Jump to content

Warming Up and Cooling Down

Rate this topic


JasonLaMountain

Recommended Posts

As far as I know, most singers use scales as a warmup before performing a show, but I find that scales tend to tire my voice (or not adequately warm me up) even if I keep them light and easy. I seem to warm up much better by singing songs, starting with songs that are very easy to sing and gradually increasing the difficulty until I am singing things that are moderately difficult for me.

I'm just curious if anyone else has noticed the same thing, or if there is something I am doing wrong when I warmup with scales. A typical "scale based" warmup (when I used to do them) might be:

hum a comfortable pitch, gradually increase a 1/2 step at a time until I reach my top comfortable note (starting in full voice and ending in falsetto)

hum a 5 note major scale, gradually increase starting note a 1/2 step at a time as in previous exercise

Sing the same scale on an ah or ee vowel

Keep repeating and gradually increase the volume

All in all the warmup would take around 30 minutes.

Part of the reason it may not seem to warm me up well is that I sing fairly hard and tend to push a bit in my upper (full voice) range, so singing softly and transitioning to falsetto during warmup is quite a bit different from how I sing.

On the flip side, I find a cool down of 15-20 minutes helps immensely after singing. I usually just do a 5 note major scale on ee, start at my highest comfortable full voice note (without pushing) and bring it down a 1/2 step at a time until I am at my lowest note (all very nice and easy).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as I know, most singers use scales as a warmup before performing a show, but I find that scales tend to tire my voice (or not adequately warm me up) even if I keep them light and easy. I seem to warm up much better by singing songs, starting with songs that are very easy to sing and gradually increasing the difficulty until I am singing things that are moderately difficult for me.

I'm just curious if anyone else has noticed the same thing, or if there is something I am doing wrong when I warmup with scales. A typical "scale based" warmup (when I used to do them) might be:

hum a comfortable pitch, gradually increase a 1/2 step at a time until I reach my top comfortable note (starting in full voice and ending in falsetto)

hum a 5 note major scale, gradually increase starting note a 1/2 step at a time as in previous exercise

Sing the same scale on an ah or ee vowel

Keep repeating and gradually increase the volume

All in all the warmup would take around 30 minutes.

JasonLaMountain: A 'warm-up' is not so much about the blood flow to muscles (as it would be for athletic endeavors), as it is about re-establishing vocal coordination and getting in the right frame of mind (or 'zone') for singing. Perhaps for you, singing scales does not get you into your zone.

IMO, a very good place to start with coordinated tone is with onsets, beginnings of notes sung easily, in the mid range and light/medium volume, with an ear to starting these notes (placing them) correctly. Once they are, then working onsets upward and downward in alternation for a few minutes extends the coordinative range. Sirens, scale fragments and arpeggios then extend the frequency ranges, and incorporate attention to tuning and pitch patterns that occur in songs.

A warmup of this style takes about 15 minutes, and if done every day, is all that is needed to keep muscles and coordination fresh. If you are doing 30 minutes, that is a more than a warmup.

The time that I think scale work as you describe is of great use is when the voice is in tentative shape, perhaps on the edge of a cold. A warmup as I have described and then 15 minutes of slow, medium volume 2-octave scales, onsetting each note separately, with a short cool-down (for a total of 20 mins singing) followed by 2 hours of vocal rest, and repeated 2 more times, will often bring the voice back into confident control and responsiveness.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

so the onset exercise is great until i get to e above middle c. then it falls apart... any suggestions? sloppy attacks. thanks steven

tubagod: Above mid c is passaggio area for most male voice types. Specific recommendations depend on what is actually happening in your voice. What happens there for you?

Dont't feel alone in this challenge. This is the most challenging range (C-F#) for all male voice types.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello all,

I agree with everything said so far; for the tough job of coordinating proper vocal technique in those challenging passagio notes, I try to always use Robert Lunte's "set-and-release" exercise, which helps me to 'anchor' (or 'set') the sound in the resonators of my head before opening my mouth and 'releasing' that note.

This also helps me to 'sing before I sing,' somewhat, in order to attack notes with both more clarity and control (though admittedly not more power). I find that this is also the easiest way to ensure proper pitch.

I sing a lot of very powerful Seattle music (Alice in Chains & Soundgarden) so proper vocal coordination is critical.

Usually, I try to warm up for 10 - 15 minutes. I find it very frustrating to stick to boring scales and exercises for that long, but if I do so, I am amply rewarded when it comes time to actually sing.

Here's a question/challenge: how do you all properly warm up once on-site? I am not awesome enough to have a backstage :) so I generally disappear to my car for 5 minutes and do scales & exercises...yet this is sitting down, and not the best way to get into a singing frame of mind, either...ideas? Suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haha...I know what you mean about not having a backstage; I've had a greenroom exactly 1 time! It was nice though :lol:

I usually warmup in my car on the ride to the venue, which means I am also sitting down but it helps a decent amount. I also sometimes do an informal warmup if we have an opening band; I sing along while they are playing, mostly just doing various vowel sounds/modified scales that are in whatever key they are playing in (since I usually don't know the original songs they are playing). I mostly just focus on how everything feels, if I am hitting the pitches I want and making sure I am projecting well.

I'm also curious what others do when playing smaller shows without a real backstage area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's happening is just sloppy attacks. Getting stuck in the middle with probbly too much breath pressure. Another observation I've made is that when I do my messa di voce starting on an e above middle c, there are less breaks the voice goes through before reaching fully adducted voice. For instance, on a middle c I have a falsetto color, a softer yet chesty sound, and the fully adducted sound. But when i get up to an e it goes straight from falsetto straight to fully adducted. It's like I cant find anything in between. I'm betting the two issues are related.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

for the warmup question :

What about doing your thorough vocal warmup earlier in the day, before hitting the road for the gig?

Then backstage you might be OK with a shake-out of body tension, MENTAL reconnection to the breath support/throat posture/resonance/attitude you want onstage, and 2-3 minutes of humming & singing, maybe with some throat massage, to get circulation up. Focus (rather than backstage chit-chat) takes care of a lot ...

Joanna

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Joanna,

That is a great idea too! I usually just think of doing my warmup close to show time but it makes sense to warm up earlier in the day and do a brief, lighter warmup right before the gig. I have a show this Saturday so I'll try a combination of your and Steven's ideas and let everyone know how it goes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The show went great Saturday. We weren't playing until 11pm (load in/sound check at 7pm) so I did my longer warmup (listed in the first post) around 2:00-2:30. After that I rested my voice until 5:15 and did a light warmup like Steven suggested, followed by singing 4 songs that are in a comfortable range for me and my voice felt very loose.

I didn't do any kind of a warmup on the way to the venue and just hung out with friends and watched the other bands until the band right before us was performing. Towards the end of their set, I loosened up a little physically, did some humming and lip rolls, sang a few louder, more powerful notes (focusing on placement) and just generally tried to focus and get mentally prepared to perform like Joanna suggested.

My voice felt nice and loose right from the first song...sometimes it takes me a few songs to get there but not this time. This was an original show so we only played an hour, but my voice felt good start to finish. Thanks to everyone for their advice...I feel like I have a solid warmup routine I can follow now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...