3 minute voice warm-up

Does your voice ever feel scratchy, sound rough or lack energy or do you often feel like clearing your throat for the few hours after you wake up in the morning?  This is very common. It certainly does not help you speak at your best when you have an important work meeting first thing or have a phone conversation with a high-value client:

Warming up your voice is fundamental to optimise your voice quality throughout your day.  Try my voice warm up every morning whilst you are in the shower or before an important speaking engagement and hear and feel the results.  All you need is 3 minutes.

• Blow raspberries/ bubbles for 1 minute gradually varying the pitch up and down. If you find this difficult, prolong the sound ‘m’ (like humming) feeling the vibration forward in your nose and mouth, gradually varying the pitch up and down.  This technique places your voice forward in your mouth.

• Laugh aloud or giggle heartily for 1 minute. This technique opens the throat.

• Siren with your tongue pulled back in the ‘ng’ position (the last sound in the word ‘sing’) up and down your pitch range, lightly and quietly. Keep it going for 1 minute.  This technique elongates and shortens the vocal folds.

As you practice each of these steps, pause and take a breath whenever you need to.  Practice in any order.  After 3 minutes you should be feeling vocally warmed up and ready to perform!!

You can practice the same exercises for a either a singing or speaking voice warm up.