Effective Vocal Warm-ups For Singers and Vocalists

Picture this. You are attending a concert featuring your favorite singer. The show is going well and now the singer is performing your favorite song. You're admiring the ease with which the singer goes from low to high notes when all of a sudden something goes wrong. The voice cracks and the beautiful tone is destroyed. The singer has trouble recovering and you feel embarrassed for the singing star.

Has this happened to you? Could this vocal strain have been prevented? Absolutely. Preparing the voice before singing with a program of correct warm-ups is the best insurance policy against vocal misshaps.

All vocal warm-ups do not fit every singer. The exercise must be designed to help the vocalist over come and correct a problem as well as bring warmth and flexibilty to the voice .

One of the biggest mistake singers make is the way they warm up their voices. I have seen this happen for 35 years with vocalists from all genres and styles. Singers who sing for a living absolutely must warm up their voices properly. The success of the show or recording session depends on what type of warm-ups are used.

Therefore, the best step you can take is to learn what The Most Effective Warm-ups for Singers and Vocalists are and make it a habit to always warm up your voice.

• While there may be certain vocal warm-ups which work for just about any singer, this is certainly not the case for all warm-ups. And another thing to consider is the way each warm-up is sung. This is a highly important consideration to maintaining good vocal health,
• I have decided to share some of the warm-ups my own students use. Keep in mind the importance of discipline. Repetition is the mother of learning. So sing through vocal excercises several times each day.
• Do not sabatoge your singing by consuming dairy products, caffeine or ice cold water or drinks.
• Be sure to warm up your body before doing vocal warm-ups. The entire body is your vocal instrument and it must be free of all tension, particularly in the shoulder, face and tongue areas. Watch your posture and stand up straight with the body weight balanced on the balls of the feet (not the heels.) This will help in keeping the spine straight.
• The neck is a critical area for singers.Not only does it house the spinal cord, nerves, blood vessels and our vocal mechanism, it also supports out head which weighs an average of 20 pounds.
• I am often asked, "What do I do with my arms?" My answer is to simply allow them to hang loosely at your sides with your fingertips lightly touching your upper thighs. Remember that when it comes to your arms, less is more.
• We don't always stand when we sing so it's important to know how to sit properly. Sit in such a way that your back is supporting you. When singing in a choir, switch your position from one posture to another every 10 to 15 minutes. This will keep your back from becoming fatigued.
• Another tip that has worked well for me is to tighten your buns when standing. This will strengthen your abs and the lower back muscles.
• Your feet should be planted on the floor about shoulder's width apart and the knees unlocked (slightly bent.)
• Always use diaphragmatic breathing and sip on room temperature water during singing.

Now, if you're ready to begin...let's go.

1. The Lip Trill or Bubble - A warm-up to reduce tension in the lips. The lips form the vowels as you sing. Any degree of tension in the lip area will produce some tension in the tone.

Imagine that you are swimming under water. As you blow out the water there will be a brbrbrbr sound as the lips vibrate naturally and easily.

Begin with a short lip trill, supported by air from the belly. Repeat the trill 4-5 times and extend the duration a litlle longer with each trill. Try not to not purse the lips. Simply pretend that you are blowing bubbles under the water. If you find this difficult to do, it is a sign that your lips carry too much tension.

2. The tongue trill. If you can "roll" your r's you can do the tongue trill.

To execute the tongue trill, try flapping your tongue against the roof of the mouth (the hard palate.) You can also try purring like a cat. Hold the sound steady and keep the breath connected.

3. Once you have learned the trills, practice them on a full scale. Support the trills with plenty of air.

Watch the video below to see how this is done.

Humming is an excellent beginning warm-up because it stretches the vocal cords like a runner stretches the legs. A couple of things to keep in mind as you hum are:

• Keep the lips loose and relaxed. Avoid pressing them together. You want to feel the vibrations occurring in the lips as you hum.
• Open the mouth as if you are singing the vowel "ah". Then slowly bring the lips to a gentle close for the humming position. This will keep the space open inside the mouth to provide resonance as you hum.
• Follow the notation in the picture below as you hum. You are humming the C Major scale. Modulate in half steps when repeating the scale. Do not sing higher than is absolutely comfortable and easy. This rule applies to all exercises.

The open vowels for singing are Ah, Eh, Ee, Oh, Oo. Mouth position is crucial to fine singing. This is a whole other lesson which I will write about later. For now, concentrate on the Ah vowel position by dropping the jaw to project your sound. Maintain a nice "2 finger space"between the top teeth and the bottom teeth.

• Begin with the Ee vowel and sing on a comfortable but energetic tone, sustaining the tone for 5 seconds. Using good breath support, repeat and hold for 10 seconds. Be sure to keep the open mouth position the entire time.
• Repeat the exercise on a different tone.
• Now repeat this same exercise using Oo, then Oh, Eh and finally Ah.
• Using the photo above, sing these vowels in any order you like. You will be stretching your voice and increasing your range as you warm up.
• When you are finished, you will be ready to use the arpeggio warm-up shown below.

An entire book can be written about vocal warm-ups alone. There are hundreds of exercises available. Some are right for a particular singer while another can be all wrong. Singing the wrong warm-ups can even be damaging to the voice. This is why I always recommend seeking a qualified vocal teacher.

Children must be given careful, light exercises and not adult warm-ups. And young men going through puberty is another whole dimension of vocal training and must be left to the highly skilled instruction of an expert. I sometimes recommend that boys this age should not sing at all until they are through puberty.

Effective vocal warm-ups for singers and vocalists should be around 10-20 minutes at each session. I hope you enjoy these introductory exercises.

The most important thing you need to be a singer is a desire to sing. You may encounter obstacles. Keep singing anyhow and let your desire fuel your discipline. Follow your dream.