- Image by john curley via Flickr
It’s a pretty well-known fact that athletes warm up prior to any event or performance. As an example, a runner will do some light jogging, a tennis player will easily volley, and a dancer will stretch. Warming up readies the body for what’s next and reduces the possibility of injury. For a singer, warming up is just as essential.
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. Warming up doesn’t take long, reduces the chance of injury, and has the following benefits:
- During a proper 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 warm up will seriously inhibit progress when learning how to sing better and could lead to injury.
Some of the most common and effective warmups include humming and lip trills (also called “bubbling” or “flapping lips”). Check out the video below for some warmup 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.
Related posts on better singing:
- Vocal Care For Singers
- Tips On How To Sing #1: Flapping Lips To A Song
- Tips On How To Sing #2 – Bend Forward On High Notes
- Welcome to How To Sing Better (Now)
- Speech Level Singing Technique
