The Process of Warming Up the Voice For Singing

1208 - June 2021

1. HOW DOES A SINGER BEGIN TO WARM UP THEIR VOICE FOR SINGING?

Warming up the voice for singing is very similar to an athlete warming up to play a sport. As singers, there is a lot to consider and a lot to do. Before you even begin to sing, there are other things that really should be handled first. So, singing is not really where you start. Actually, you begin with preparing the actual instrument and the body is the instrument. Our bodies have many needs and are very complex so there is a lot to do.

I like to have a plan to follow, so I teach singers to begin with the physical needs of the body first. Generally speaking, it is a process of a few things:

  • First you check the breath and begin with breathing exercises.

  • Then the body needs some aerobics, and stretching.

  • Next the voice really benefits from starting with a few speaking exercises followed by actual vocal exercises.

2. TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE WAYS THAT SINGERS WARM UP THEIR BODIES FOR SINGING.

Personally, I like to begin with breathing exercises. There are many many sources of information about Breath work. I practice Yoga, so I borrow from Breath practices from the Kundalini Yoga Tradition as taught by Yogi Bhajan. The next thing is to get a some aerobic exercise. There are many choices including walking, race walking, jogging, running, dancing, swimming, bicycling and playing sports. Actually anything that gets your body started with aerobic exercise is great. Next, there is great benefit from stretching the body using sources such as dance stretches, yoga, Pilates, and Gyrotonics.

3. CAN YOU TELL US SOME SIMPLE WAYS TO WARM UP THE BODY?

There are many useful ways to warm up the body, so perhaps we can try a quick scan of stretching. First, as I said, begin with something aerobic. That can be as simple as marching in place. You really get to choose what you prefer in this category. It is really important to choose exercises that you really enjoy as well. Nothing is as tortured as having to do a bunch of exercises that you don’t really like.

Next, he stretching should follow. Most people do not really understand how to stretch so they don’t do it or they do it wrong and don’t see any good results. So begin with getting comfortable either on the floor or even seated in a chair. You always begin with loosening the hips first. We are a furniture culture so we all eventually have hip problems.

With a straight spine, begin rocking back and forth, moving for back to front. Then begin top move back and forth making half circles from back to front alternating from to one side to the other. Return to the center and rock back and forth in the center while maintaining a very straight spine. Come to center and relax.

Now move to the feet… ( I’ll explain what to do)

Now move to the ankles… (I’ll explain what to do)

Now start to move the lower spine back and forth like riding on a Camal

Next move the upper spine moving the heart area back and forth

Now come to center and relax and stay still so you can gently… very gently and slowly begin to do light rotations of the neck.

Come to center and relax.

You now have completed a step by step, gradual and easy warming of the body with very gentle movements. This is a warm up that most people should be able to accomplish, given that they have no medical issues. Of course, you always must check with your physician before doing any exercises.

4. WHAT ARE SOME SPEAKING EXERCISES AND WHY DO THEY COME BEFORE SINGING EXERCISES?

When I was trained by the teacher who taught me the vocal technique that I teach to singers, He always said to train and/or heal the singing voice first. That is a more efficient progress of training. First, because the speaking voice is always used much, much more than the singing voice. People use their voices in many ways and for example, if you have to talk a lot at work, your voice can become quite tired. It is very useful to start there because that is home base. Once your talking feels relaxed it is easier to proceed.

There are many more muscles used for singing and many more combinations of elements. So, if you can relax the speaking voice first, then it is much less taxing to try to begin to train muscles to do new things. Vocalizing can be a real workout for the voice, and if your speaking voice is agitated for any reason, it must be handled first. It also relaxes people to hear their voice sounding more like it normally does. And that is always a good thing for singing.

5. WHAT ARE SOME SPEAKING EXERCISES AND WHY ARE THEY FIRST BEFORE SINGING EXERCISES?

In the first Podcast we touched upon a beginning group of exercises that are really useful. They are worth repeating. To begin, you can just recite them aloud. Here is a sample:

  • GeeHeeHee

  • YeeHeeHee

  • HeeHeeHee

  • KeeHeeHee

  • LeeHeeHee

  • HeeGeeHee

  • HeeGeeKee

  • HeeGeeLee

  • HeeGeeYee

  • HeeGeeGee

  • KeeGeeYee

  • KeeGeeHee

  • KeeGeeKee

  • KeeGeeLee

  • KeeGeeGee

Another nice group of sounds is and exercise that is later sung. This exercise uses sounds that are found at the beginning of words. Just saying them relaxes many of the muscles right around the mouth and the jaw:

  • LaGa…MaPa…NaBa…YaYa…YaTa…YaGa…YaHa…

  • HaHa…HaTa…HaYa…HaGa…KaGa…GaGa…!!

6. ARE THESE SPEAKING EXERCISES ALSO USED AS SINGING EXERCISES? IF SO, SHO US HOW TO DO THEM?

Yes, these actually are used as singing exercises. I’ll demonstrate…

In the beginning, they are taught either as little 3 note scales. They can be sung on one pitch or in a scale of 3 notes. Scales are musical patterns that can be done in millions of ways! Beginners have an easier time if they start with scales that have less notes to start with. You will find that you have a much more enjoyable time starting with easier scales and allow your body to get used to it. So we begin with three note scales on one pitch and do repetitions of those.

Singing GeeHeeHee….starting in the middle of the range is an easy way to begin. Any of the letter combinations can be used going forward. They are all similar so they won’t make you too tired.

The second group can also be done on one pitch. Begin by singing on one pitch (I’ll Demonstrate)…

  • LaGa…LaGa…LaGaLaGaLa

  • MaPa…MaPa…MaPaMaPaMa…etc.

It its good to start in the middle of your vocal range and then descend down to the bottom of your range. As you get used to this, you can begin a little bit higher each time. However, do not go too high when working on one pitch, especially for the beginning singer. One pitch is a much heavier lift or the muscles since we spend so little time sounding on one pitch.