subject: Essential Vocal Warm Ups Techniques for Singers and Actors - Good Vocal Warm Up Exercises [print this page] Essential Vocal Warm Ups Techniques for Singers and Actors - Good Vocal Warm Up Exercises
Ever wondered how singers and dubbing artists and mimicry artists maintain their voice and the magic they create from their voice? Well, let me give you an analogy. Why do quite a few amongst us pump up in the gym regularly or atleast do some exercise regularly? Simple, to keep fit and tone the muscles and ensure good health. The same thing applies to the above mentioned professionals. The only thing is that they exercise their vocal cords to keep them fit and be able to enthrall the audience through their voice. Vocal warm ups are a major part of these exercises. In case, you are aiming to be a la Whitney Houston or Celine Dion, perhaps these good vocal warm up exercises could help!
Vocal Warm Up Techniques
Humming
One of the basic vocal warm up techniques for singers as well as actors is to simply hum. Increase the pitch as you go on and stay at the pitch and the note which is comfortable for you.
Lets Twist
When it comes to warm ups for actors, especially theater actors, tongue twisters are very effective. 'She sells sea shells on the sea shore' and the likes are great for improving diction, loosening the tongue if it is tense and in general help in developing a clear speech. Saying these aloud clearly and slowly will work wonders for actors. This can be done by singers too, who may have pronunciation problems. Read more on vocal exercises.
Sound of Music
Stretch and yawn and while you are coming to the end of the yawn, hold the 'Ah' like sound. Then relax your throat and jaws. Just try making sounds like 'MMMMMM', 'OOOOO', 'EEEEEE' and so on. Observe how it affects your nasal passage and vocal cords and the vibrations created by it. One of the fun vocal warm ups in this league is to stand straight, breath deeply and slowly. Follow that by repeating 'ha-ha-ha-ha'. Visualize a funny incident or movie scene and laugh. Listen if there is a resonating sound in your chest and sense the vibrations again. This is one of those really good vocal warm up exercises.
Breathe Easy
Developing good breathing techniques is a significant aspect of singing warm ups. Even if the actors do not have to sing, they can surely do well if they know how to get a grip on breathing. In intensely emotional scenes, breathing control is crucial. For the singers, everything depends on how well can they control their breathing. Singing and breathing are like two sides of the same coin. The better control a singer has on his breathing, the better he or she can sing. So, this is a very important technique amongst vocal warm ups for singers. Read more on breathing exercises for singing.
Read My Lips
This again can help gain a good control over breathing and relax lips and the area around the mouth which aids in pronunciation and diction. Let the breath out of the mouth by vibrating your lips in accordance to the air supply and relax while doing this. Here, the air is being controlled by the diaphragm. A sound 'brbrbr' will emanate from doing this exercise. I guess it would be amongst those really effective vocal warm ups for choirs as well as vocal warm ups for kids. In fact kids would love to create such a voice! Again, this falls in the category of good vocal warm up exercises.
In addition to this, you can shake your face and lips high and low, massage the sides of the jaw, which will reduce the tension which might have been built up there.
Eventually vocal warm ups are the trainers for your vocal cords, so don't forget to play (moderately) with your vocal cords before you deliver dialogs or even sing!
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