The Best Vocal Warm-Up Exercises

Do you sing regularly? Have you made preparation a part of your routine, or do you just launch into it and home for the best?

On this page, from River Recording Studios in Southampton

Using some of the best vocal warm-up exercises before you sing is always important. Whether it be a practice, recording session, lesson, or a live performance, you’ll sound and feel better, as well as preventing injury.

In this article, we reveal some of the top ways to get your vocals limber, including humming, scales and tongue twisters, as well as how to cool down afterwards.

Best vocal warm-up exercises

Singing warm-ups are essential because they protect your vocals and prepare your voice for action. Through exercises we get the tongue, lips, mouth, face, throat and diaphragm limbered up. It doesn’t take long (between 5 and 15 minutes is adequate) it and can be tailored to the time you have available on the day. Even a couple of minutes is better than nothing. It’s especially important to warm your voice up before going into the recording studio.

Do vocal warm-ups improve singing?

Yes indeed. A warmed up voice stands out in comparison to the one that’s cold. 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 will mean you’re not at your vocal best. You may sound groggy, or be unable to reach the full potential of your voice.

How do vocal warm-ups help?

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 affected many major stars. Protect your voice and it’ll serve you far better. 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, strengthen it a great deal, and sound amazing. So let’s take a look at how we go about preparing to begin.

How do you warm up your singing voice?

There are various elements of singing that need to be prepared:

Range
Diction
Breathing

And it’s not only the mouth, throat and tongue that need to be worked before you start singing. Your whole body has to get involved. There are many different warm-ups you can do. But we’ve put together some of the best ones in this article…

Daily vocal exercises

Good posture is one of the simplest steps in singing warm-ups and a foundation. Good posture helps with the airflow through your body. The best way to stand is with your legs shoulder-width apart and your feet firmly on the floor. If you choose to sit rather than sound, sit on the edge of the chair, back straight and don’t lean on the chair.

You might want to start with some non-sung exercises – tongue twisters.

Vocal warm-ups for beginners

Most people have the poor habits of using only the top of their lungs, avoid this by learning to breathe well. If you feel tense at all whilst breathing it will show through your voice. Keep your shoulders low and your chest relaxed.

Ease all tension in your body. This will ease your mind and steady your voice. Try having a small snack to settle your stomach, but not so you feel full. A banana is a good example. 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.

Relaxing your jaw allows for the best movement when singing. This is achieved by facial massage – gently and slowly rub your cheeks with the heel of each hand. You can also pull silly faces to relieve tension – sticking your tongue out, puckering your lips and making an exaggerated surprised face will all help to relax your facial muscles.

Quick vocal warm-ups

Whether you have little or plenty of time, breathing exercises shouldn’t be skipped. Lie on the floor, You should notice as you breathe in your stomach and rib cage rise (inflate) and as you breathe out they get smaller again (deflate). Practice doing short mini laughs with a breath in-between – “Ha” breath “Ha” breath “Ha”. On every “Ha” make sure the stomach is going in and on the breath going back out. This breathing exercise for singing is good to practice this in slow motion to help develop control with your air pressure & flow. Think of squeezing a tube of toothpaste from the bottom up to keep that steady flow.

Humming is one of the most effective singing warm-ups. It helps to cool down your voice, but also helps to warm it up without the straining of singing. If you’re short on time you can just hum through one of your songs. It’s a safe way to oil up the voice.

Another quick warm-up is the siren. Make the sound ‘ng’ by placing the back of your tongue on your hard palate. Then siren your voice up and down. You can take it a little higher and lower each time.

Vocal range warm-ups

Working through scales is the most popular singing warm-up – and for good reason. Practising scales will help you to see what you’re comfortable with, as well as what may be a struggle. It also prepares your voice for every note you’re likely to hit during your audition. Gradually build your scales as starting too high or too low will damage your vocals. Middle C is a good starting point.

How can I cool down my voice?

Thinking once again about an athlete: teams and players will always stretch to warm down after a game or event, as well as warming up. 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 it out. Warm down exercises should be easy and restorative.

The basic vocal warm-up principles and exercises covered here will work for warm down too, especially scales such as a classic arpeggio. But scales will need to be very gentle and less about easing the voice to the lower and upper end of your range. Tongue twisters aren’t necessary for cool-down.

Vocal cool down tips

Work through some soft sirens without taking them to the very edges of your range.
Cooldown your pitch raising muscles with a vocal creak.
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.

Without a vocal warm-up, you risk damaging your voice during the performance and affecting your audience’s perception of your talent. But remember no matter what happens, just enjoy it, you’ve been given the opportunity to sing for someone, embrace it!. And now you know the best vocal warm-up exercises – whether you have little or lots of time – you can shine as a singer.