Vocal warm ups — why you should always warm up your voice.

Wherever and whatever you read about singing, you will always come across advice about singing with a warmed up voice. Every article, video and post will mention the importance of vocal warm ups. But why? Why is it important and why should you bother?

Singing with a cold voice can be dangerous. In the same way that running or going to a gym class can also be dangerous if you don’t stretch and warm up first. You run the risk of pulling, straining or spraining a muscle. You don’t want to start singing without warming up either. You need to look after your voice like you look after your body, or any other musical instrument. Your vocal folds (or vocal cords) are a muscle that will need warming up before you exercise it. It’s as simple as that. Without warming up you can create strain and tension, and go as far as losing your voice completely if you sing without warming up first.

‘Ah, I’m in a rush and I need to get my practice out of the way/ I have a show and don’t have time to warm up first/ Surely I can just go to that choir rehearsal or singing lesson without warming up first, right?’

Wrong!

Not only do you run the risk of hurting and damaging your vocal cords, you also won’t sound your best. By far.

Have you ever tried singing after just getting out of bed in the morning? Yeah, that! It’s not great.

When singing with a cold voice you will push for the high notes and sound breathy on the low notes. You will have a very reduced range and it could even lead to the development of polyps or nodules. Eek!

Warming up stretches your vocal cords, helps clear your throat and enables you to get the best out of your singing practice. Basically, warming up will allow the muscles to work to their fullest potential while you are singing.

So having said all of that, how do you warm up your voice safely and completely?

I recommend making sure you’re well hydrated before you sing. If you’re not great at keeping hydrated generally, then making sure you’ve drunk a good sized glass of water at least 20 minutes before singing is a good place to start. Being hydrated when you sing ensures your vocal folds are lubricated which is vital for creating a good sound. Learn about the importance of hydration and singing here

Once you’re hydrated, you can begin.

Introducing a ritualistic warm up can be part of your daily self-care practice too. It can be relaxing and meditative to go through your vocal and breathing exercises before entering into your main singing practice. Time for yourself as well as something that needs doing anyway. Killing 2 birds with one stone as the old (frankly, quite grim) proverb goes.

You will need to have a bottle of (tepid) water or a tea (I like peppermint) to sip throughout your practice. This will keep your throat from drying out as well as maintaining a good level of hydration.

I like to begin by gently humming up and down the scale. You can also do lip trills. Some people like to hum or trill to a song they like. I like ‘You are my sunshine’ as it’s easy, and has a pleasing tune (plus its a happy, sunny song).

When singing scales you can gently explore your voice, go up and down the scale extending your low and high notes. At this early point in the warm up there should be no pushing or straining. Quiet, gentle singing.

You can then add in some vowel sounds to the scales or arpeggios that you are singing. The warmer your voice becomes the more notes you will gain. As an example, when my voice is cold, I will not extend my voice beyond a C above middle C. As I warm up my voice I will extend my range up to another octave higher (that’s 8 more notes)! The notes will come as your voice warms. Be patient. Don’t push or strain.

There are a huge range of different ways to warm up. You only have to look on Youtube to see thousands of videos. You will find what you like and come up with a routine you are happy with. I do however recommend you include the key elements of scales, arpeggios, lip trills and sirens.

Sirens? I love warming up with a siren. Start low in your range and slide all of the way up to your highest note (gently) on an OO sound. Once you’re at the top slide all of the way down again, like an emergency siren. Try extending your range slightly each time. Move up and down through your voice a few times until you feel like your whole range is warmed up.

You are now ready to begin your singing practice.

Enjoy!