Vocal Health / Warming-Up

What do you guys do to maximiase your vocal health before the start of a performance/performances? And what do you do to warm-up? I'm curious and would appreciate any advice from the seasoned performers on the board...

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i do all kinds of weird warm up. i do slides, sirens, jumps, staccatto going up and down the scale. stuff like that.

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i play jigallo and little sally walker :) i drink tons of water and tea and do scales and breath teqniques and like Lorings said, nyahs and mas and stuff like that, i used a spray, and i dont remember what its called, but it sucks, it comes in a brown bottle and its flavored honey and tea, it doesnt really work for me, so if you use a spray, i would go with the one lorings suggested.. lots of stacattos, sirens, pretty much everything everyone has already mentioned. i also do riffs, they're really fun too! also, before a show, talk in your head voice, dont hum, and talk only when nessesary... hope that helps

use a little throat coat the day before a performance. drink plenty of water. i tend to like to do lip trills in addition to everything else that has been mentioned.

Someone was telling me they worked with some opera company, and a lot of the singers would swear by a swig of Coca-Cola before a performance. Apparently, the acidic quality helped clear away any phlegm that might be hanging out in the throat. Of course, they were all belching on stage....

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If I'm suffering a little bit of a strained throat, there is nothing more soothing than a bit of honey and lemon in hot water. As for the science behind it, I've no idea (and I guess I should know 'cos I'm studying Medicine). I avoid dairy one or two days before the performance too. I have a spray called 'Entertainer's Secret' which tastes like ass and I don't think it works really either so it's not something I use often. I warm up similar to everyone else has mentioned. I siren quite a lot and try to take a steamy shower just to inhale the steam and warm everything up.

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It depends on the day, and what my voice feels like, but I find that...
Liptrills are great to get me going if I'm having an off day, or just in general, they never hurt.
Arpegios (Spelling?) seem to work well with my voice. I like to do them "Nyah"," "Ming," "Tay", but "Ming" works great to get my voice forward. I work with a ton of other scales too (scales are the foundation of the voice), but I like using arpegios to get me going. Another one that is great to get me going, too, is literally just going up the scales "A B C D," and sometimes "A B C D E."
Before anything, RELAXATION, relaxing my tongue and keeping it forward for vowels, relaxing the jaw, etc.

Also, for vocal placement, when I was beginning, I was having trouble with vocal placement and my voice would kind of get stuck in back, so for placement, I like to think of my voice resonating around my nose (but NOT singing through the nose, that's a nasal sound, which isn't always very pleasing to the ears), and like the voice is almost behind my nose and just very forward. It might sound complicated or bizzarre, but it works for me!

(Oh yeah, and I ALWAYS start in my head voice, and always sing in my head voice, unless I'm singing a mix. I ran into some major vocal problems when I had a teacher that tried to teach me to "belt" (his definition of it) by just using ALL chest voice, to the point where I was literally screaming because he told me "that's belting, and that's how I train my singers." FWIW, I've got a great teacher now and don't do that anymore 'cause it nearly destroyed my voice. So, if anyone else runs into that problem, BEWARE. I wouldn't wish what happened to my voice by doing that on anyone.)

Oh yeah, and I try to remember to drink a good and healthy amount of water when I know I'll be performing. If I don't drink enough water, I just generally feel kind of yucky and my mouth and throat start to feel dry which is never comfortable.

Updated On: 12/6/04 at 08:35 PM

A trick we all use at my college, is we cut up an apple on the night of a performance--then when you go off between sets (if youre giving a recital) you eat a piece of the apple. Keeps your throat lubricated, and helps to cut down on some phlegm. :)

I avoided dairy for a week before my Senior recital a few weeks ago, and also cut out all caffiene months in advance.

Some people find food effects them more than it might effect other people. For me, almost any food will cause mucus-so I didn't eat more than a slice of bread with some lunch meat on it, and an apple the day of the recital--I pigged out afterwards at the reception!

Water Water Water, and Throat Coat is excellent too. I've also used Slippery Elm losenges before. A little weird, it actually seemed to be bark, with flavor and lubricant stuff. Not sure how I feel about those though. Didnt like the woody flavor-haha. Just some thoughts :)

Updated On: 12/7/04 at 12:36 AM

I do my scales, etc., etc. before hand...I also drink a ton of water. In fact, a few days before an audition/performance, the only thing I will drink is coffee (black, no cream, no sugar) and water.

With the menthol drops - its less about drying out than it is about the numbing quality. It fakes you out to believing your throat is fine and ok to wail away on. It leads to more damage and who needs that?!

On a similar note, does anyone know how of a good way to practice vocal placement??

I guess it's really hard to talk about this in words but I seem to have a problem with "trapping" my voice in the back of my throat or something...as if it sounds constrained and muffled (though I don't think I'm singing it through my nose though). Usually, I can somewhat correct it when I'm at my vocal coach. But when I'm not, I can't seem to fix it myself.

Teth, you're right, it is a hard thing to describe in words, but when it comes to placement, I just visualize the sound resonating through my eyes and nose (my "mask," as my voice teacher calls it). That's not to say you should actually sing through your nose as that will only sound narrow and thin. Keep the airways open and relaxed, and imagine the sound traveling through that area of your face. It helps to keep the voice forward and resonant instead of getting hung up in your throat. It truly is more of a visualization than a physical thing, at least for me, anyway. Hope this helps!

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