As a singer, your voice is your most precious instrument. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional, it is essential to take care of your voice and warm it up before singing. Vocal warm-up exercises can help you improve your vocal range, tone, and stamina, and reduce the risk of vocal damage. In this article, we will guide you through some of the best vocal warm up exercises that you can do before singing.
Why Warm Up Your Voice?
Warming up your voice is crucial before singing because it prepares your vocal cords and muscles for the demands of singing. Just like an athlete warms up before a game, a singer needs to warm up their voice before performing. Vocal warm-up exercises help to:
- Improve vocal range and flexibility
- Strengthen vocal muscles
- Increase breath control
- Improve vocal tone and clarity
- Reduce the risk of vocal damage and strain
- Breathing Exercises
- Lip Trills
- Humming Exercises
- Tongue Twisters
- Scale Exercises
- Yawning Exercises
- Jaw and Mouth Stretches
- Neck and Shoulder Stretches
- Facial Exercises
- Chest Voice and Head Voice Exercises
- Siren Exercises
- Vibrato Exercises
- Phonation Exercises
- Articulation Exercises
- Vocal Fry Exercises
- Breathing Exercises:
Good singing technique is built on breathing exercises. They assist your voice and aid with breath control. You might attempt the following easy breathing exercise:
Breathe in slowly and deeply via your nose, allowing air to enter your lungs.
You briefly hold your breath.
Push all the air from your lungs out of your mouth as you gently exhale.
Repeat this exercise many times, concentrating on letting all the air out of your lungs and doing it gently and evenly.
- Lip Trills:
Lip trills are a fun and effective way to warm up your voice. They help to loosen up your lips and tongue, and encourage proper breath control. Here is how to do lip trills:
Pucker your lips together, as if you were going to whistle
Blow air through your lips, making a buzzing sound
Move up and down your vocal range while continuing to make the buzzing sound
Repeat this exercise for several minutes, focusing on keeping the sound steady and even.
- Humming Exercises:
Humming exercises are another excellent way to warm up your voice. They help to reduce tension in your vocal cords and improve your resonance. Here is a humming exercise you can try:
Close your mouth and hum a note
Move up and down your vocal range while continuing to hum
Repeat this exercise for several minutes, focusing on keeping the sound even and relaxed.
- Tongue Twisters:
Tongue twisters are a fun way to warm up your voice and improve your articulation. They help to loosen up your tongue and jaw muscles, and improve your diction. Here is a tongue twister you can try:
She sells seashells by the seashore
The shells she sells are surely seashells
So if she sells shells on the seashore
I'm sure she sells seashore shells
Repeat this tongue twister several times, focusing on saying the words clearly and evenly.
- Scale Exercises:
Scale exercises are a classic warm-up exercise for singers. They help to improve your vocal range and flexibility, and encourage proper breath control. Here is a simple scale exercise you can try:
down your vocal range, starting from the lowest note you can comfortably sing and ending on the highest note you can comfortably sing
Repeat this exercise several times, focusing on keeping your breath steady and your voice even.
- Yawning Exercises:
Yawning exercises are a great way to warm up your voice and relax your vocal cords. They help to reduce tension and improve your resonance. Here is how to do a yawning exercise:
Take a deep breath in through your nose
Yawn, making an "ahh" sound
Hold the sound for a few seconds, then release it
Repeat this exercise several times, focusing on relaxing your vocal cords and letting the sound resonate in your mouth and throat.
- Jaw and Mouth Stretches:
Jaw and mouth stretches are important for singers because they help to loosen up your facial muscles and improve your diction. Here are some jaw and mouth stretches you can try:
Open your mouth as wide as you can, then close it slowly
Move your jaw from side to side
Stick out your tongue as far as you can, then pull it back in
Repeat these Vocal Warm Up Exercises several times, focusing on relaxing your facial muscles and improving your range of motion.
- Neck and Shoulder Stretches:
Neck and shoulder stretches are important for singers because they help to reduce tension and improve your posture. Here are some neck and shoulder stretches you can try:
Roll your shoulders forward and backward
Tilt your head to the left, then to the right
Gently stretch your neck by pulling your head to one side with your hand
Repeat these stretches several times, focusing on relaxing your neck and shoulders and improving your posture.
- Facial Exercises:
Facial exercises can help to improve your resonance and strengthen your facial muscles. Here are some facial exercises you can try:
Smile as wide as you can, then relax your face
Puff out your cheeks, then release the air slowly
Scrunch up your face, then relax your face
Repeat these exercises several times, focusing on strengthening your facial muscles and improving your resonance.
- Chest Voice and Head Voice Exercises:
Chest voice and head voice exercises can help to improve your vocal range and flexibility. Here are some chest voice and head voice exercises you can try:
Sing a low note in your chest voice, then transition to a high note in your head voice
Sing a high note in your head voice, then transition to a low note in your chest voice
Repeat these exercises several times, focusing on improving your vocal range and transitioning smoothly between your chest voice and head voice.
- Siren Exercises:
You may enhance your pitch accuracy and control by performing siren exercises. Here is a siren exercise to practise:
Start off low, go up to a high note, and then return to the low tone.
Repeat this exercise a few times, concentrating on keeping a smooth, even tone.
- Vibrato Exercises:
Vibrato exercises can help to improve your tone and control. Here is how to do a vibrato exercise:
Sing a sustained note and add a slight vibrato to it
Repeat this exercise several times, focusing on keeping the vibrato steady and controlled
- Phonation Exercises:
Phonation exercises can help to improve your vocal control and tone. Here is how to do a phonation exercise:
Sing a sustained note with a "zzz" sound, then switch to a "sss" sound
Repeat this exercise several times, focusing on maintaining a steady and even sound
