Vocal Warm-up Sequence

1. Posture and Alignment

Since singing is a physical process, warming up the body is

important to healthy vocal production. This should involve
stretching/ massaging, becoming grounded and aligning the
body for good posture. Eg. Rag doll, stretching, body shake,
massages, knee bends/ squats.

2. Breathing

Once the body is prepared for singing, it is now important to

focus on proper breath support. The breath is the “generator”
of our instrument, so it’s a very important part of the warm-up
sequence. This should include taking expansive breaths on
the inhale followed by consistent and even pressure on the
release of air, or exhale (like the air being released from a
balloon). Eg. Ballon, lip trills, feeling ribs expand, hissing out.
 Vocal Warm-up Sequence

3. Phonation

This is the step between breathing and actually producing a sound, or

when the vocal folds finally touch and begin to vibrate, making the
sound. This helps to start the voice with a light amount of pressure to
ease the voice into singing and promotes vocal health. Eg. Humming,
singing through a straw, sighing.

4. Resonance & Vowels

Resonance is the way we use the space or cavities in our body to

mold the sound we produce. You can control the resonance by
placing the sound more in your chest, mouth, nasal area, head
and by lifting your soft palate. Exploring your resonance
chambers will allow you to control the many sounds you can
produce, help you move across registers, and give you more
options for expression and musicality. Eg. Sing “ming” or “ng” ,
sing while plugging nose, yawn, buzzing.

5. Articulation & Diction

Our vocal articulators include our tongue, teeth, lips,

jaw, and soft palate. As singers, we need to work our
articulators so that we can sing our lyrics clearly and
to help us with correct placement of consonants and
vowels so that our sound will blend as an ensemble.
Remember, uniform vowels create beauty and blend
of sound while precise consonants create
expression. Eg. Tongue twisters, kinesthetic vowel exercises (vee-vay-vah-voh-voo),
singing scale on numbers, dramatic speech in choral songs (All I Want is a Proper Cup of
Coffee).
 Vocal Warm-up Sequence

6. Register/ Range Extension & Flexibility

Register and range extension is important for gradually

warming up the higher and lower parts of your voice in order
to avoid vocal strain when singing high/low repertoire. The
aim is to produce a sound that is consistent between the
registers. Eg. Sighs or sirens, arpeggios, scales, runs, slides.

Flexibility, in a similar fashion, works on further controlling the voice in order to sing
faster and with more precision and control. Eg. Fast “haha” warm ups, fast scales and
arpeggios.

Conclusion

To conclude, vocal warm ups are much more than waking up

the voice. They are essential in healthy vocal production, to
prevent injury, and to develop your singing technique and
skill. With time and practice, you might even be able to sing
as long, and as quickly as Cecilia Bartoli
WATCH ME: Cecilia Bartoli - The Great Coloratura Soprano
Or as high as Sarah Aristidou
WATCH ME (but not around dogs): Soprano Sarah Aristidou Sings Blistering High F#