Hi Olivia,

A little lemon juice in water helps keep the vocal apparatus clean without drying it out. Clearing your throat with a noise, as in "ahem" especially if it a raspy noise, can irritate your throat and even do damage to your voice. Instead, simply swallow. Avoid eating dairy products for a few hours before singing, they cause the production of phlegm. Overall, make sure you drink a lot of water. For extreme cases, some folks use Mucinex, which is an expectorant sold over the counter, I do not recommend this because there are side effects to it, I would only use it with a doctor's recommendation.

Mike

You've got to know your limitations. I don't know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there weren't too many limitations, if I did it my way. -Johnny Cash

It's only music.
-niteshift

Mike Dunbar Music