The voice is an instrument that allows sounds to be reproduced. Like an instrument, you need to learn how to use it properly in order to make it sound your best. When it comes to singing, many people forget that not only do you need a good voice or a good singing technique, but you need to know how to prepare your body for it. In this sense, warming up is a fundamental part of the singing process that allows you to stretch the muscles linked to the production of the voice. Therefore, we explain some voice warm up exercises that you can easily do.
Voice warm up exercises
If we stop to think about practices that require exercising our body muscles such as tennis or soccer, we will realize that people who practice these sports give vital importance to warming up. Although it is true that singing does not imply physical effort at the level of these sports due to the muscles that are involved, it is a good comparison to understand the relevance of warming up.
Exercise 1
When we sing we use a series of muscles that allow us to reproduce certain sounds. There are people who use each other more, depending on the vocal range and the technique they use. Also, there are singers who enhance the diaphragm, such as opera singers. Warming up is essential so that our muscles are ready when we want to generate sounds. A clear example of how muscles influence the voice is when we get up and experience that it is difficult for us to speak. After a while, our voice reaches its usual capacity and this is because we have been exercising the muscles.
Exercise 2
When we warm up the voice we have to be aware that the purpose is to stretch the muscles, so it is not necessary to try to reach very high notes due to the sensation that this can cause when the muscles are being forced more. Precisely what we should not do is force our voices. The goal is to reproduce sounds within our vocal range, feeling comfortable to ensure a good warm-up. For the same reason, we should not shout, but rather reproduce sounds in a normal or even low tone of voice. Once we are aware of our range, we can warm up the voice.
Exercise 3
One of the exercises that we can use to warm the voice is known as the vowel fry. It consists of reproducing the lowest vocal register that the person can reach and is achieved by obstructing the amount of air that passes into the throat and more specifically, in the glottis. The glottis is the narrowest part of the larynx and the sounds that come from it are known as glottals. Therefore, we must try to reproduce the lowest possible sound feeling that we are working the throat. If we put our hand on the throat and try to make this sound, we should have the sensation that it is contracting outwards, as if it were dilating and, at the same time, noticing vibration in the throat. This exercise allows you to stimulate the fibers present in the vocal cords, using a greater extension of the same.
Exercise 4
A truly simple voice warming exercise known as humming will also give us the ability to warm our voice. This exercise is performed by vocalizing in the range in which we feel most comfortable and progressively producing slightly higher-pitched sounds, always remembering that we should not force the voice. The process consists of playing the “mmm” sound continuously and after a few seconds add a vowel. The end result should be: mmmmmmeeee, mmmmmmiiii, etc. Through this warm-up we must feel that the sounds we reproduce with our voice sound clean.
Exercise 5
This means not tearing our throat or excessively tightening the said area. You will feel that the use of air is essential in this warm-up if you want to hold the necessary time each time you reproduce the “m” with a different vowel. Another option in this same exercise to warm up the voice is to substitute the “m” for the ” r “. The explanation is simple and because while with the” m “we work more on the diaphragm, with the” r “we exercise more of the throat muscles. Due, That is, from the chest to the stomach, while with the second we will feel a greater vibration in the throat. This is why this exercise is very complete and will help us to warm the voice to the maximum.
These two exercises will allow you to warm up your muscles to avoid possible damage or overexertion in your voice, as well as giving you the necessary warmth so that you can count in your maximum splendor. A voice that doesn’t heat up will tend to sound lackluster as well as out of tune. To carry out the two exercises satisfactorily, you will have to dedicate time, since it can be somewhat complicated at first.
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