Singing actively employs the vocal cords, which is the source of a vibrant and healthy singing voice. Without your vocal cords, you would not be able to sing, even if you did possess a powerful diaphragm and excellent breathing habits. Practice these singing warm up exercises to maximize the effectiveness of your voice.
Our vocal cords are located in the “voice box.” This is most commonly known as the “adam’s apple,” and can be easily seen as the bulge in most men’s throats.
Human vocal cords are able to produce sound through the passage of air between the cords. As air passes through, the cords vibrate. Different rates and volumes of air causes the cords to vibrate at different frequencies, and this is what our ears detect as different sounds.
As we mentioned in the previous article about voice warm up exercises, vocal warm up exercises are important to stretch out the vocal chords prior to singing in order to prevent damage. A proper singing warm up exercise routine allows for better practice, which in turn can improve the sound and strength of your singing.
In addition, singing warm up exercises serve as a form of singing exercise as well. Many singing warm up exercises consist of scales and basic pitching exercises, which can train your singing voice to reach notes more accurately and to hit progressively higher notes.
An important warning is that you should never over train your vocal cord muscles. Similar to how it can be dangerous if you injure your back lifting weights, you risk hurting your voice box muscles by subjecting them to too much tension. The rule of thumb is if you feel fatigue or even minor pain in your throat, then stop immediately and get some rest.
Singing Warm up Exercise Routine
This warm up exercise routine builds on all of the previous breathing and voice exercises you’ve learned to warm up your body for a better singing performance.
- Place your hand on your stomach and slowly take 5 deep breaths in and out. Feel your diaphragm expand and contract with each deep breath.
- Perform 10 jumping jacks to warm and loosen up your body. Experience has shown that performing minor exercises like a few jumping jacks can improve lung capacity during a song
- Clear your throat of any phlegm or other contaminants.
- Drink some warm water or tea to clear the throat
- Perform the lip trill exercise. Reference the article on voice warm up exercises for specific details.
- Repeat the lip trill exercises on several pitch ranges, starting from low to high
- Once your lips are warmed up, select your favorite song and try to follow along, using the lip trill instead of singing the words
- Go back and repeat the song, singing the words softly this time
- Go back and repeat the song once more, using the lip trill.
Many people report that after performing this singing warm up exercise, their tone sounds better, high notes are easier to hit, and the overall song becomes much easier to sing.