Do you warm up?

[musicthom]

i try as much as possable to warm up in some way before i gig, there are many techniques out there finding the right one can be tricky

i suppose there comes a time when you either want to protect what you have vocally or improve

i myself will be attending a vocal coach this weekend just try and see what i need or maby dont need to do,

[Cheryl]

Funny you should ask, John! This week's article is going to be about just that subject! Keep watchin'. I'll have it posted by Monday, hopefully!

All the best,

Cheers, Cheryl Hodge

Author of "A Singer's Guide to the Well-Trained & Powerful Voice"

http://www.cherylhodge.com

http://www.jazzboulevard.com

[john]

great! I'll look forward to it

[Shyox]

Hey

Do you any of you do any warm up vocal exercises? If you do, what do you do? If not, do you have a reason?

Cheers

John

I warm up with a song or three about an hour before I'm going to sing. It's just like stretching a muscle, it can move faster and do more after you do it.

[ForeverAMetalhead]

Hey

Do you any of you do any warm up vocal exercises? If you do, what do you do? If not, do you have a reason?

Cheers

John

just generally have a cold drink and hum the first song i will sing

[Fuzzbuggy]

I never warm up - but I have to start because I find my voice fatigues in a matter of minutes if i'm singing a complex vocal song. I haven't actually tried a 15 - 20 min vocal exercise before I sing...I think that would do wonders for me.

Maybe I should do that from now on?

[john]

no time like the present... unless it is 3am where you are

[HarlandGirl]

I started using a tutorial warm up, but it was about 20 mins long, which probably isn't very long, but I work a long day and when I get home in the evening 20mins is a big chunk out of my evening time before I have to go to bed and start again. So I stopped.

I believe vocal warm ups will make my voice better though so I started doing my own, quicker warm up that takes about 10 mins. I start off by humming the notes my voice is comfortable with, then I will 'aaah' them when my throat feels it has warmed up a bit. When I feel a bit more warmed up, I may also try to hum the notes one below, and one above what my vocal chords are comfortable with to try and strengthen my vocal chords in producing those notes.

[Cheryl]

This topic is near and dear to my heart! Please see my YOU TUBE warm-ups!

My fave QUICK warm up (which is the minimum to do every day; if you can't do more...); and IN THIS ORDER!:

1. 5- 10 minutes of body stretches and muscle relaxing exercises (try Yoga), and special jaw release exercises.

2. 5 minutes of SIGHING exercises (8ves down/8ve circles)

3. 5 minutes of DIAPHRAGM pushes (low register, middle, and high)

4. 10 minutes of scales.

5. NOW onto your song(s)!!

[vocalcoachkentaylor]

If I know I'm going to be singing or teaching for a while, then I always try to warm up beforehand. It's just best to get the voice opened up and in the right place to ensure success and stamina.

While I should probably do more, here's what my typically rushed schedule allows me to do, and why I do it...

Lip Flutters - to help establish a steady flow of air

"ng" - to help open up that pingy resonance space

hooty "Buh" sound (as in book) - this helps balance a lot of things, but one thing it does is prevents the larynx from rising when I sing higher (this is often what causes the voice to crack)

I do all of this on a long scale (octave and an half arpeggiated), which helps me more easily transition between my bridges.

That's about all my hectic schedule typically allows for. I may spend 7-10 minutes doing this (usually closer to 5), but it definitely helps me balance my voice in the right way for my more strenuous days of singing.

[AnaMZ]

Yes, definitely. The amount of warming up that I need really depends on the situation (and so I think that it can be a very individual thing), but I find that it helps me with nerves and putting myself into the right headspace for a performance, as well as preparing the voice itself. When you do warm up, it's important to engage the body, particularly healthy breathing and support, and use that time also to address any tension that you may be experiencing. When I'm not warmed up, my intonation is always a little flat, so I always warm up before a vocal lesson or coaching, so that my lesson time can be well-spent working on issues other than intonation.

[DogmaticRock]

I do sometimes, but not often. When I do, I just practice the simple vowels "A, E, I, O, U" not that "Sound Of Music" like BS routine. The reason not is because I feel embarassed doing so. I like to try "warming up" to Bat Out Of Hell. Not to go off topic, but does anyone know what keys thats in?

[Just1L]

No I don't but it really sounds like I should. I just sit in my computer chair and sing with some water on hand if needed. Could be why I normally have to do a few takes.

[Riggs]

I warm up by singing my songs. I'll usually sing the phrases slow and make sure I'm resonating behind my upper teeth and in my chest at the same time. I usually find a few notes that I could do better. I try to work on focus, intent with the lyrics. That's about it.

[Seokhun]

I'm a vocal student, and also part of a vocal development team at SSTV, so here's my take on it.

Vocal warm-up is the most crucial for a serious vocalist. The vocal cords function like muscles, and therefore require warming-up to function healthily. Anyone who thinks singing without warming-up is good for your voice is sadly, incorrect. Singing happens inside the body, the vocal cords vibrate with air passing through them to create pitches. The vocal cords are very delicate tissues, and you don't want to damage them, trust me. I know it doesn't sound very appetizing to have to warm-up, but for serious vocalists like myself, it makes a HUGE difference.

Regards,

Kendrick

[simpledimples13ify]

I warm up by first stretching, bending over, twisting, etc. Then I do ee up aaah down. Then, going down, e a ah oh ooh. And I finish off with a scale. (do-do and back down then do mi sol mi do fa la fa do mi so mi do ti do, with the last ti being a step below do.)

[Cody Jarrett]

I don't warm up when I'm singing on my own time, because I'd rather just get right into it.

[Kayleigh1998]

Yes I do, in fact I'm not comfortable singing unless I warm up.. I'm very shy and sheltered with my singing but I am taking voice lessons. My teacher and I often do a Vee Vaaa Exercise where I emphasise the e and a sounds and sing them to different pitches. 

I also found a 14 minute vocal warm up on youtube that is more complex and it seems to help with breathing control

[Xenicus]

Yes I do warm up's.  I start with the "ah sound" in the medium low notes. This get a little vibration going and helps to clear the flem. Also a little spray. After this I sing some folk songs until the voice feels "loose". Then I just let er rip for about five minutes. I find the high notes with power start to get clean. Then I'm ready to go

 

This works for me

 

Brian