| Warming up and cooling down before and after singing | | | | All well trained singers develop their own distinctive |
| is crucial in preserving a healthy singing voice. If you | | | | warming up routines best suited to their own personal |
| don't warm up and cool down your voice, you risk | | | | requirements. The routines may vary with changes in |
| damaging your vocal cords and sometimes | | | | physical, mental and also emotional state. |
| permanently so. | | | | Most good singers begin by warming up their body first |
| All athletes know that an effective warm up is | | | | with light physical exercises. This is done to reduce the |
| essential for optimal athletic performance. But you say, | | | | muscular tension so that the singing voice will not |
| singers are not athletes, so why should singers warm | | | | sound strained or tensed. Furthermore, light exercises |
| up their singing voices? | | | | helps to stimulate deep breathing which is essential for |
| Singers who are dinner guests are often asked to | | | | good voice support. |
| perform impromptu entertainment by their host after | | | | It is vital to start vocalizing in your comfortable vocal |
| the dinner to entertain other guests. The wise singer | | | | range so as not to strain your vocal cords when it is |
| will politely decline the request rather than singing raw | | | | cold. You can then gradually move on to the higher |
| which is further complicated by a bloated tummy. | | | | and lower extreme notes. Some recent biomechanical |
| A proper warming up before a singing performance | | | | research have shown that singing at the extremity of |
| lets the singer to get in touch with the singer's inner self | | | | both the higher and lower notes of the vocal range |
| physically and psychologically since self awareness is | | | | can strain the laryngeal muscles, and can result harmful |
| the foundation of good vocal techniques. | | | | patterns of muscle tension. It goes on to say that thus |
| All good singers know that there is a co-ordination of | | | | it is good common sense to avoid the extreme pitches |
| many muscles parts and therefore warming up before | | | | whether they are high or low notes until your voice is |
| singing should be an unhurried and a leisurely | | | | warmed up appropriately. Most singer's warm up is |
| self-exploration that allows enough time for the | | | | devoted to the goals of obtaining a beautiful voice |
| loosening and coordination of the muscles that assist | | | | timbre through the use of various vocal exercises. |
| voice production. Warming up your voice should be an | | | | After a singing session, the singer should cool down |
| enjoyable experience because as you warm up, your | | | | the voice with exercises that soothe the vocal cords |
| voice begins to sound better, effortless and a sense | | | | such as soft descending scales on the "oo" or the "ee" |
| singing freely is felt. | | | | vowel. If the singer does not cool down after a sing |
| Unfortunately, most of the time, the singer is warming | | | | session, the vocal tension will stay and the vocal cords |
| up while rushing to a rehearsal or as a last minute | | | | remain tensed and this will lead to further voice |
| preparation before taking the stage. The pressure of a | | | | complications. So, to maintain and preserve a healthy |
| hurried warming up may cause physical and mental | | | | singing voice, adequate warm up and cool down is a |
| tension and as such, the warming up may prove to be | | | | must in any singer's inventory. |
| ineffective or worse, counter-productive. | | | | |
