How to Warm up Your Voice Before Recording in Southampton, Hampshire

Get the most out of your singing and produce the best possible tracks by learning how to warm up your voice before recording in Southampton. This will help your final track sound even more amazing and protect against vocal strain during long sessions.

On this page, from River Recording Studios in Southampton

Are you due to go for a studio session? If so you’ll need to know how to get your vocals limbered up beforehand.

In this article, we’ll show you some great exercises to get you studio (and gig) ready, whether you’re a backing musician or solo artist.

How to warm up your voice before recording in Southampton

Warming up before a recording session is vital, and here’s why.

You sing for much longer while recording than at a live gig, that requires vocal stamina and puts you at higher risk of vocal damage, warming up prevents this. It’s much like an athlete – you wouldn’t start to run or play a match without stretching and limbering up the muscles needed to perform at peak fitness. Neglecting warm-ups and training could well result in an injury. Protect your voice and it’ll serve you far better.
Studio recording equipment is very sensitive and picks up faults more readily than mics at gigs. If you’re not on top form it’ll be much more obvious. And without the visual elements of a live show, your voice is laid bare on record.
Similarly, diction needs to be perfect. A splashy ‘s’ or popping ‘p’ will stand out in the studio, so tongue twisters are even more important than usual.
Time is money in the studio as you pay per hour or per session. Don’t waste this with numerous re-takes while your voice gets warmed up. Arrive ready prepared and you’ll save money.
Recording studio professionals will be impressed if you’re all ready to go and as the music business is a small world, it helps to have a great reputation, both on the live gig and studio circuit.

How do you prepare your voice before recording?

Your vocal cords are powerful. But if misused or forced, can be damaged, resulting in problems like voice strain, laryngitis and even vocal nodules – a problem that has plagued many famous recording artists. Get into a good practice knowing how to warm up your vocals as well as how to warm down your voice and you’ll avoid injury and strengthen it a great deal. Plus you’ll sound amazing on the finished track. So let’s take a look at how you go about preparing for your studio session.

How long before singing should I warm-up?

If possible, do a warm-up when you wake up. Then again before you leave for the studio. If you have a very long journey, arrive early so you have some time before the session to do a few more exercises. Begin with these activities to open up the voice:

Yawn. This is a natural action but does wonders to release the muscles in your mouth and throat.
Breathe. Keep your shoulders low and your chest relaxed – it shouldn’t lift and lower as you breathe in and out. Instead, you should feel your lungs expand and the top of your stomach between and below your ribs, move in and out. Place one hand on your diaphragm to check you’re maintaining a correct breathing practice.
Release the jaw. Relaxing your jaw allows for the best movement when singing, it’s best to massage your cheeks with the heel of each hand. Chewing gum can help relieve tension in your jaw, but if you haven’t eaten, don’t chew for too long, as it can cause digestion issues. Instead, pretend to chew a massive gobstopper, engaging all part of the mouth to give it a good workout.

Vocal exercises before recording: scales

They might seem a bit boring and less fun than getting straight into a song, but like learning an instrument they form the foundations for more advanced work. However, unlike learning an instrument, scales will continue to be a part of your daily practice for your entire life as a singer. Rather than just being a learning tool, they are a route to improvement and vocal security as a recording artist.

Start with a traditional major scale. Work up the way and then back down with:

Do – Re – Mi – Fa – So – La – Ti – Do

Sing the notes: C4 – D4 – E4 – F4 – G4 – A4 – B4 – C5

Then you can move to minor scales: C4 – D4 – E♭4 – F4 – G4 – A♭4 – B♭4 – C5 (natural minor scale), C4 – D4 – E♭4 – F4 – G4 – A♭4 – B4 – C5 (harmonic minor scale) and C4 – D4 – E♭4 – F4 – G4 – A4 – B4 – C5 – B♭4 – A♭4 – G4 – F4 – E♭4 – D4 – C4 (melodic minor scale).

Move to whole-tone scales: C4 – D4 – E4 – F#4 – G#4 – A#4 – C5 and chromatic longer scales: C4 – C#4 – D4 – D#4 – E4 – F4 – F#4 – G4 – G#4 – A4 – A#4 – B4 – C5.

Practising the scales is something that will help you to see what you’re comfortable with and what may be a struggle. It also prepares your voice for every note you’re likely to hit during your session. Gradually build your scales as starting too high or too low too soon will cause strain.

You should make sure you’re breathing properly too. Here are three breath control exercises to add to your pre-recording warm-up list.

How can I improve my enunciation and diction before recording?

Vocal warm-up exercises for speaking are just as helpful for singers, as they are for actors and broadcasters. As they are vital for duction you really mustn’t be tempted to skip them before a recording session. They are a gentle way to get the vocal cords moving along with the teeth, the tongue and the lips. When doing vocal warm-ups, tongue twisters are a fun method to limber up the mouth. The list of tongue twisters you can use is endless, and you can make up your own too. Here are some tried and tested favourites to incorporate into your routine…

Betty bought a bit of butter.

But the butter Betty bought was bitter.

So Betty bought a better butter, and it was better than the butter Betty bought before.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers?

Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?

Round the rough and rugged rock, the ragged rascal rudely ran.

All I want is a proper cup of coffee,

Made in a proper copper coffee pot

Here are some more fun tongue twisters you may like to try. Mix it up to keep it interesting.

Quick vocal warm-ups in the studio

While in general, it’s well worth devoting a good deal of time to your scales, it’s useful to have some quick vocal warm-ups up your sleeve too, especially if you’ve arrived at the studio later than planned. You’ll get away with a brief vocal workout if you’ve done the groundwork ahead of time and you can shortcut your way to a great sound. Here are some brief and simple techniques you can use, to fast track your way to a warm voice.

Hum. When you hum, it helps to cool down your voice but also helps to warm it up without the straining of singing. It’s a safe way to produce sound without hurting your voice. Humming through the scales is an effective technique. It also ensures your voice is warmed up before an audition to protect your vocals and also to help build your vocal confidence.

Siren. To siren, slide your way up and down the scale to produce a sound much like a fire engine or police car siren – just slower. You can use different letters or words to do this. First, try it with your tongue behind your top teeth, to create an ‘n’. This, much like humming is a gentle way to ease your voice into movement. Then move to ‘z’ to increase the vibration, followed by a trill of the lips (think of a horse blowing out air, or a motorboat engine).

Haha. Get the diaphragm engaged quickly, by placing one hand on it and singing through your song (you could use Happy Birthday if you prefer), but using ‘ha’ in place of each lyric. Really hit the ‘h’ and make sure you feel the movement in your hand as you stimulate those muscles. Once you’re ready to sing for real, you’ll find your diaphragm engages more, providing the bedrock for your breath, tone, power and sound.

Continue these for as long as you have time – which could be anything from a couple of minutes for the whole vocal warm-up to 5 minutes. These will get your vocal cords and diaphragm a little warmer, but not your diction. So if you have time, incorporate a few tongue twisters.

If you’ve hired backing singers in Southampton, be sure to get them involved in the warm-up too.

What can I drink to warm up my voice before recording?

While exercises are the mainstay of your warm-up practice, there are other ways to get a cold voice prepared. In winter, wrap up warm. If your body is cold your voice will be also. And what you drink makes a huge impact. Room temperature water is the best option or a warm herbal infusion. Both can easily be taken into the studio in a flask. You must keep hydrated. Avoid dairy drinks completely as they coat your vocal with mucus. Hot and cold drinks have negative effects on your vocals too, so stick to room temperature or warm beverages.

How to warm down your voice after recording

As a singer, it’ll help keep your voice in good health, if you gently warm it down too. This is especially the case if you’ve been working to the edge of your range and belting out tunes for hours in the studio.

Warm down exercises should be easy and restorative. Try these.

Release any tension using gentle head rolls.
Work through some soft sirens using an ‘n’ sound and not taking it to the very edges of your range.
Rest your voice after a strenuous set – that includes talking and shouting.
Take lots of warm – or room temperature – water. Make this a general practice, not just after singing. Hydrating your body has many benefits.

If you need help with the process of laying down your vocals, check out these top tips.

Without a vocal warm-up, you risk damaging your voice during the recording and affecting the final edit. Now you know how to warm up your voice properly – whether you have little or lots of time – you can let it shine on the track and be the very best you can be when recording in Southampton.