Warm-ups - and why you should do them

The muscles of your throat aren't very different from
the other muscles in your body, in the fact that these
muscles need to be slowly warmed up as, in say, your leg muscles.

If you were going to run 3 miles - you wouldn't just get up
and run out the door; (you'd have to pay a pretty price if you did!)
What you would do is stretch and bend slowly to get those legs working.
Well - it's the same with your voice muscles.
They too, need to bend and stretch slowly to warm up.
Sounds logical - doesn't it?

So what we need here are some good stretch and bend exercizes
for the vocal cords.
There are millions of singing teachers, with millions of warm-ups.
I've chosen the exercizes that do most, in the shortest time.
I've had millions of exercizes to choose between!!

My theory is that most problems concerning the voice
have to do with connecting through to the high notes.
A major factor to this problem could be noise pollution.
Adult and children's voices are often worn-out and tired
due to the amount of noise in the world today.
Walk by a school yard today and hear the high-pitched
voices of children playing. In my classrooms, children yell
to be heard, and then go home and yell at the dinner table.
Noise pollution today is as dangerous as air and water pollution.
So ~ turn down those radios, ghetto blasters and televisions and enjoy
a little peace and quiet once in a while.
Now - back to training those tired voices.
I ALWAYS start by training the higher part of the voice,
because here are most of the problems with singing.


Exercizes:
The Lip Trill
Blow through your lips so they make a rolling Brrrr sound.
It helps to put two fingers on the side of your mouth and gently
lift. Let your lips vibrate as you go from your lower voice
to the higher voice.
Gently make a small sound, while trilling your lips - from the lower
notes to the higher notes. Remember to always be relaxed, and never
force your voice - roll up and down like a roller coaster.

The Tongue Trill
Do the same exercize, but this time roll your tongue.
Remember - easy and free - no forcing or pushing.
These two exercises not only warm your voice up gently,
they also stretch your cords in a relaxed way.
And - they help build a bridge between your high voice
and your lower voice.


Laughing
Look in a mirror (always use a mirror for training)
and say HA. Place the sound high in your cheekbones
between the edge of your eye and your ear. Laugh in your
highest voice, like an opera diva - and sing Ha Ha.
This will give you the feeling of high placement, which is good
for your voice.


Support
A bit about supporting.
When we lift heavy objects, and remember to use our legs, instead
of our backs - we support.
You can feel it when lifting a heavy object, that the solar plexis
area becomes hard. I remember young boys used to tighten their solar
plexis muscles, and then dare anyone to hit them in the stomach.
How amazed we were, that they weren't hurt - but that is because
they protected this, otherwise fragile area, by tightening the muscles.
Lift up in the pelvic floor and feel the solar plexis becoming hard, as
your ribs expand outwards. This is supporting. One of my many singing
teachers call this, "singing with your body and not your throat".


Stay tuned for more tips on singing -
coming soon!


Vocalease p. 1 Vocalease p.3 Vocalease p.4