As singers we must take responsibility for how we use our voices.  We must get to know what works and what doesn't work for us. 

Get your body and your mind in good shape
Late night drinking, smoking, STRESS, LACK OF SLEEP, poor diet, lack of exercise will all have a detrimental effect on the voice. Get into better routines.

Hydration
The vocal folds must be kept well hydrated. Sip water throughout the day and steam your voice (head over a bowl of hot water).

Warming up and cooling down
Warm up before singing and cool down after.  This only takes approximately 5-10minutes.  I can lead you through a routine in our sessions (sirens, fricatives, bubbles/trills are common exercises).  Cooling down the voice is often overlooked by singers but it's important to help the voice relax back to it's neutral resting position after singing. 

Effort in the larynx
It's important that you monitor your effort levels (how hard your voice is working) when singing.  I can show you how to do this simply.  The voice should always feel comfortable whether you are screaming or humming.  Good posture, active bodywork and efficient breath control will effect this feeling of effort in the larynx.  These techniques are essential for healthy singing and can take a while to master.

Vocal rest
Singers should take every opportunity to rest their voices; at gigs (before, after and in breaks), in breaks at recording sessions, even in the non singing sections of songs.  Make use of this time to focus on relaxing the voice and the breathing, don't hold onto tension.  Get to know how long your voice is comfortable singing for. Healthy singing requires energy, if you're feeling physically tired/unwell or emotionally upset give yourself a break.

Things to avoid
Avoid; coughing/throat clearing (try to sip water instead), whispering, extended voice use against loud noise or without rest, yelling without technique or for long periods, constricted or excessively breathy tone, avoid aggressive glottal onsets/attacks, overbreathing.

Singing should always feel comfortable and should not leave your hoarse
If you experience ‘……ANY change in voice quality (hoarseness, roughness, and breathiness), any pain or discomfort that develops during speaking or singing, and any vocal fatigue, (where the voice tires and fades), that fails to resolve after two weeks should be reported to your GP and investigated……’ Sara Harris (british-voice-association.com)

Link to acid reflux info.
http://www.ent-consult.com/loedingger.html

Tips for playing live;

*Make sure you can hear yourself:
Ensure your audio monitoring/amplification is good. In ear monitoring may be useful.

*Prepare:

Know the sensation of your voice working comfortably prior to touring/gigging. Be aware of the volume, effort levels and techniques necessary to perform your material and stick to them on stage. Don't allow inexperienced band members or poor sound engineers to encourage you to oversing. And don't allow yourself to strain/push/work harder/louder than usual just because you're in a big space or infront of an audience. You may need to work on techniques to improve your volume with a vocal coach before your tour. Tour preparation takes time.

*Belt/choosing song keys
Belting should be kept for 'the money notes'.  Freddie Mercury would sing four high C's a night rather than four high Cs per song, like his recordings, the audience didn't mind!