August 28, 2010

Vocal Exercises

As athletes are required to do warm up exercises prior to a race or a game, singers need to prepare their voices ahead of a rehearsal or show. Singing warm up exercises get the air flowing and relaxes your muscles to prepare for the harder strenuous activity to come. This is perhaps the best method to prevent vocal exhaustion and overuse damage.
It may seem counterintuitive–more exercises to prevent overuse injury? Yes. Your vocal folds are controlled through tiny muscles, and after they’re warmed-up they really are more elastic, a lot easier to use, and less liable to injury.
Before starting your singing warm up exercises, do some whole-body stretching and relaxation. hang down for another minute or so. A good exercise to begin with is the "rag doll". Stand upright bending forward from your hips. Then allow your arms and head to droop and dangle for a little while.}Follow that with a stretching exercise for correct posture alignment. Stand together with your feet flat on the ground, approximately hip-width apart, and your arms at your sides. Bring your arms quickly upward and across your body in a circular motion until they are over your head. Rising onto your tiptoes, take in a good, deep breath as you move your arms up. As you gradually exhale, move your arms back toward your sides come to rest level on your feet. Endeavor to keep the chest up and shoulders back, as they had been at the top of the stretch, after bringing your arms down. You are now able to start singing.
The first singing warm up exercise uses a technique that goes by various names: buzz, bubble lips, lip roll, or lip trill. Exhale through puckered lips to make a vibration, sounding a little like a motorboat or a "raspberry".
linking three tones: the base tone, up a fourth, and back to the base (do-fa-do): within the key of C major, it would be C,F,C. Do again, moving up a half step each instance (C, F, C, then D,G,D, then Eb, Ab, Eb, etc.). You can also do this on the syllable "ee" or "oo", but the buzz forces you to use good breath support.~The buzz slide will be done amid three tones: the bass tone, which is up a fourth, and then back to the base. (do fa do) so in C major the notes would be C, F and C. You want to replicate this and after that move up a semi-tone every time. Do this also with the syllables "oo" and "ee" but the buzzing technique makes for you to use great breath support.}The next singing warm up exercise is the fifth-slide. Begin on the fifth tone with the syllable "wee" and slide downward to the base (so-do): in C major again, it would be G, C. Do again on the equivalent tones with "zoo", then move up a half-step and do again, "wee" and "zoo" on  Ab and Db. Remain moving up with half-steps.
Next is the five-tone descending scale. Beginning on the fifth tone, descend stepwise to the base: so, fa, mi, re, do. Firstly do the syllable "na", next "nay", "noh", and "noo". Go up a half-step and do again the scale on each syllable.
The fourth singing warm up exercise is a descending 8-tone scale (do, ti, la, so, fa, mi, re, do) on the syllable "noo". Again, move up a half-step with every repeat. You can in addition attempt further vowel sounds, such as "nah", "nay", "nee", or "noh", or use "m" as a substitute of "n" as the opening consonant. Attempt to feel your mask, or upper resonance, as you do this.
Follow that with a descending arpeggio: do, so, mi, do, on the syllable "nah". Repeat on "nay", "nee", "noh", and "noo", after that shift up by half steps and repeat on each syllable again.
The final singing warm up exercise is the octave slide. Employ the buzz and start on the base note; slide up an octave and back down to the base: do, do, do. Repeat on "oo". Shift up a half-step, execute the buzz, and then "oo". Continue moving up with half-steps.

Tags: vocal exercises, vocal warm up, vocal warm up exercises, Warm Up Exercises

Filed under Hip Hop Dance Class by Phill

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August 24, 2010

Vocal Exercises

As athletes are required to do warm up exercises prior to a race or a game, singers need to prepare their voices ahead of a rehearsal or show. Singing warm up exercises get the air flowing and relaxes your muscles to prepare for the harder strenuous activity to come. This is perhaps the best method to prevent vocal exhaustion and overuse damage.
It may seem counterintuitive–more exercises to prevent overuse injury? Yes. Your vocal folds are controlled through tiny muscles, and after they’re warmed-up they really are more elastic, a lot easier to use, and less liable to injury.
Before starting your singing warm up exercises, do some whole-body stretching and relaxation. hang down for another minute or so. A good exercise to begin with is the "rag doll". Stand upright bending forward from your hips. Then allow your arms and head to droop and dangle for a little while.}Follow that with a stretching exercise for correct posture alignment. Stand together with your feet flat on the ground, approximately hip-width apart, and your arms at your sides. Bring your arms quickly upward and across your body in a circular motion until they are over your head. Rising onto your tiptoes, take in a good, deep breath as you move your arms up. As you gradually exhale, move your arms back toward your sides come to rest level on your feet. Endeavor to keep the chest up and shoulders back, as they had been at the top of the stretch, after bringing your arms down. You are now able to start singing.
The first singing warm up exercise uses a technique that goes by various names: buzz, bubble lips, lip roll, or lip trill. Exhale through puckered lips to make a vibration, sounding a little like a motorboat or a "raspberry".
linking three tones: the base tone, up a fourth, and back to the base (do-fa-do): within the key of C major, it would be C,F,C. Do again, moving up a half step each instance (C, F, C, then D,G,D, then Eb, Ab, Eb, etc.). You can also do this on the syllable "ee" or "oo", but the buzz forces you to use good breath support.~The buzz slide will be done amid three tones: the bass tone, which is up a fourth, and then back to the base. (do fa do) so in C major the notes would be C, F and C. You want to replicate this and after that move up a semi-tone every time. Do this also with the syllables "oo" and "ee" but the buzzing technique makes for you to use great breath support.}The next singing warm up exercise is the fifth-slide. Begin on the fifth tone with the syllable "wee" and slide downward to the base (so-do): in C major again, it would be G, C. Do again on the equivalent tones with "zoo", then move up a half-step and do again, "wee" and "zoo" on  Ab and Db. Remain moving up with half-steps.
Next is the five-tone descending scale. Beginning on the fifth tone, descend stepwise to the base: so, fa, mi, re, do. Firstly do the syllable "na", next "nay", "noh", and "noo". Go up a half-step and do again the scale on each syllable.
The fourth singing warm up exercise is a descending 8-tone scale (do, ti, la, so, fa, mi, re, do) on the syllable "noo". Again, move up a half-step with every repeat. You can in addition attempt further vowel sounds, such as "nah", "nay", "nee", or "noh", or use "m" as a substitute of "n" as the opening consonant. Attempt to feel your mask, or upper resonance, as you do this.
Follow that with a descending arpeggio: do, so, mi, do, on the syllable "nah". Repeat on "nay", "nee", "noh", and "noo", after that shift up by half steps and repeat on each syllable again.
The final singing warm up exercise is the octave slide. Employ the buzz and start on the base note; slide up an octave and back down to the base: do, do, do. Repeat on "oo". Shift up a half-step, execute the buzz, and then "oo". Continue moving up with half-steps.

Tags: vocal exercises, vocal warm up, vocal warm up exercises, Warm Up Exercises

Filed under Hip Hop Dance Class by Phill

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