The Fundamentals
VOCAL NERDS
WARMING UP: The voice
NOTE: To do the exercises in these videos it
Don’t get us wrong, physical
warm ups are important, but it is
the regular vocal warm ups that
will prevent you from coughing up
your larynx mid-croon.
is assumed that you are vocally fit and healthy.
Naturally if you feel pain, discomfort or a
change in your vocal tone at any point then
stop the exercise immediately. If the pain
persists then consult a general practitioner or
voice specialist.
EXERCISE 6!
!
EXERCISE 7!
Humming:
Yes, the lowly hum. This is an easy, low
intensity start to your warm up. The aim is to get the vocal
cords coming together and the muscle fibres warmed up. It
is best to start at the bottom end of the voice i.e. ‘chest
voice’ (the range where you speak). You could hum a
melody, or hum up and down a scale such as the ‘5-tone
scale’ (i.e. the first 5 notes of the major scale).
Lip Trill / Tongue Trill Sirens: Lip trill being preferable, this
is the go-to exercise for most voice coaches to begin a
lesson. Best done with a slightly hooty tone underneath and
imagining the vowel ‘UH’ is being said underneath the lip or
tongue. Instead of the siren glide approach you could use a
structured scale like a 1.5 octave.
THE HUM
LIP TRILL/TONGUE TRILL
!
Semi-Occluded Exercises!
!
These are the best things ever invented.
Period. They are a logical step in the warm up
progression as they slightly open the mouth
from the hum whilst still restricting airflow
through the vocal cords. Semi-occluded
sounds create a raised air pressure in the vocal
tract, which in turn presses back down on the
vocal cords helping them to close effortlessly.
iSing | issue 1
Afterwards you will experience an increase in
output with reduced effort. This aerodynamic
process supports the function of the vocal
cords giving you the best possible results, and
not taking all day to do it either. !
!
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