The best vocal warm up in the world…EVER!

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Has this ever happened to you?

I had just woken up and one of my favourite songs just came on the radio…

It was bohemian rhapsody by queen…

This is not a song that I often pass up when I hear it as there is just something about that song that draws me in…

I feel like I’m singing with Freddie (anyway)

So I sang this first thing in the morning after a bad night’s sleep…

Can you see where this is going?

Well, I sang that song over and over…

I lost track of time…

Then I moved onto some Marie.J.Blige (No More Drama)…

As I love to riff on that song and I can really let go with the emotion too.

So was that me done?

No, I went onto (let’s keep this short Dyl)

Well here are some of the sings I remember singing…

First thing in the morning (Dyl Dyl Dyl will you ever learn!)

Bridge Over Troubled Waters (Simon & Garfunkel),

I remember finishing on a classic…

Have you got any suspicions as to what it is? (is that bad or what)

Yes…

It was Superstition by the man himself Stevie Wonder.

So after a couple of magic hours singing along with my fav songs.

I had to stop for lessons (can you spot a warm up anywhere? No neither can I!)

So I then taught for 6 hours straight…

When I teach I demonstrate a lot to my students as this is a big part of the learning process…

On the very last lesson I was demonstrating a 2-octave slide and hold the note at the top, and teaching the student how to swell the sound from quiet to belt and then back again…

Normally this would not be a problem, and at the time it was a well-executed exercise ( as close to perfect as your going to get if I may say so myself!)

But all that singing in the morning straight after waking up had taken its toll…

After that last lesson, I went to speak to my wife and I Just felt a little twinge in my voice…

Now I have spent many years really learning to listen, but more importantly feel what my voice is telling me (as this is probably one of the biggest secrets to amazing singing, you have to learn to feel your voice as much as you hear it!).

I know from experience that If I ignore this little twinge then it will only get worse…

So the course of action?

Total vocal rest starting when?

Right now!

So I spent the next 4 days not talking (I was lucky as I only had 2 lessons on Saturday and one had cancelled already so I just cancelled the other and as I don’t work on Friday or Mondays any more I got my 4 days rest).

After the 4 days,

I was ready to try out my voice and see what it was like…

It’s like opening a parcel with fragile stamped on it, you open it up carefully (it’s exciting and a little scary too)

So hang on, did I just start talking?

No!

And what I did next is what was instrumental in getting my voice back on track quickly so that I was back to singing in no time!

I thought this vocal warm up is something I should share with you…

You see, I intuitively went to a very specific sound and exercise (I’ll talk about that more in a minute)…

I thought about it some more…

This is the same exercise I use faithfully over and over and have been for the last 20 years (I used it as part of my vocal rehabilitation which is another story)

And I still use it every day!

I love this exercise as I can do it when I am out walking (as long as you don’t mind people looking at you,

on the upside I have never been mugged while doing this exercise walking down the street, I wonder why! LOL)…

In between singing lessons (as it’s not a scale)

And of course, I do it every morning to slowly stretch out my voice…

Well, nearly every morning (if I had done this before singing to Queen 4 days ago that day would have been totally fine, hey ho you live and learn).

But it’s not just the exercise…

Like everything in singing it’s how you do the exercise that really makes all the difference, and this is something that I excel at…

I am like a mind ninja when it comes to laser beam focus on the correct action at the correct time. I make sure that everything feels and sounds just like it’s supposed to.

And that is what will always make the difference between the very same exercise feeling like it did a good job and feeling ok when you go to sing and it feeling amazing when you go to sing(but that’s for another time)

I couple this exercise with a great sound,

And I add a little trick to the beginning and the end to help with good airflow…

I realized early on in my singing journey the power of this exercise…

And like so many things I had got to a point where I just took it for granted…

Until now that is…

So…

What is the best vocal warm up exercise in the world…EVER?!

In my opinion, it has to be:

1. A Descending slide (this is the exercise that you can do anywhere any time without scales which makes it amazingly versatile)
2. A Siren
3. NG (this is my favourite of all the humming variations, as it’s not to forward on the lips although this is another great hum, the NG gives a lighter connection though and this is why I choose it over and over, and of course it gives great balance to the voice)
4. SS at the beginning of the exercise and at the end (the ss makes sure that I always start the exercise with air flow and finish the exercise with air flow, Which is another crucial element of great singing, you must have air flow!)

 

So if we put those 4 elements of a vocal warm up together we get…

You start your warm up with…

1) A descending slide on SSNGSS (to get the NG tongue position simply say the word “sing” and keep the tongue in the NG position at the end of the word).

Note: I do not say hold as often students will lock the tongue in place, it should be in that position freely as if you just paused in that position, no more than that).

You then start the descending slides over a very small part of your vocal range to start with and slowly open it up constantly listening to the feedback you are getting from your body specifically from your throat (as this is the almighty golden rule of singing feeling an open throat, but that’s for another time).

When the voice is ready and only then can you start to open your voice a little more constantly listening to that feedback…

Once you feel you have opened up half of your singing range (this would be if I was doing this exercise first thing in the morning, If I was doing this later I would go for opening up my whole vocal range but first thing in the morning I like to start with half)

2) I would then move on to the sirens

now I don’t start the siren at the bottom as most singers do, the secret is to start at the top

This way you don’t drag up your singing voice ( remember when I say the top I mean at the top of your comfortable range never higher than that, by doing it this way your voice will quickly open up more, just be patient with it).

bringing your voice into balance every day…

(Think if it very much like how you have to tune up a guitar every day before you can play it, think of this warm up as doing the same for your voice every day).

Working over the same range as the descending slide…

Sometimes you will find that your voice just starts to open up more naturally that is totally fine just go with listening to your body and go with it,

You can never go wrong this way,

Never: guess when your voice is ready to go higher when your voice is ready your voice will tell you by feeling really easy at the top and suddenly out pops another higher note then you’re ready to go higher and only then).

The sound that I use that is critical to the success of this exercise…

yes, I could use a lip trill but it’s not quite the same or a tongue trill.

I could go on about different sounds all day as there are many but in my experience and have tried them all, believe me, this combination is killer for getting the best results possible.

If you would like me to create a course where I go into great detail teaching you every step breaking it down and explaining why and how every single step should sound and feel then let me know in the comments below…

I start with the SS as this ( I mentioned this earlier) makes sure that I have air flow, air flow is crucial if you want to sing with total freedom. I explain all about air flow here.

So there you have it…

I start with the descending slide and then move onto the siren, I never push for a bigger range I patiently what for my voice to tell me when it’s ready…

And that is what I do every day to keep my voice in trim…

Or at least nearly every day…

I think after this little event I will get back onto doing it all the…

Time, try this for a month and let me know in the comments your results…

and that is it…

The best vocal warm up in the world…EVER!

Actually, I mentioned something just know that is really important so I want to mention it again…

Golden Tip of The Day:

I wait for my voice to tell me when it’s ready I don’t push…

Ever, this little gem will make the difference between this exercise working well or not. In fact that goes for any exercise you do, never dictate to your voice let it show you (by understanding what to feel and listen for) when it’s ready

And I promise you this…

You will never go wrong…EVER!

If you can just take this powerful lesson away and add it to your singing then your singing will instantly improve…

FACT!

Do you have a faithful warm up you do at any time of the day?

What about some songs you love to sing along to?

Leave your comments below as I would love to know…

I’ll see you on my next adventure…

I mean post.

Have a great day Dyl.

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