Vocal warm up
Encyclopedia
A vocal warm-up is a series of exercises
that prepare the voice for singing
, acting
, or other use.
Physical whole-body warm-ups also help prepare a singer. Muscle
s all over the body are used when singing (the diaphragm being one of the most obvious). Stretches of the abdomen
, back
, neck
, and shoulders
are important to avoid stress
, which influences the sound of the voice.
Some warm-ups also provide voice training. Sometimes called vocalises, these activities teach breath control
, diction
, blending, and balance
.
After, use lip trills and tongue trills to help control breathing as well. Start just using a steady note, then making a "fire engine sound" go up and down. Eventually move to real notes, starting in the middle range, such as middle C
.
is reasonable) and begin humming. Move between notes, but stay in the middle range.
To start warming up your range, sigh from the top of your range to the bottom, letting the voice fall in a glissando
without much control. Do several of these.
Next, sing an arpeggio
of three thirds to an octave (1 3 5 8 5 3 1), again starting from middle C
. Use open vowels such as o, ih, ay, and ah, and start each syllable with a consonant such as B, D, or P. Repeat the exercise a half-step higher, and continue up to the top of your range
, but don't push too high.
Next, sing down a five-note scale, using a syllable formed with an open vowel
and a sibilant, for example "Za a a a a". This time, repeat the exercise a half-step lower, to the bottom of your comfortable range
.
Finally, sing a slightly more difficult phrase, again starting an octave lower than middle C
. First jump up an octave
, then down a fourth, then down a third, then another third: (1 8 5 3 1). The phrase "I lo-ove to sing" fits with this exercise. Others choose to sing a few words over and over to warm up, such as "me, my, mo, mull".
Exercises
- 30th Anniversary Bonus Tracks:-Band members:*Dan McCafferty - vocals*Darrell Sweet - drums, backing vocals*Pete Agnew - bass guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals*Manny Charlton - guitar, 12-string guitar, backing vocals-Additional musicians:...
that prepare the voice for singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
, or other use.
Purpose
Changing pitch undoubtedly stretches the muscles, and vocal warm-ups help the singer feel more prepared.Physical whole-body warm-ups also help prepare a singer. Muscle
Muscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...
s all over the body are used when singing (the diaphragm being one of the most obvious). Stretches of the abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
, back
Back
- People :* Adam Back, British cryptographer* Charles Back, South African winemaker* Chris Back , Australian politician* Ernst Emil Alexander Back , German physicist* Frédéric Back , Canadian animator...
, neck
Neck
The neck is the part of the body, on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates, that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The adjective signifying "of the neck" is cervical .-Boner anatomy: The cervical spine:The cervical portion of the human spine comprises seven boney...
, and shoulders
Shoulders
Shoulders is drinking game that involves players competing in a fast paced game attempting to "count" to 21.-Game play:*The game begins with a player slapping his left/right shoulder, this starts the count at 1....
are important to avoid stress
Stress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
, which influences the sound of the voice.
Some warm-ups also provide voice training. Sometimes called vocalises, these activities teach breath control
Breath control
The term breath control may mean:* Pranayama, a yogic technique for controlling breathing* A vocal technique used in singing* Breath Control: The History of the Human Beat Box...
, diction
Diction
Diction , in its original, primary meaning, refers to the writer's or the speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression in a poem or story...
, blending, and balance
Balance (ability)
In biomechanics, balance is an ability to maintain the center of gravity of a body within the base of support with minimal postural sway. When exercising the ability to balance, one is said to be balancing....
.
Breathing
Before actually starting to sing, it is important to start breathing properly and from the diaphragm. Start with simple exercises such as hissing. Inhale deeply and then make a hissing sound, continuing until as much air as possible has been expelled. Repeat several times, but be sure to breathe using the diaphragm, not by moving the shoulders up and down, which is a common sign of an untrained breather.After, use lip trills and tongue trills to help control breathing as well. Start just using a steady note, then making a "fire engine sound" go up and down. Eventually move to real notes, starting in the middle range, such as middle C
Middle C
C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège scale. Its enharmonic is B.-Middle C:Middle C is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard...
.
Range and tone
Start easy, with light humming. Pick a note in the middle range (middle CMiddle C
C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège scale. Its enharmonic is B.-Middle C:Middle C is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard...
is reasonable) and begin humming. Move between notes, but stay in the middle range.
To start warming up your range, sigh from the top of your range to the bottom, letting the voice fall in a glissando
Glissando
In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...
without much control. Do several of these.
Next, sing an arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
of three thirds to an octave (1 3 5 8 5 3 1), again starting from middle C
Middle C
C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège scale. Its enharmonic is B.-Middle C:Middle C is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard...
. Use open vowels such as o, ih, ay, and ah, and start each syllable with a consonant such as B, D, or P. Repeat the exercise a half-step higher, and continue up to the top of your range
Vocal range
Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...
, but don't push too high.
Next, sing down a five-note scale, using a syllable formed with an open vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
and a sibilant, for example "Za a a a a". This time, repeat the exercise a half-step lower, to the bottom of your comfortable range
Vocal range
Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...
.
Finally, sing a slightly more difficult phrase, again starting an octave lower than middle C
Middle C
C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège scale. Its enharmonic is B.-Middle C:Middle C is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard...
. First jump up an octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
, then down a fourth, then down a third, then another third: (1 8 5 3 1). The phrase "I lo-ove to sing" fits with this exercise. Others choose to sing a few words over and over to warm up, such as "me, my, mo, mull".
See also
- National Center for Voice and SpeechNational Center for Voice and SpeechThe National Center for Voice and Speech , is a multi-site research and teaching organization dedicated to studying the characteristics, limitations and enhancement of human voice and speech. The NCVS is located in Salt Lake City, Utah with the Lead Institution located at the University of Utah...
- VocologyVocologyVocology is the science of enabling or endowing the human voice with greater ability or fitness.. Its concerns include the nature of speech and language pathology, the defects of the vocal tract , the remediation of speech therapy and the voice training and voice pedagogy of song and speech for...
- science and practice of voice habilitation - Human VoiceHuman voiceThe human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
External links
- www.ncvs.org - suggested warm-ups from the National Center for Voice & Speech
- Warm up using Flow Resistant Straws from Journal of SingingJournal of SingingThe Journal of Singing is the peer-reviewed journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing . Published five times a year, the journal provides current information regarding the teaching of singing as well as results of recent research in the field...
article: and a video illustrating the technique featuring Ingo TitzeIngo titzeIngo R. Titze is a Vocal Scientist and Executive Director of the National Center for Voice and Speech at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He is a Professor at the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Iowa and is also the author of several written works... - Article about Choir Warm ups in Journal of SingingJournal of SingingThe Journal of Singing is the peer-reviewed journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing . Published five times a year, the journal provides current information regarding the teaching of singing as well as results of recent research in the field...
http://www.ncvs.org/e-learning/nats-pdfs/choir_wa.pdf - Journal of Singing on NATS website