(Updated) 06.02.09
Here are some video demonstrations of the most important vocal warm up techniques used by professional singers today. The humble ‘Humm’, the mighty ‘Lip roll’ and the dynamic ‘Tongue trill’. These techniques play absolutely vital rolls in any successful singers daily practice routine.
Humming
This may sound daft, but humming is one of the best ways to start your vocal warm up.
Humming is one of the easiest most stress free ways of singing and is an ideal first exercise to practice with your scales.
How to Hum
Place the tip of your tongue at the back of your bottom row of teeth. Do this as though you were at the dentist and were asked to open your mouth and say ‘Ahh’. Alternatively you could use the sound ‘Hee’.
Now relax and close your mouth, jaw and tongue.
Make the sound ‘NNNNnnnnnnn’ or ‘MMMmmmmmmm’ which ever feels best and achieves a fuller, deep warm tone to your voice.
You should find you feel a slight vibration or tingly feeling passing through your tongue, teeth and nose. If you feel this, then you’re doing it right.
The Lip Roll/Trill
This first vid explains how to do the lip roll or lip trill as it is also known. This one of the most important techniques in a singers warm up routine. The tutor in this vid uses it in her own unique way, but the actual trill or roll and the way she explains how to create the sound using her fingers on the side of her cheeks is really good. If you can master the roll, especially without the use of your fingers, then you can use this in many of your warm up routines as all the experts do.
Here is a sound vid from Seth Rigs giving more instruction on how to achieve the lip roll/trill.
This next vid is a really good tutorial from Eric Arceneaux. Check out his link. It is example of how to use the technique whilst practicing your scales.
Tongue Trills
If you have trouble with lip rolls/trills, then tongue trills are another brilliant way of achieving the same results.
Here’s is an excerpt from Bret Manning’s brilliant Singing Success vocal tutorial cd, explaining the tongue trill technique.
and below is a sound byte vid from Seth Riggs speech level singing tutorials running through a tongue trill scale. From 1.58 onwards is a piano scale run through for you to try the tongue trill or lip roll your self.
Take a look at the Complete Vocal Workout page on this site for in depth tuition from Seth Riggs.
If you’re a guitarist and don’t happen to have a piano hanging around, I’ve posted a couple of rough vids especially designed for guitarists and vocalists which to enable you to warm up your fingers and vocals at the same time.
These are really useful and effectively kill two birds with one stone. I’ll update them and post better quality ones once I get round to it. Just take the ideas and expand on them with your own patterns and scales.
You don’t need to be a guitarist to do these exercises, just warm up your vocals and sing along with the scales as usual.
Vocal warm up scales for singers and guitarists
Breathing Exercises
Now we take a look at breathing exercises. Really we should have looked at this vid first as breathing is one of the most important aspects of singing, but as a singer who wants to get on and sing and forget the boring stuff, I thought I’d put it last.
Here’s a great video explaining the finer points involved in breathing technique.
It doesn’t matter how good your vocal range is, if you’re breathing technique is flawed, your singing will be sub standard.
Check out our vocal warm up lessons for our very own tutorials for guitarists and singers.
Posted in Vocal Stuff 06.02.09
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Complete Vocal Workout
Vocal Health
Vocal Warm Up Scales
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I am a very old singer who is so far out of practice I’m beyond rusty, however I have a dear old friend who is 68 and just survived a year of treatment of radiology and chemotherapy on his throat because of a cancer found on his larynx. He avoided having the larynx removed but now can only whisper. I remember many singers who had their larynx damaged from cold, virusus and just over doing the voice. They practiced specific scales and had certain rituals they did to regain their vocal quality and range, I need your help, I would like to help him find as much of his voice as he can manage so that his voice is heard once again. If you have any advice, tips or videos that I can Skype with him with, to help him practice until he regains some of his voice, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you Shaba
Sounds like he is in a very delicate situation. You might take a look at the National institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders website and other similar sites to gain further information. There are links to organisations and lists of resources at the bottom of the page. You will have to be very careful not to damage his voice further by engaging in singing and vocal exercises too early on in his recovery, but if you are ready to give it a go you can check out my full vocal work out post. There’s a load of professional vocal lessons you can begin to work at.
Hope that helps a bit.
Ditto!
Please check this article from maestro David Jones about recuperating damaged voices.
In my humble opinion he is the one of the best vocal teachers ever. I’ve learned a lot from his articles, he employs the sweedish/italian school of trainning.
Hopefully this helps you and your friend.
Good luck.
http://voiceteacher.com/damaged.html
Don’t forget hydration is crucial for the vocal chords, and it’s especially important when you’re recovering from
an illness or injury. It will keep your pipes lubed and help you recover faster. If he is on medication, good hydration will help his body process the drugs more efficiently.
For tips on singing and Voice Lessons check out http://www.vocalwarmup.co.uk‘s free eBook – 90 Days To Be A Better Singer.
Love the website! Can you please! please help? I am a semi-professional singer – mostly for fun and pocket money – but find the more I am singing the less I can get the soft female sounding head voice. I sing lots of Buble stuff but with a harder edge sound than the great guy. Its as though I’m pushing away my head to falsetto transition place (if I’m explaining it correct). Consequently, my head voice isn’t there anymore even though I can sing the higher range notes. Am I straining and if so are other more well known singers doing the same i.e. Tom Jones – even Elvis. You don’t hear them singing falsetto too much do you?
Thanks again for a great website.
Denis
Hi Denis, I try to sing across a range of vocals ranging from deep singers like Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, Aaron Lewis – Staind etc. to artists like Matt Belamy from Muse with a lot of falsetto going on.
I find that when I concentrate on either my high or low range vocals for a period of time and lapse from the other, I get very good at one and achieving the opposite becomes much more difficult.
You have to either make sure you don’t neglect any of your potential range and increase your vocal practice time to include the high stuff, or just forget the falsetto and concentrate on your comfortable range as many artists do.
I think although it is much harder and time consuming to keep up, all singers should try and achieve the ability to perform as well as they can at both ends of the scale.
i am only a kid but these videos are amazing, i think i am very good singer and desperate to be a solo singer when i grow up. i don’t go vocal lessons so this website helped me a great deal. i also write songs and would be amazed if someone would publish them. how do these popstars just pop out of the blue and become so big, how do they make it that far? take Justin Beiber for example, someone helped him publish a few hits andd suddenly he the star of the century. i’ll be checking this website for any more videos. please put some more on!
Hi Taylor,
Reckon for most people you’ve got to have the skill and put in the effort, if you plug away for long enough you’ll eventually get there. Or you might just get lucky and be in the right place at the right time.
It’s not always about skill and luck though, it’s often who you know and the people who surround you. Think about it and tip the odds in your favour. Move to where the action is and surround yourself with people who can make things happen, then you’ll have a fighting chance. Don’t leave it to fate.
K
I love singing it is my favourite thing to do and I also love it because my boyfriend is a singer
Nice one Sian, you’ve got a built in duet there.
This is a great site! I hope to use these. I’m an 11 year old musician, and have decide since we can’t afford vocal training, I’ll look online and try to vocal train myself. I tried these excersises and I have a richer, stronger voice! Thanks!
Keep it up Reece, check out the vocal workout post
http://www.streetmusician.co.uk/vocalworkout/
Lots of good stuff there too.
umm. well need a warm up song for my choir any suggestions?
Hi Lozza, I wouldn’t know much about good warm up songs for a choir, but I’d make them do ‘humms’, then lip rolls or tongue trills, up and down some major scales for a few minutes. That should get them warmed up pretty well.
Hope that helps.
thanks thats great
I like the lip rolling it’s funny
Definitely, can be rather embarrassing too in public
The tongue trill can be achieved while still maintaining some sense of self respect.
hi, the lip roll and tongue tril are incredible!!!
Yup, they may look and sound stupid, but they do the job !
Hi,
im just learning how to sing i knew when i was younger my voice wasnt that bad.
now the years have past i want to learn how to sing good.
i have tried singing to myself and some notes i can hit pretty well but apart from that i struggle as i feel the part from you’re normal voice to lifting it higher the inbetween bit or the bridge i believe you call it feels blocked, like i have to clear my throat doing that hut hum !
can you give me any advice on what i have to do to make this better or is there nothing i can do ?
thanks
I am a choir member in our church….. what are the tips in taking care of my voice?
I WANT TO INCREASE MY RANGE WHAT DO I DO
Hi I’m Daryian I use to be the lead in my church choir web I was little and then I stop singing for about 5-6 years I’m recently started again and notice I dint really sound the way I did any tips on how to re train your voice?? Greatly appreciated
i was thinking of being a street preformer but im only nine i need ideas on how to warm up my vioce and i need ideas on songs becuse i dont know any mail
hi there. i am english/indian and live in the uk. i would love to become a singer and actress and would love to know any places you can recommend to me for both these talents. im not a wealthy child but would love some opportunities. thanks for any help or advise given. (i’m 13 years old)
I am 11 and i have been singing since i was 3 years old and its a passion of mine. i also dance and act and i think that these warm ups are awesome