Why it is Important to Warm Up Vocals before Singing

Written by: rosia.biscoe.singin
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2010

Warming up your vocals before singing is crucial to ensure peak performance and to ensure the continued health of your vocal cords. Just as an athlete would not dream of running a marathon without warming up, so should a singer be wary or straining their vocal cords without adequate warming up.

Warming up before singing involves not only warming up of the vocal chords per se, singers should also include in their warm up routine a short warming up of the body in general. Singing is a process that involves the whole body. If the body is feeling tense or if the body is unwell, you will be sure that this will affect your singing. Personally, i can't sing if i'm too hungry or too tired. I'm sure many of you have felt the same before on many occasion. So you understand the link between body health and singing.



The general warm up of the body is similar to those before an exercise, mainly stretching of the upper body. Basically, you need to ensure your body is relaxed and free of tension. Places to look out for especially are your neck, shoulders and jaws. Simple exercises to do would be neck and shoulder stretches and rolls. My teacher used to get us to tense up our whole body and then release it all at once. This is a good exercise to relax yourself even on a normal day. Also, to relax your jaw, chew on an imaginary apple or gum, just move your jaw around. it'll be relaxed in no time!

Of course, after the body's relaxed, you'll need to warm up your vocal chords. Your vocal chords are 2 muscular folds found inside your larynx, what is more commonly called your voice box. For different pitches, your vocal chords need to adjust accordingly to produce the pitch you wish to produce. Without adequate warming up of your vocals, you strain your vocal chords and risk injuring them as well.

Learning Warm Up Vocals may seem to many an insignificant exercise but it makes for a strong foundation to work on. Warming up your vocals is one of the most important singing basics you may learn in your singing career. Keep on singing!


http://www.squidoo.com/howtowarmupvocals

Katie Hayland

Read also: