Week Two: Why You Need to Warm-up First

(This post is part 2 of 10 in my series highlighting my new book, Ten Weeks to a Better Voice, available here .)

"Have you ever noticed that when you try to speak or sing loud first thing in the morning without warming up, it feels (and maybe sounds) like slogging through mud?  Pitches that would normally be easy to reach cause you strain and limit your range.  That's because your voice has been at rest for about eight hours and now you're suddenly attempting to use it to its full capacity.  Your vocal cords are saying, 'I don't think so!' because they are not created to go from no use to full use without some preparation.

That's why it's so important to warm-up before heavy singing (or speaking).  Your voice needs a chance to wake up, just like the rest of your body.  Most people aren't able to pop right out of bed the first time the alarm goes off at 5:30 am.  If you are like me, you start to ease yourself out of bed with a full-body stretch.  If you ease into singing through some gentle vocal warm-ups, your range will reflect it, and you will keep unnecessary tension off the cords. Remember, the goal is to keep you singing healthy now and for the rest of your life.  Warm-ups will serve to prolong your voice, as long as you use them often!" -excerpt from Ten Weeks to a Better Voice

Before going to music school, I didn't think much about warm-ups.  I rarely used them.  Then as I started spending hours a day in a tiny practice room, I started hearing a difference in the quality of my  voice practice when I performed a couple of simple warm-ups.  In fact, I couldn't believe how my range increased and difficult passages in a song became easier after I warmed up.  And it was continued warm-ups that helped me discover the power of my chest voice range.

Warming up is the single most important thing you can do to prolong a healthy singing voice.  And honestly, warming up is fun!  I mean, come on, when else do you get the chance to sing silly, nonsense words in full voice, unless you're an elementary music teacher (guilty as charged!)?

I've worked with a couple of different church choirs in the past couple of years and one of the first things I teach a choir is the process of doing corporate warm-ups.  First of all, it's a great way to start a rehearsal because it breaks the ice and helps people get over their nerves.  And also, it helps everyone get through the next hour and a half of full singing in rehearsal.

And of course, all of my voice students know by now that we will always begin a lesson with warm-ups.  I try to vary the warm-ups we use and tailor them to the needs of my individual students.  If we will be working on a song that uses head voice primarily, I'll include several high warm-ups designed to gently open up the range.  Or if we will be focusing on a song filled with runs, I'll choose a warm-up or two that helps develop agility.

I hope you can see by now the importance of warm-ups.  Here's a little challenge: if you're someone who doesn't usually warm-up before you sing, try adding a few simple warm-ups into your practice beforehand.  If you don't know any warm-ups, search for them on YouTube and choose a few favorites.  OR, if you do warm-up on a regular basis, why not search for and try out a few new warm-ups, maybe some that challenge your voice in different ways.  I will take this challenge with you!  My goal is not only to practice some new warm-ups, but to write some new warm-ups for the upcoming school year.  I'll be sure to share them later on.

As usual, if you would like more information on warm-ups, consider purchasing my new book, Ten Weeks to a Better Voice available on Amazon in paperback and eBook formats.  Thanks for your support!

Happy Singing!

The Traveling Saleswoman

Today is a day that ranks up there with my graduation from college, my wedding day, and the birth of my son. No kidding!

Today I received the most wonderful package in the world in the mail: fifteen pristine copies of my first ever self-published book, Ten Weeks to a Better Voice!  Now I know I wrote about the eBook a few blog posts ago, and while I'm definitely glad that the eBook is available for people who want it, there is just something about holding my dream in my hand.  Thumbing through the pages I spent so many hours researching, testing, and writing.  This book has been a labor of love for the past three years, and I'm glad to say that it can finally take on a life of its own.

Now, the name of the game is getting this book into the right hands.  It is available on Amazon, so it reaches a wide audience, but I want people to know that it's out there.  A short singing resource that will help the average Joe become a better singer.  Or the seasoned performer who needs some tips on caring for her vocal cords in the best ways.  This book includes those things.

So in honor of the new book, for the next ten blog posts, I will be writing brief summaries of the chapters, covering all ten weeks.  Then if you want more information, you'll be able to pick up a copy of the book or download the eBook on Amazon.

I once read about a woman who always kept a few copies of her own book in the trunk of her car.  That way, whenever she had the opportunity to sell one, she was prepared.  You can bet that I will be doing the same!  I called myself the "traveling saleswoman" on Facebook today, and I'm ok with that title because I truly believe in the product I'm peddling.

Those of you who have read my previous blog posts or know me can hopefully tell that I am passionate about singing and singing well.  The mission of Ten Weeks to a Better Voice is to help anyone learn to sing better, with or without a voice teacher.  So if you know of a singer who could benefit from the book, please share this post!  Or better yet, buy them copy of the book (shameless plug)!  The easiest way to find it is to go to Amazon's website and type in "Ten Week Voice" in the search engine.

On a sincere note, thank you to everyone who has already purchased the book, read it, or reviewed it on Amazon!  I could not live my dream without your help!

As always, Happy Singing!

(Here I am, cheesing it up with four copies of my book!  One of these could be yours! Thank you for your support.)

Q & A: Warming Up Every Day?

Last week, one of my voice students asked me if it was ok or advisable to warm-up her voice on a daily basis.  She also asked me about my personal warm-up schedule since I do a lot of performing throughout the week.

Here is my answer:  Yes, it is ok to warm-up daily.  As long as your vocal warm-ups are not too strenuous and don't last too long (15-30 minutes is ideal).  In the same way that it's ok to do some type of physical exercise each day, it's ok to warm the voice up.  However, you might benefit from a day or two off as well.

As for my personal schedule, since I am on summer break from teaching, I currently warm-up on the days that I teach lessons, lead choir rehearsal, and on Sundays before singing in church.  That adds up to 4-5 days per week.  The other days I'm usually not singing, so I choose to rest my voice on those days.  When school starts up again in a few weeks, I will warm-up Monday-Friday along with my students (efficiently killing two birds with one stone!) and perform a more strenuous warm-up on Sundays before church.

The purpose of a warm-up is two fold: it should ease and prepare your voice for heavier singing and it should help you practice good vocal technique.  Use these guidelines when deciding which warm-ups to practice.  You don't want something that is so difficult to perform that it causes any strain whatsoever to your voice.  That, in my opinion is not a true warm-up.  My students always comment that their voices feel and sound freer after performing warm-ups.  That is what your voice should feel like after a gentle warm-up session.

Three to five warm-ups per day is usually a good number to perform before diving into heavy singing or practicing your repertoire.

Proper warm-ups will keep you from sounding like a frog!

The Vocal Warm-up and What It can do for You

Hello fellow singers! I know it's been a while since I last posted, but rest assured, once I begin my new job as a chorus teacher, I am sure to have an array of subject matter and stories to tell you! For now, I want to take a moment to speak on one of the most important parts of vocal health, and that is the vocal warm-up.

Anytime I teach a private voice lesson, I begin with a series of stretches. (Some of these are covered in my previous blog post: Vocal Secret Weapon #3). The concept behind stretching is to let the body know that you're getting ready to sing and also to remind yourself that singing is a full-body experience. It's also simply easier to sing when all the muscles of the body are warm as opposed to tensed up.

After we stretch (and yes, I always stretch and sing with my students; it's unreasonable to expect them to do something that I can't do!), I take the student through vocal warm-ups. This might surprise you, but I spend at least half of each voice lesson on vocal warm-ups. Why? They are so important to helping a singer master the correct technique, and they can also be directly incorporated into the singer's repertoire, or "real life" material, as I like to call it.

The main purpose of vocal warm-ups are to help the vocal cords avoid injury. Aside from that, warm-ups prepare the body for heavy singing, help develop agility in the ranges, and get the singer in the habit of practicing good vocal technique!!! It's a win-win situation all around when you warm-up.

One thing I have to emphasize when talking about vocal warm-ups is that they are just that: warm-ups. You perform them as a preliminary exercise to singing whatever other material you're practicing. Therefore, they shouldn't be perfect or you wouldn't even need to use them! When I was recording some of my own vocal exercises for my students, I actually had not sung at all that day before I began. I used those exercises as my warm-up while recording them! They aren't perfect, but they illustrate the way warm-ups are supposed to sound, and more importantly, they provided the perfect warm-up for my voice that day. When you are performing warm-ups, they should be done with ease and should bring you more energy, not drain it! If the exercise is too strenuous, then it shouldn't be considered a warm-up. You don't want to do the hard work before you've even have a chance to sing a song!

Now that I've hopefully talked you into adding a warm-up routine to your singing, you may be wondering where to find warm-ups. The answer to that is easy. Look around you; they are everywhere! You can easily find warm-ups on the internet. Use this quick guide to help you evaluate if a particular warm-up will work.

1. Make sure the warm-up is easy to understand

2. Make sure you can perform the warm-up with ease to a certain degree and that it doesn't tire out your voice or temporarily decrease your range

3. After you perform it, you should feel "warm" around the throat and articulators. That's usually a good sign that you can begin practicing your other material

4. Make sure the warm-up actually helps your voice develop and grow

Warm-ups are critical to your success as a singer! They will ultimately help you increase your range and memorize what it feels like to sing properly.

Ten Ways to Survive (and Thrive) in Choir Rehearsal

For the last vocal workshop that I hosted, I wrote some new material that I thought would be relevant to choir members of any age. It is my top "Ten Ways to Survive (and Thrive) in Choir Rehearsal". I thought I'd share them here today:

1. On your way to rehearsal, perform several warm-up exercises in your car to ready your voice for singing.

2. Make sure you come prepared with your music in a binder and pick up the music you will need for the evening's rehearsal.

3. Bring a pencil and use it! Make marks all over your music to help you remember rhythms, notes, breath marks, etc. (Note: that's why you use a pencil, so you can erase!)

4. Make sure you sit next to someone who knows the part you are supposed to be singing well, then copy them!

5. Be an active listener and an active learner.

6. Increase your energy by sitting up tall in your chair with feet uncrossed (I know, this takes some getting used to, but I promise you'll be more supported and sing better).

7. Bring water and aim to drink the entire bottle throughout the rehearsal.

8. Ask questions if you're unsure of a certain part.

9. It's ok not to use your full voice for the entire rehearsal. When you're learning your part, sing quietly. When you know your part, then practice in your performance voice.

10. Have fun making a joyful noise unto the Lord!

I hope these tips help you soar through your own choir rehearsal with ease! Happy singing!