Vocal warm up

Do you guys do vocal warm up before you sing/record O.O?
If yes, how long did you guys do the warm up and what kind of warm up is done?

I'm just wondering cause I started doing vocal warm up 4 days ago and..2 days ago when I tried singing AFTER vocal warm up, I couldn't hit the high notes I was able to before . I ended up straining my throat and it felt TERRIBLE.

Maybe you didn't do the proper warmup to hit the notes you want to. A good vocal warmup should consist of hitting low notes, mid notes and high notes. Your vocal technique is also important. Were you singing using the right parts of your body? Were you singing naselly? etc.

It depends on a number of other factors as well. I find that even with enough vocal warmup, I still have a hard time singing the high notes because I didn't get enough sleep at night. My vocal teacher used to tell us to go to sleep early. I doesn't matter whether you had like 9 hours of sleep or so. You just have to sleep early.

Also, if your singing doesn't feel right and your throat hurts, don't strain. Just stop, take a break and drink some water until you feel like your throat's okay. If you continue without a break, there is a risk you might get a permanent hoarse voice. owo

Wow. I didn't know that the time you sleep affects your voice quality.
Hmmm I'm thinking I have been doing the wrong way. So I'll try to see what I can do later on when I do my vocal warmups.

I realise that I have forgotten to sing through my diaphragm ( I was able to did it the last time, but not now ).
I watched lots of videos regarding singing with diaphragm, I am breathing through it now. But, how do you actually sing high notes with the diaphragm? How does it feel like when you sing from it? I lost the ability when I sing high notes.

RAWRRRR!! So frustrating. But im not gonna give up!

My vocal teacher used to say "USE YOUR POO POO POWER!"
She was referring to the way you push your poop out of your butt by making your tummy-region contract. Similar to singing apparently. xDD

"USE YOUR POO POO POWER!" << Lol yes, this is very important XD

Well, I used to strain my voice during the times when I dont know how to sing well xD

You could do some of these warm ups = ) that I usually do.
Is lazy to explain to much so this is from some website XD:
Take a deep breath in then make a hissing sound, breathing outwards until you've expelled as much air as possible from your lungs. Repeat several times and be sure when you're breathing in to breath using your diaphragm, not moving your shoulders up and down.

Also OAO , Pick a note in the middle of your range and start with a light humming from that range.


Apples are good for ur voice : >
You could eat one too 8D lol

Talking to people helps me too with warmups, especially after waking up. Just be talkative and express yourself in crazy high-pitch/low-pitch ways. It works for me. xD

LOL POO POO POWER! I'm gonna keep that in mind when I sing XD!
(That will probably make me laugh halfway when I'm singing ballad style though LOL! )
I went out just now and while on the bus, I tried to breathe properly and make sure I kick away the wrong way of breathing habit.
Thanks for the tips Rin and krannda!

Oh yeah, how long do you guys do the warm up before recording? 20 minutes?

Hi ! What a cool topic :D

When I'm at school, the teacher tell me to do the warmup during hm.... yeah 15-20 minutes I guess.

But I'm waiting for the other answers XD

(I'm always singing so i forgot to make the warmup often >> But after, I can't sing during 2 days for example if I sung too high or too much XD) ;_;

I do my vocal warm up for about 20 minutes but after that, my voice feels tired -_- ( not strained, tired. ) I'm not sure whether it's because I'm doing it wrongly, or that I'm not used to vocal exercises. I have never done it before except 4 days ago you see.

Most online guides emphasise the need to do warm ups before you sing, but for some reason after I have done it, I will start my singing at a higher octave ( am I using the right term for it? ). I hate it cause I have to sing songs at higher pitch which may lead to straining of the throat ( I definitely do not want that to happen. )

I suggest you start singing songs with a lower pitch first. After your vocal warm up, choose a lower song to sing first, one where you don't have to strain. After you feel more comfortable and like your throat is more open, then go for higher ones.

I usually don't do formal vocal warm ups anymore. I just go straight into singing but it takes me a few tries or so to get something perfect, which I think is kind of a warmup in itself. I've had a lot of vocal training though.
Just don't strain yourself too early. xD

That's a good tip, to start singing songs of lower pitch.
I'm gonna try it tomorrow if no one is at home LOL!

hmm vocal warmup...
mostly I just follow the tips my choir-thingie-teacher gave me XD
I start with some pronounciation stuff.
p-t-k-p-t-k...and stuff.
then I sing some musical scales, beginning with the lowest note I can hit.
then two easy songs(they're like...kiddy songs actually, with very easy notes xD)
and I always watch my breathing^^

*sucks at explaining*
my voice is very smooth and powerful after this. without vocal warm ups, I get out of breath, cant hold notes and cant even hit them right.

but I guess its just MY style of doing it....cause it didnt really work for my friend xD

and oh yes, It takes like 25ish minutes for me to do it ^^

LadyLambdadelta wrote:
my voice is very smooth and powerful after this. without vocal warm ups, I get out of breath, cant hold notes and cant even hit them right.

but I guess its just MY style of doing it....cause it didnt really work for my friend xD

and oh yes, It takes like 25ish minutes for me to do it ^^

So that is the wonders of vocal warm up !_!.
I'm watching myself breathing too, just can't seems to suck in alot of air RAWR!!!! Sometimes can, sometimes can't.

So vocal warm up should be about 15 - 25 minutes at least.

xP Vocal warm-ups.
I didn't really like doing those, but I heard it does help with a person's singing so I think it is essential.
I am a lazy person though, and I prefer to sing random parts of a song that I like, it acts as some sort of a vocal warm up as well, I guess You just need to make sure that you're singing from your diaphragm and don't strain your throat!

Trying to sing without warming up is like trying to start a cold engine without priming it. Trying to make a stew without cutting and washing the veggies beforehand. Trying to run several miles without stretching first. They're all tasks you COULD do, but the warm-ups just make it that much easier and of better quality than if you didn't do them.

At the very least I recommend a two-octave warm-up, and prior to that you should do a few stretches to loosen your body up. Tightening up your muscles/throat is one of the worst things you can do.

"Singing from your diaphragm" doesn't actually mean anything. Your diaphragm cannot sing! Sound(and thus singing) is made by air passing through your vocal cords as they vibrate; the diaphragm is more like your hand when pressing down on a bicycle pump.

For breathing, you don't want to suck in air with your throat. THIS is where the diaphragm comes into play, using that same metaphor of the bicycle pump. Use your muscles in your gut and pretend your lungs are like the bicycle pump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0-jegF03eU

This warm-up starts at C3, so if you(altos/sopranos) don't think you can start that low, just start an octave higher.

Kago wrote:I do my vocal warm up for about 20 minutes but after that, my voice feels tired -_- ( not strained, tired. ) I'm not sure whether it's because I'm doing it wrongly, or that I'm not used to vocal exercises. I have never done it before except 4 days ago you see.

Most online guides emphasise the need to do warm ups before you sing, but for some reason after I have done it, I will start my singing at a higher octave ( am I using the right term for it? ). I hate it cause I have to sing songs at higher pitch which may lead to straining of the throat ( I definitely do not want that to happen. )

20 min warm up is kinda long on singing alone~
we used to do it max. 10 min~
before that we did breath exercises and massages stuff lol to loosen up from sitting in classes all day orz so it's like 5min massage/breath exercises and 10min singing warm up~ (but I was in a choir so it's not a individual warm up so idk whether our warm up time was shortened~)

warm up is good for your voice chords to "wake up" so it's no use to strain them. so no loud singing ~ it's rather singing round tones if you want to warm up on tones only~ this is good for your voice chords~ it's a bit like yawning while singing~ it's usually singing vowels or songs that have lot of vowels-y words in it~
before that I usually can't go very high and am like an alto- but after warming up I'm a full soprano (in the traditional way of singing) so this definitely works out~

This thread has inspired me to take 20 minutes to warm up from now on, haha.
I never really thought about it but warming up obviously makes a difference. Before I would just start singing without warming up my vocals would be weak and unstable so I would end up having to re-record and after a while they started becoming stable and not pitchy, so all those failures were my fail way of warming up..

Warm ups prevent you from destroying your voice. You'll end up with a husky voice if you don't start doing it soon. xDD
(Some people find husky voices hot tho*shot*)

But anyway, at least warm up before doing a song that you have a hard time hitting notes in. If you can't hit it, then don't force yourself until you can do it. owo

oh yeah vocal warm up is a serious case! 8D
I used to do this while joining chorus but recently I don't do this too much.
I don't have too much time to cover song, so I don't do proper exsercise
ah, but I usually sing super high+super low song on the bathroom. That might help me while covering because I usually do that after taking a bath LOL

Noo. I don't usually. Which is very bad. ;__; but I usually sing an easy song slowly beforehand. I must say though, when I breathe from diaphragm I feel fat. Aw. But there are a lot of good habits to reinforce while practicng to better your singing skills. Singing along to something or doing scales, or maybe even having a conversation works well, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnGFMy2WE3g

This is a quick & easy vocal warm up for those of you who don't have time or don't want to spend 20 minutes warming up :3 It works very well for me :]