Why a warm up shouldn’t be just vocal exercises

Many of us choir leaders are constantly on the look-out for new warm up ideas.

Whenever I look on the internet, I always come across sheet music for vocalises. But these are only a small part of what a warm up should be.

If it hurts to sing, then stop!

Often a singer will come up to me in a session and tell me their throat is hurting. I usually tell them to stop singing. 

photo by Marco Verch Professional Photographer

In this post want to look at what might cause pain or discomfort when singing and what you can do about it.

What not to do with your head when singing very high or very low notes

It is human nature for our heads to go up and down as we sing extreme notes.

photo by jaime.silva

If a note is very high, we tilt our head up to reach for it. If a note is very low, we tip our head down. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help us to reach those notes. In fact it makes things worse.

Are warm ups necessary for singers?

In a recent blog post, Robert Sussuma urges singers to “stop warming up, doing exercises, and practising.”

see source, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

He is being a little provocative, but it has prompted me to reflect on whether singers need to warm up or not before singing.

You sing with your whole body – not just your vocal apparatus

As a member of the Natural Voice Network (NVN), I share a belief that our voices are rooted in our bodies.

photo by Nottingham Trent University

But it’s not just the NVN, most professional singers believe this too.

Why are we stretching when we’ve come to sing?

I believe that proper preparation for singing is vital.

But sometimes I forget to explain why to singers who come to my one-off sessions. This is what I should remember to tell them.