Warming up a voice before recording

leavings

leavings

Member
My tried and true method for recording my vocals is doing it over and over and over and over again until I get a good take, or at least 2 or 3 takes that can be spliced together easily. Usually I work at it for days and weeks because my voice is often not in a good state for singing. Does anyone know how to remedy this?

I'm not a smoker, I don't get sick easily, and I'm a decent singer, but I just can't figure out how to get my voice into the mode where I can make it sound as good as I know it should. Does anyone know what techniques I could use to help warm up my voice in preparation for recording? Are there things I need to do on a daily basis to keep it in form, or are there exercises I can perform for 20 minutes to get it in shape? Anything to avoid prior to singing?

Let me know what you know,
cuz I want to know

Peter
 
Yes,

think of it as "stretching" for the vocal muscles.

Sing scales (play along with a piano, guitar, or keyboard), moving through every note of an octave.

also sing the scales using different vowel sounds for each, like "ee" or "oh" or "ooh"
try to cover your entire vocal spectrum

things to avoid prior to singing:

clearing your throat (you should only swallow to do this)

sugary drinks

general tips:

always be standing up while singing
singing in the car is not good practice
try to get yourself as emotionally into the song as possible

these are just a few I picked up in voice lessons a while back, hope they help
 
first of all, do basic stretching like you were going for a run, or to lift weights. focus on areas like streching out your ribcage, back and neck. also drink tons of water the day of the session/performance.

start off singing very lightly, or just humming. warm up to intervals of a major third (the kum-bye of kum-bye-ah), starting in the middle of your range, going up in half steps until you reach your top, then going back down in halfsteps until you bottom out.

then expand the range a little bit by doing the first five steps of a scale up and down, similar to the last one.

i then move to doing root, third, fifth, octave, then back down.

finally sing a song in the beef of your range that you love to sing. you should be good to go.
 
Remember air support is important.

Drink hot mint herbal tea with white honey in it. This will warm up your vocal muscles, open up the air stream, and the honey will coat it from getting dry easily. Drink this as often as you need.

Definately do scale warmups, starting slow long tones, then work up to faster short tones. Warmup should usually last about 5 minutes.

Generally i like to take a 5 minute break after warmer up actually. I dont really know why this helps me but it usually does.

Dont forget how important air support is.

Danny
 
bsanfordnyc said:
Yes,

think of it as "stretching" for the vocal muscles.

Sing scales (play along with a piano, guitar, or keyboard), moving through every note of an octave.

also sing the scales using different vowel sounds for each, like "ee" or "oh" or "ooh"
try to cover your entire vocal spectrum

things to avoid prior to singing:

clearing your throat (you should only swallow to do this)

sugary drinks

general tips:

always be standing up while singing
singing in the car is not good practice
try to get yourself as emotionally into the song as possible

these are just a few I picked up in voice lessons a while back, hope they help
Click to expand...

I beg to differ... the only reason I can stay on key is because I'm always singing in the car.
 
Singing in the car might help you with pitch, but it definately doesnt help you well with breath support and posture. Youll basically be practicing those wrong.

Danny
 
Controversial...

Best way to sing is to take up smoking to get your voice more 'gravelly' and course sounding, and drink a load of beer to become more emotionaly involved.

Only joking!!!

Having said that, a lot of singers who have those Rod Stewart style 'rough' sounding voices do seem to smoke, not sure if that's just a coincidence or not?

The advice given by others here says it all and I agree. The only thing I'd add as more of a comment is don't sing in the morning, sing at night if you have a choice. The voice seems to warm up as the day goes on. Come to think of it making music in general is better at night IMO.
 
phlegm?

What?

If you have phlegm stuck in your wind pipe you have no choice but to clear your throat

...unless you sing grunge metal or something!!
 
leavings said:
Are there things I need to do on a daily basis to keep it in form, or are there exercises I can perform for 20 minutes to get it in shape? Anything to avoid prior to singing?
Click to expand...

Learn how to breathe properly. Inhale pushing your stomach muscles down and out. The most common mistake for breathing is raising your shoulders to get a big breath. Don't do that, it limits your air. Start your breath deep in your stomach and mentally follow its path and learn the different areas where sounds are affected and how to manipulate those areas( chest, throat, vocal chords, nose(ty Mr. Dylan) and mouth. Experiment with different areas to originate the sounds. Your voice is an instrument, learn it.

If you are going to be singing over long periods of time then the best thing for you is to become a runner. Start off slow and work your way up to 3-5 miles a day. Try one long run a week like 10+miles. Do wind sprints at the track after you get used to running. That will build your air capacity more than anything. If you really do this you will become a better, happier and overall healthier singer.
 
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