Warm-Up Exercises
Craving a comfortable, smoother vocal experience?
Designed to fit perfectly within the cosy timeframe of a brewing cup, enjoy these bite-sized vocal exercises specifically crafted to gently awaken your voice, improve flexibility and unlock your full potential.
We can’t wait to hear your beautiful voice blossom so please share your vocal warm-ups on our socials
#Tea-SingWarm-Up! @tea_sing_tea
Create a gentle M sound and hold the pitch for 3 beats. On the 4th beat drop the note and change the formant to ME then back up to the original pitch holding EE for another 3 beats.
Reset after each set by taking in a breath.
How to create the M formant
• Place the lips in a relaxed closed position.
• Relax your jaw.
• Your bottom and top teeth should be slightly apart.
• Your tongue, relaxed and lying on the bottom of your mouth with the tip touching the back of your lower teeth.
• When you add pitch you should feel a slight vibration in your lips.
Volume: Quiet
Target:
Sustaining a m sound on a single note can target several aspects of vocal technique:
• Resonance: As the ‘m’ sound naturally resonates in the nasal cavity it promotes a forward sound which you will most likely feel around the front of your face and your lips. This can be a good introduction into a more clearer and focused tone.
• Breath management: To sustain the note for set amount of beats requires a consistent management of that airflow.
• Sustaining Pitch: Holding an “m” sound on a single note targets several aspects of pitch control.
• Relaxation: Sustaining an “m” sound on a single note can be a calming and relaxing exercise, helping to release tension in your throat and jaw muscles.
A lip trill is the rapid vibration of the lips that produces a continuous buzzing sound, similar to the sound a horse makes when he snorts.
For this exercise you will create a trill or an alternative formant* (see below) gliding up and down a 5 note pattern. Just follow the car up and down.
TIP: When producing the glissando, try not land on each individual note rather glide continuously from one note to the other.
How To Create A Lip Trill formant
• Relax the lips and jaw.
• Blow a steady stream of air through the lips.
• Adjust the amount of air pressure used to produce a clear and consistent lip vibration.
• Keep the tongue relaxed and in a neutral position.
TIP: Try putting your fingers on the corners of your mouth and gently pushing them upwards.
Volume: Quiet
Target:
Flexibility: Semi occluded vocal tract (SOVT) exercises like a lip trill is a gentle and great way to target the flexibility of your vocal folds.
As the breath comes up from the lungs and through the larynx and meets either closed or partially closed lips it creates a resistance which sends the air downward against the vocal folds making it easier for them to vibrate and stretch.
Alternative Formant:
Lip Trills aren’t always for everyone. If you are finding it a little difficult to produce the sound, no worries, replace it with the following alternatives:
• NG or
• Hum
In the scale you will count from 1-5-1 followed by a leap up to 5 and back down to 1.
Reset after each set by taking in a breath.
Volume: Try to maintain a quiet volume especially when moving up to the number 5.
Target:
• Improve diction: Can assist with diction promoting faster tongue movement and clearer pronunciation.
• Pitch Control: Working with numbers enables you to focus on intervals encouraging you to focus on the distance between notes, helping you internalise interval relationships within the scale.
Follow the rising balloons and sing GEE as they burst!
Reset after each set by taking in a breath.
Pattern: 1-3-5-4-2-7-1
How To Create A GE Formant
Try to keep the tongue relaxed with the tip of the tongue touching the inside of the bottom teeth. The back of the tongue will lift to create the GE sound. Keep your face relaxed as you sing through the scale. Reset after each set by taking in a breath.
Volume: Medium-speaking level.
Target:
Intonation: This targets pitch control and accuracy of singing one intended pitch to another.
Breath Management: This maintaining enough breath to sing through the whole cycle before resetting.
