Each time you use your voice, you place strain on your body. This is something you should take into consideration before giving a lengthy speech or singing. It is highly recommended to warm up your voice before these types of vocal performance.
1. Entire body
- Bend
- Stretch
- Make faces
- Tap your chest
2. Loosening the muscles in your head and activating your lungs
- Close your right nostril
- Breathe in deeply through your left nostril
- Close your left nostril
- Breathe out through your right nostril
- Close your left nostril and do the same again the other way around
3. Long breaths
- Breathe in through your nose and lift your arms out at your sides
- While breathing out, make an “S” sound and bring your arms down again
4. Diaphragm exercises
- Say a few individual letters with intensity: F – S – T – SH
- Tongue and diaphragm: say a few individual syllables with intensity: da – de – di – do – du
- Palate and diaphragm: raise your palate and the top of your head: ga – ge – gi – go – gu
- Jaw and diaphragm: let your jaw hang loosely: ja – je – ji – jo – ju
5. Letting your lips go loose
- Say “brrrrrrr” several times and allow your lips to vibrate
The following measures may help before using your voice:
- Drink tea
- Gargle sage tea
- Do not consume coffee, chocolate or any dairy products beforehand
- Do not allow your body to relax too much (e.g. sauna or meditation)
- Suck on a Ricola herbal sweet