Warming Up & Cooling Down
Preparing your voice for the work ahead — and helping it recover afterwards.
Warming up and cooling down don't need to be complicated or time-consuming.
​
A good warm-up prepares your voice for the
work you're about to ask it to do.Â
It helps you reconnect with your breathing,
coordination and sound, allowing you to begin singing feeling more settled and responsive, rather than expecting your voice to be ready immediately.
​
Cooling down can be just as valuable, particularly after long rehearsals, performances or periods of heavy voice use.Â
It gives your voice a chance to ease out of demanding work before returning to everyday speaking.
​
The aim isn't to complete the longest warm-up or the most exercises. It's to understand what your voice needs on that particular day and prepare it accordingly.
Before You Start
Take a moment to listen to your voice before asking it to work.
Check in with your voice
Give yourself time
Warm up for the job
Every day is different. How you've slept, how well you're hydrated, how much you've spoken and even how you're feeling can all affect how
your voice responds.Â
Notice where you're starting from
before you begin.
Your voice isn't a switch that simply turns on. Allow yourself enough time to warm up gradually rather that expecting your best sound from the very first note.
Think about what you are about to do.Â
A gentle rehearsal, a demanding musical theatre role and a recording session all place different demands on your voice. Your warm-up should prepare your for the work ahead, not follow the same routine every time.Â
Warm up for the work you're about to do, not the work somebody else is doing.
Warming Up
Build gradually rather than trying to get there immediately.
Start gently
Build the voice
Quality over quantity
Begin with relaxed comfortable exercises that encourage coordination rather than power. The aim is to wake up the voice, not test it to its limits.
As your voice begins to respond, gradually introduce more range, flexibility and energy. Let the warm-up develop naturally instead of jumping straight in to the highest or loudest parts of your range.
A longer warm-up isn't automatically a better one. A thoughtful ten or fifteen minutes is often far more useful that forty-five minutes of exercises without purpose.
The goal isn't to finish the warm -up. It's to feel ready to sing.
Cooling Down
Give your voice permission to slow down again.
Ease out gradually
Listen afterwards
Recovery is part of the work
After demanding singing, your voice benefits from easing back into everyday use, rather than stopping abruptly.
If your voice feels unusually tired, uncomfortable or slow to recover,
pay attention to it.Â
It may simply need rest, or it may be telling you that something needs adjusting in your technique or workload.
Looking after your voice doesn't finish when the performance ends.Â
Rest, hydration and sensible voice use afterwards all contribute to how your voice feels the next day.