Keeping in Step
by Mark Baxter
Roger Dunlop is a creature of habit. Every morning he follows the same routine: shower, coffee and then a 20-minute drive to work. One day, this ritual is spoiled by a traffic jam, but Roger is unfazed. After 20 minutes, he simply parks the car, enters the nearest building and, as always, sits at the second desk from the elevator. When a security guard asks him to leave, Roger looks puzzled and says, "But I just drove for twenty minutes. This must be where I work." As unbelievable as this scenario seems, many singers act the same way when it comes to their warm-up routine. While the agenda of a vocal warm-up is always the same, the routine should not be. The goal is to arrive at vocal control. Struggling with your voice because it was not properly warmed up is a lot like being stuck in a traffic jam and just leaning on the horn. It's easy to blame the drivers ahead of you (musicians/audience/monitors, etc.) for making your life miserable when the truth is you didn't leave your house early enough.
The typical 20-minute warm-up should be reserved for times when your voice is in pretty good shape to begin with and you have a lot of singing ahead of you. In the opposite situation, though—let's say you have a big audition or you're performing a song on Late Night with David Letterman—20 minutes will never do the trick. In these circumstances, you should plan on at least an hour (maybe two). You'll need to arrive at vocal control before you step onstage. Many singers, though, are guilty of not having a clear definition of control. Without a specific destination in mind, it's easy to become disoriented, just like Roger at the beginning of this article. A simple way to think about vocal control is: any pitch, on any vowel at any volume. Some of you may roll your eyes and think that's a pipe dream, but it's the same standard musicians use for their instruments. A pianist will check to make sure every key is in good working order; a guitarist will tune each string before attempting to play. Only after their instruments are ready will musicians begin to warm up their fingers. A singer should follow the same two-step process.
The first step of your warm-up should be to address your body, because that's your instrument. Be rested. Be hydrated. Stretch out. Loosen the muscles in your torso so they don't shallow your breath. It's also important to release tension in the shoulders, neck and jaw. To get all three loose at once, roll your shoulders while sticking out your tongue and rotating your head. The second step of your warm-up is to create a slippery, effortless feeling inside your throat while producing various pitches and vowels at different volume levels. The rule here is simple: Vocalizing should never hurt, tickle, strain, make you cough or dry out your throat. If any of these symptoms show up it means you are rushing the process. What you sing to warm up is not as important as how. I don't recommend singing songs quietly because there are usually tensions programmed into them. I do recommend taking voice lessons.
It's a good idea to develop many different warm-up exercises and test them every day, no matter if you are performing or not. These trial runs create a reference. Take the time now and become very familiar with your instrument and its abilities. Learn what exercises get you in shape fast before you're under pressure to perform. Think of vocal control as your destination, a place you want to arrive. Think of the warm-up as your commute. Each exercise, then, can be viewed as a vehicle to get you where you want to go. If one isn't working, try another vehicle. In the same way, a warm-up routine can be altered just like most people know of several ways to get to work. The more you explore, the more pathways you'll discover to your destination.
