Voice warming is of paramount importance not only for professional singers, but also for anyone who wants to keep their voice healthy. You can imagine the warming of the voice as if you had to tune your vocal cords, so that they can embrace any type of vocal production and cope with the trauma of the phonatory system.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Techniques That Engage the Whole Body
Step 1. Maintain good posture
In order for the air to flow in the best way and, consequently, the sound of the voice is also better, you must have a correct posture, both when you are sitting and when you are standing. Imagine a line that, starting from the top of the head, through the back, supports you while keeping you erect.
- If you are standing, keep your feet firmly planted on the ground, at a distance from each other equivalent to shoulder width. Balance the weight equally on both legs. Keep your head up and shoulders back. Every part of your body should be on the same line.
- If you are sitting, follow the same directions but keep your back away from the chair, sitting towards the edge.
Step 2. Breathe deeply
Many people have a bad habit of using only the upper part of the lungs, although this prevents them from using their diaphragm and from fully expressing their potential.
If you are tense as you breathe, the tension will resonate in the muscles of the vocal cords. Breathe normally, but be careful to keep your shoulders down and your chest relaxed. Breathe using your abdomen and keep your entire torso relaxed. If necessary, place a hand on your stomach to remind yourself that this is the part that should move up and down, not the chest and shoulders. Make an "s" -like hiss as you exhale to control the amount of air you exhale
Step 3. Relax your jaw
Any kind of nervous tension prevents you from producing quality sounds. You have to take care of your jaw, because it is the organ from which the voice comes out.
Massage your cheeks with the palms of your hands. Apply pressure just below the cheekbones in a clockwise twisting motion. The jaw should open and relax spontaneously, without you voluntarily forcing it to do so. Repeat the exercise several times
Step 4. Drink hot drinks
Ice cold water literally silences your vocal cords. It is also best to avoid caffeine and nicotine. These substances compress your throat and decrease your vocal skills.
Preferably drink hot tea or water at room temperature. You definitely want your vocal cords to be lubricated, but you certainly don't want to freeze or burn them! If you like tea, make sure it's not too hot
Method 2 of 2: Before You Begin to Sing
Step 1. Make musical scales
You wouldn't be able to run five miles without training - likewise don't hope your vocal cords will be able to go up or down three octaves without exercise. Practicing with the scales allows the voice to gradually warm up, until it reaches its maximum extension. It is also an easy exercise to do, even on your own.
If you breathe well and maintain correct posture, it will be easier to reach the notes of your high register. However try to be patient and work gradually. If you start too low or too high you will damage your voice, forcing it to do unnatural things
Step 2. Practice with the lips and with the warbling
Another method of warming up the voice is vibrated sounds. The warbling relaxes the lips and tongue, involves breathing and relieves tension.
- Produce truffles with your lips: Create a simple squeaky sound by slightly overlapping the lips. Try different consonant sounds, such as the aspirated "b" or "h". Go slowly from your high to low register, but don't do anything annoying or difficult to maintain.
- Warbling produced with the tongue: try the consonant "r". Put your tongue behind your upper teeth and exhale forcefully. Keep the air and sound constant by varying the pitch. Always remember not to force your voice too hard.
Step 3. Add the sirens and kazoos
One of the funniest ways to warm your voice is to imitate the sound of the siren and the kazoo. When you do the siren (you should start with the low tones and proceed towards the highs) move your arm with a rotating motion that follows the trend of the tones.
Kazoos focus on sound and tense the vocal cords in a healthy and controlled way. You have to pretend you're sucking spaghetti - that's all. When you exhale, make the sound "huu" - it will come out as a buzz. Keep the sound constant and reach the highs and lows of your range. Repeat the exercise several times
Step 4. Make the nasal sound similar to "mmm"
This exercise also helps cool the voice, an often forgotten but equally important technique. The nasal sound warms the voice without straining it as singing would.
Release your jaw and relax your shoulders. Breathe in normally and exhale with an "mmm". Go from high to low tones, as if you were a sighing siren. If you feel tickling around your nose and lips, you've done a good job
Advice
- Drink lots of water. Make sure it's at room temperature. Cold drinks constrict the vocal cords.
- A heated voice recovers much faster from the trauma it has suffered. After about half an hour, take a break.
- Make room in your mouth: you need it to increase resonance and make the vowels darker.
- Do not drink cold water or milk. The milk would stick to the throat and make it more difficult to expel the air. If you have to sing, don't drink milk for the previous twenty-four hours. Cold water would be a shock to your vocal cords.
