Do Vocal Warm Ups Matter? | Tips for Vocal Warm Ups and Understanding How They Help Your Voice!
We’re talking about warm ups today! I’m asked a lot of questions about warm ups by singers: what to do, how to do them effective, how long to do them … the list goes on and on. What you need varies based on what you and your voice need, but we’re going to talk about it all today! For me, I like to be specific with my warm ups, because I know the work IF you have what you need. I don’t recommend doing random workouts. To me, a warm up should prepare you for whatever you’re about to do. You might be warming up before a show, a recording, a lesson, training, or for the heck of it! Whatever the reason, warm ups can really set you up to sing your best. Let’s dive into what makes them meaningful and super beneficial for singers today!
Why You Should Warm Up as a Singer
If you understand why we should warm up as singers, I think it’s easier to determine what to include in your warm up! The first reason to warm up is to prepare your voice for the demands it’s about to undertake. The length and difficulty of your warmup should mimic what you’re about to do. A one hour, mildly demanding performance is different than a 3-hour recording session. That informs what you include in your warm up! It’s also important to consider where in your voice whatever you’re about to do is sitting. Are you crossing between your head and chest voice? Do you use a lot of different vocal textures? Knowing your body, and how long it takes to achieve those components is necessary for your warm up.
Protect your voice!
The second reason to warm up your voice is to reduce fatigue in your voice. This ties directly into the first reason we warm up. If we’re preparing our warmups with our final destination in mind, we’re already protecting our voice. But, warming up truly does protect your voice from getting too tired! It IS possible to train and warm up your voice in a way that doesn’t fatigue it. Trust me. If you’re struggling with feeling vocally fatigued very often, then you need to change how you train.
The final reason to warm up is so that we don’t have to think. When you’re singing, if you have to listen and focus too much on whether or not you actually hit a pitch, odds are… you won’t be hitting it. Warm ups teach us to trust our voice: they allow us to believe in what’s happening and coming out of our mouths. Obviously, when we train and practice, we need to be focused and thinking. But warm ups should become second nature. This process makes us a smarter and more consistent singer. We learn where to put our energy and focus.
If you’re finding that what you’re doing when it comes to warm ups isn’t working for you, then it’s time to get what you need. Tune into today’s video to learn more. And if you’re looking for a collection of voice warmups, check out my ‘Condition Your Voice Workout Pack’. I believe every singer should have warm ups that they can trust to get their voice feeling free and ready.
Learn more from this week’s video!
I have designed a Variety Pack of Voice Warm Ups and Workouts so you have what you need!
Ready to take your voice training to the next level?
