- Image by john curley via Flickr
Unfortunately, many singers–especially those just learning how to sing–sing without warming up properly. It’s easy to just start singing (like along with a song on the radio or with karaoke or RockBand), but if the singer is committed to getting better, then remembering to warm up before singing goes a long way. Effective vocal warm up routines don’t take long, reduce the chance of injury, and have the following benefits:
- During a proper vocal warm up, the amount of air passing the vocal folds begins small and gradually increases –thus preventing too much air from being forced through the vocal folds (which can result in irritation).
- The outer muscles of larynx become relaxed and loose. This helps prevent them from taking the larynx out of a stable position when the singer actual starts “singing”.
- The singer becomes accustomed to how her voice is feeling that particular day and can then adjust the amount of warm up time required to have everything “working properly”.
- It mentally prepares her for the upcoming performance or practice session.
So when should a singer warm up? Every time she practices or performs–no exceptions. Failing to work through a vocal warm up routine will seriously inhibit progress when learning how to sing better and could lead to injury.
Some of the most common and effective vocal warm ups include humming and lip trills (also called “bubbling” or “flapping lips”). Check out the video below for some advice (and a little demonstration of a lip trill) from Brett Manning, creator of Singing Success, an outstanding vocal program based on the speech level singing technique.
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