer your initial question. No that doesn't happen to me.
 
Frozenaddict said:
Ok does anyone else have this problem? When i smoke weed my voice gets significantly less powerful, and less easy to control. Does anyone else get this? Its weird, its not like i'm getting confused in the sense that im still able to play guitar or piano fine, maybe even a little better. But with singing my throat seems to lose much of its power and precision. Does this happen to anyone else? My guess would be that there is some kind of cannabinoid receptor presence in the larynx or on the vocal chord muscles, but yet i hear all the time about musicians who are able to smoke and sing a gig - man i wish i could do that! As far as i can tell, cannabinoids directly impair my voice :/
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Finally some musicians on BL!!!!

This is a question I have been asking myself for literally years now. I've been a musician for years(10+) and a singer for at least half of that time, seriously pursued at least. As a singer there are so many possible things happening, but I don't think that it is something like cannabinoid receptors in the back of the throat... I'm not sure how much vocal theory you have looked into, but much of what makes great singers great is their ability to keep their throat soft pallet(top back of throat/mouth) raised, larynx(lower part of throat) lowered, while keeping their voice box(vocal chords) free/loose/relaxed, AND as if that wasn't enough- unlike most other instruments it is not enough to just hit a note in key- The singer must sustain the volume AND pitch using muscles in the neck, again ALL while staying relaxed. Have I even begun to touch upon vowel pronunciation, lyrical content, melody, and how those three things interact within the singers throat determining much of their sound.........?

Long story short, singing is one of the hardest instruments to learn. I play drums, guitar, a little piano, but more voice than piano. It requires daily practice and dedication. Why can some smoke before singing and others can't? Well, for me that is a rather complex question. Some of the best singers(my favorites at least) I have heard say that they don't smoke before performances because it messes them up. Others might say they "need" to smoke. Chances are, if you are a singer and you can get stoned before a show then in all likelihood the difficulty of your performance is not very challenging to that singer, mind or body- meaning if they say smoking tons of weed doesn't effect their voice then chances are they are some folk singer who will never leave his chest voice and start belting out and sustaining mixed register notes(something that takes years of practice to really do right).

I try to practice voice daily, before smoking if I can help myself. On days that I don't smoke I notice drastic improvements in vocal pitch and control. I think it just has to do with the nature of being stoned or sober. well that and inhaling hot harsh smoke before a performance probably won't help.

EDIT: Also, I'd like to add something I just noticed today. I did about 2 hours of vocal warm-up and routines(scales, vowels, etc) and really made some progress. Voice felt very relaxed, open, and free. Was belting notes with much less strain than usual, felt very free. Then I did a work out and blazed a small bowl after and I think just the inhaling of hot, harsh smoke is enough to throw any singer off. The body naturally produces mucous in the throat to protect itself. Mucous and flem are not good friends of singers, even the raspiest of singers... It's like trying to play guitar with weights on your fingers.
 
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Im not a singer, but in all honesty.. I'm pretty sure any vocal strain you are having is from inflamation and irritation from the smoke itself rather than the effects of the MJ
I even have a hard time talking sometimes after I smoke. Since I've switched to a vaporizer, I don't get sore sore lungs/throat like I used to
 
I don't sing either but but but but I do recall reading that there have been singers in recent history that made it a point to smoke a single cigarette before every performance.

Dude also had some kind of OCD and had a few other, much less normal pre-show rituals, too. Lemme see if I can figure out exactly who that fucker was...
 
Hey Frozenaddict .... send me some samples of your vocal before and after smoking weed. I would like to listen them )))
 
Jibult said:
I don't sing either but but but but I do recall reading that there have been singers in recent history that made it a point to smoke a single cigarette before every performance.

Actually its the other way around. No one is smoking a cigarette before the concert or the performance! The smoke will disable and limit your ability to sing and the capacity of your lungs , tireing your voice , short of breath
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musicinmyveins said:
Jibult said:
I don't sing either but but but but I do recall reading that there have been singers in recent history that made it a point to smoke a single cigarette before every performance.

Actually its the other way around. No one is smoking a cigarette before the concert or the performance! The smoke will disable and limit your ability to sing and the capacity of your lungs , tireing your voice , short of breath
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Actually, no, I'm quite accurate. There have been performers that demand cigarettes (or access to tobacco at the very least) before shows.

It's not far-fetched. All you have to do is google "singers who smoke cigarettes."

Regarding the post of mine you quoted, though, I still remember reading about that guy. I want to say the guy I was referring to was a late 1800's-early1900's performer that had some really quirky pre-show rituals. I'm having trouble finding the article (still looking, though) but I remember he was thought to have had some kind of mommy issues that went hand-in-hand with some verified mental disorder, and a small part of his ritual was to smoke exactly half a cigarette, gargle a 12oz glass of water and... and.... something to do with a single white glove. As I'm typing it out, I want to say there was a piano involved. Like, I'm 70% sure the dude was on stage with a piano.

I wasn't trying to advocate it or even say singers should smoke, was just bustin' out a little trivia. Fuck, I wish someone would've asked me about that 2 years ago when I posted the shit. :(
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Some singers believe smoking adds rasp to their voice.

It's clear that it doesn't disable a person from performing, but I think singing style would have a lot to do with whether someone smokes before a show. Also, a lot of people, musicians included, use nicotine or other substances as a way to manage anxiety or nerves.

Most musicians that I know who smoke, drink, or use other drugs know there is a relatively fine line between being "in the zone" and sloppy. There are quite a few very well known and famous musicians who use very heavily and IMO you can see how heavy use starts to inhibit their ability and they become visibly intoxicated on stage. Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Amy Whinehouse are some of the more famous names that come to mind.
 
Mafioso said:
Some singers believe smoking adds rasp to their voice.

It's clear that it doesn't disable a person from performing, but I think singing style would have a lot to do with whether someone smokes before a show. Also, a lot of people, musicians included, use nicotine or other substances as a way to manage anxiety or nerves.

Most musicians that I know who smoke, drink, or use other drugs know there is a relatively fine line between being "in the zone" and sloppy. There are quite a few very well known and famous musicians who use very heavily and IMO you can see how heavy use starts to inhibit their ability and they become visibly intoxicated on stage. Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Amy Whinehouse are some of the more famous names that come to mind.
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I have heard about Nicotine as well, even though the smoke seems to harm their vocals, apparently it has a secondary effect. I saw Cobain’s and Whinehouse’s documentaries. They were both completely out of the zone, although K. Cobain’s voice seemed pretty awesome at times. I suppose with practice they should know what’s good for their performance, but Cobain didn’t seem to care at all.

When I first started to follow some of Kurt Cobain’s songs and the way he dealt with the public, himself and the press I had this feeling he wasn’t going to make it. But with Amy Whinehouse, it was the opposite as she had hit rock bottom too fast and I thought someone would have interfered on time. I imagined her as one of these ‘sobered up’ artists.
 
I'd say it depends whether you mix it with tobacco or not

I've been mixing mine with a mull mix, and my voice is still loud as when I sing

I get baked and sing like nobody is around :)
 
Good for you! I guess you have to find your balance, see what it works.
 
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