Vocal Warm-Ups

Here are some quick vocal warm-ups that you can do. These are great if you are in a hurry and you need to warm-up your voice.

Make sure that you have good posture throughout this vocal warm-up, and all your practice sessions and lessons in general. Practicing in front of a mirror can help with checking your posture and technique. No one expects you to stand perfectly straight the whole time you sing, that would make you appear stiff and uncomfortable. Just be sure that you have no tension in your muscles and that your voice has room to move around. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and take a few seconds to roll your head around to ease any tension in your neck.

Remember, in your lessons, your teachers gives you warm-ups that are specifically for your voice and your individual needs. So be sure to do these, too.

Let’s get started. You will either need a piano (and someone who knows how to play it) or a recording of simple 5 note scales (whole steps) going up the piano and then back down the piano.

Make sure that you know your basic vowel sounds:
ee, ay, ah, oh, oo

Take a good breath and start with 5 note scales, up and down the piano on ah. Try about 2 1/2 octaves on the piano.

Then you can do each vowel: ee ay, ah, oh and oo.

Other Warm-Ups

• On 5 note scales, you can do lip trills up and down the piano.
• You can also try 5 note scales down the piano singing me, may, mah, mo, moo.

If you aren’t sure how to do these exercises, ask your teacher to show you so you can do them at home.