Vocal Warm-Ups
for Morning Singing
Vocal warm-ups for waking the voice up in the morning... free sheetmusic exercises to do before you even open your mouth.
What do I mean, before even opening your mouth? HUMMING!
Slow and gentle is what these singing warm-ups are about. A physical education teacher once told my 7th-grade gym class that "jumping out of bed" was the worst thing you could do to your body!
Incredulous, one of the girls asked, "The very worst thing?" At which the teacher had to moderate her statement somewhat, replying, "Well, okay; getting hit with a Mack truck would be worse, of course!"
But her point was memorable -- in, fact, her statement is the only thing I remember about that long-ago gym class. The same thing applies to using your voice in the morning... be gentle with it.
Humming is very gentle.
It's hard to damage your vocal folds when you hum, making humming a good way to start your singing day.
Even so, focus your hum "forward," up in the "mask" or in the nose, if you can visualize this. You don't want pressure in the throat, so "aim" the tone up and out, beyond your neck and throat.
Notice that most of these vocal warmups employ humming:
All of these warm-ups start in the easy-to-read "C position" because I want my students to learn to play them eventually.
Once the pattern is established, most of my students can eventually transpose them up a half step at a time. (That is my GOAL, at least!)
A similar "new" vocal warmup for me is also humming, but with a different approach, found in The Complete Voice and Speech Workout Book and CD, edited by Janet Rodgers.
The exercise is called "Hum and Chew", and it means just that -- start a hum, then add chewing, with closed and open mouth. It gets fancier after that, if you want!
It seems that the act of chewing focuses one's tone right into the teeth and bony structure of the face, making the sound more resonant.
Sing a few of these lines early in the morning, perhaps for five minutes, then stop, and come back again in a little while to sing some more.
The link to the vocal warm ups PDF:
Download printable warm-ups sheet music for voice
Dianna:
Your website is a light in the darkness. THANK YOU for all you do in helping to spread the love of music. It matters!
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Cailan:
There are an incredible amount of people online who just want to be heard, but very few who have given what you have so clearly. Regarding instruction for those of us who can't afford lessons,your site has been a real gift to stumble across. I'm looking forward to now removing a few bad habits. My humblest thanks from Australia.
Marta:
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Victoria:
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middle school students! Only being in high school and not having an actual job makes it difficult to find good, reliable music to give to my students without having to pay for it.
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Comments
I'd love to know about your favorite warm-ups, perhaps passed on to you by a dear teacher, or one you have made up yourself and come to rely upon. Tell us how you use it!
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About the Author
Hi, I'm Dana! (Say that like "Anna".) I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.
Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.
You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.
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