Any serious athlete warms up before any strenuous work out and not only that they also cool down. Your voice is no different from your body. It also needs to warm up and cool down. If you are serious about your voice then it is important you do so in order to maximise flexibility and get the optimal performance from your voice as well as minimising risks of strain. Carrying out vocal exercises on a regular basis not only get’s you ready for that particular vocal session but also aids in overall development of your vocals, keeping them nimble and ready. This is perhaps encompassed in this quote – “You don’t just work out on days when you think you might have to be in a bathing suit, so why would you just vocalise on days that you think you have to sing.”
Here are some useful video’s to assist with your vocal warm ups courtesy of singer and vocal coach Eric Arceneaux.
Once youve got the jist of those particular exercises you can follow along using this scale video:
If that’s too quick then you can always try this slower version.
A cool down session for an athlete enables their body to recover and return to its normal state. This is the same for your voice. In the following video, vocal coach Michelle Hakala talks you through the importance of a vocal cool down session and how to go about doing so. This is generally a much simpler process than warming up but that doesn’t make it any less important.
