Singing Warm-Ups

If my student has already warmed up, we may start right in with one of their songs, but more likely, we will start with a round such as "Heigh, Ho" or "Have You Seen the Ghost of John" to get them listening and concentrating as they sing, or we will work on a duet or group song that we are preparing for a recital. This way, they don't sing "full voice" right at first.

In fact, it is best, I tell my students, when they are still working at learning the notes of a song, to sing sotto voce, with a subdued voice, or even down an octave much of the time as they practice the song, if the vocal line lingers up high for a while. (This is also a very good practice in choral groups, and especially in long rehearsals of The Messiah!)

Some students seem blessed with a naturally warm, flexible, high and phlegm-free voice. How I envy them. Others (more like me!) have voices that wake up tight and a little stiff unless the voice is "flexed" every day, a bit like a new, unstretched balloon.

One of my daughters has a voice as tight as a new thick rubber band. Daily, she needs gentle warming up as well as an additional vigorous workout. Without daily attention, her singing voice is rough and subject to breaking only an octave above Middle C.

My own singing voice seems to acquire ever greater smoothness (in spite of rapidly advancing age!) as I have built the habit over the past few years of lightly warming up off and on throughout the whole day and even into the evening. This habit was forced upon me, the piano teacher, gradually, as I acquired more and more voice students... I had to be able to sing up high -- no more excuses!

The result of this continuous light singing is (to my own surprise) the ability to sing with ease on Sunday mornings at church the melodies of old-fashioned hymns (invariably set too high!), even early in the morning. That is a fun thing; I used to stick to the harmonies!

However blessed your singing student may be naturally, learning a set of vocal warmups that they can recall by memory at home, and use to gently warm themselves up, will help prevent sore, "blown" voices when they sing for an hour or more a day at lessons, rehearsals or just around the house.

As a vocal teacher working at the piano bench, these warm-ups are most efficiently performed at lessons if you have the ability to transpose the patterns up or down a half-step after each repetition. This is a sophisticated skill! But it can be learned. If transposing seems too much of a stretch for you, take a look at my page for Beginning Piano students Mary Had a Little Lamb. Transposing using a very easy song is a great way to get started.

But to help those who are less pianists than vocalists, all of the vocal exercises are written in the key of C (all white notes!)

More vocal warmups are coming! Please be patient.

Vocal Warmups

Animal Sounds Vocal Warm-Ups

Vocal Warm-Ups for Morning

Vocal Warm-Ups for Singing Through the Break

Comments

I'd love to know about your favorite warm-ups, perhaps passed on to you by a dear teacher, or one you have made up yourself and come to rely upon. Tell us how you use it!

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