Winter warm ups

Yeah Baby, it’s really cold out there, and what better time of the year to fine-tune your warm up exercises. At this time of the year you might find your voice takes a bit longer to free-up, so why not revamp some of old yep-I’m-really-over-them warm-ups and give them a new lease on life. Try singing them in different styles, changing the rhythm of them, or why not even add a few words (what singer hasn’t tried to write their own songs before?).

• And for that extra warmth, try a little physical exercise before you do your vocal warm up. Just a few star jumps will do, enough to get your blood and energy pumping!
• If you have a good coach or teacher, work with them to develop some new exercises which target specific challenges you are currently having. If you combine these with other exercises which highlight your strengths, you'll feel fresh and challenged enough to work hard and improve your technique.
• Exercises should never be boring, and going back to basics should be an enjoyable journey. We all need to do it to keep up our focus and to fine-tune our skills, and with your teacher behind you it should be a fun and revealing exercise.
• If you're new to singing, ask your teacher what specific exercises are aiming to achieve. This will help you gain more from your regular routine, and also encourage you to use your exercises as training guides in between lessons. A good teacher will give you specific exercises with certain things in mind, so always ask if they don't explain their choices.