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Warm Up

Warming up

When we’re going for a run or for a workout in the gym we warm-up first to protect our body and get the best from it. It’s just the same with singing, which uses many muscles and organs throughout the body. To warm up effectively, the singer must stretch and relax the vocal cords, tongue, lips, lungs and body.

Techie stuff

When we sing, we use the vocal cords (soft tissue) and the inner muscles of the larynx that close the cords. The vocal cords are mucous membrane, similar in size to our eyelids, and they need to be kept hydrated, so if you’re singing make sure that you have had lots of water to drink. The larynx protects the cords with a hard outer-casing – our ‘Adam’s apple’. When we sing, air from the lungs is passed through the larynx causing the vocal cords to vibrate and make sound.

Warming up helps us to

• Sing and perform with greater freedom, flexibility and consistency
• Keep our voices fit and protect them from damage
• Increase the vocal range
• Create more options for expression and communication
• Avoid vocal fatigue
• Link our brain, ears, mouth and body which are all used at the same time when we sing

So whether you sing in a choir, with a band or as a soloist, make sure you warm up to get the best from your voice and keep it healthy.

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Explore Further

• Eric Arceneaux
  1. Opening up the voice
  2. Increasing Vocal Range
  3. Improving Vocal Tone
  4. Strengthening the Voice
• Watch how the Cincinnati Youth Choir warm up ahead of singing using physical stretches, breathing and different vocal techniques.