Vocal Warm-Ups: Guided Routines for Singers, Kids and Choirs

How do you warm up your voice before singing?

Warm up the body first, then the breath, then make gentle sounds before you sing full songs. A simple order is: stretch, breathe, hum, lip trill, scales, words.

1. Body: shoulder rolls, a gentle neck stretch and a jaw massage release tension that tightens the voice.
2. Breath: breathe in low (the belly and ribs move, the shoulders don’t) and hiss out slowly for 8 to 16 counts.
3. Hum: hum 1-2-3-2-1 with lips closed and teeth apart. Feel the buzz in your lips and face.
4. Lip trills or straw: slide up and down on a lip trill or through a straw. These are easy on the voice and connect breath to sound.
5. Scales and arpeggios: the five-note scale on “mah”, then 1-3-5-8-5-3-1 on “yah”, moving up a half step each time.
6. Words: a tongue twister, then the first phrase of your song.

How long should a vocal warm-up be?

Most singers need 5 to 15 minutes. Five minutes is enough before a short practice; a choir rehearsal usually starts with about 10 minutes, and 15 to 20 minutes suits a lesson, exam or performance.

Warm up longer in the morning, when the voice is often lower and stiffer, and when you have a demanding song. A quick vocal warm-up of five minutes still beats none. The player above has 5, 10 and 20-minute routines.

What are good vocal warm-ups for kids?

The best warm-ups for children are short, playful and in a comfortable range: shaking out, “smell the flower, blow out the candle” breathing, bumblebee humming, rollercoaster sirens and copy-me singing.

• Rollercoaster sirens: draw a track in the air and follow it with “woo”.
• Echo me: the teacher sings a short pattern on “la” and the class copies.
• Animal sounds: owl “hoo” slides, cat “meow” glides, a dog’s short “woof” for staccato.
• Rounds: “Frère Jacques” or “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” in two groups.
• Keep notes between middle C and the D above; elementary voices are light and should never be pushed to shout.

Turn on Kids’ mode in the player for bigger buttons and color notes.

What are good choir warm-ups?

Good choir warm-ups get everyone breathing, listening and blending: hiss together in time, hum, siren, sing vowel scales on matched vowels, then tune a held chord in three groups.

Fun ideas for a high school choir: “Many mumbling mice” on a scale, getting faster each time; “pass the pitch” around the circle; a conductor game where the choir follows the hand for loud and soft; and singing a round. Finish with the opening of the piece you are rehearsing, so the warm-up leads into the music.

Do warm-ups differ for sopranos, altos, tenors and basses?

The exercises are the same; the starting note changes. Begin each exercise at the bottom of your comfortable range and only go as high as is easy.

Female and male warm-ups use the same steps: most women sing soprano or alto and most men tenor, baritone or bass. Middle C is C4.

What are good tongue twisters for a vocal warm-up?

Tongue twisters wake up the lips, tongue and teeth so words are clear. Say them slowly first, then faster, then sing them on one note or on the five-note scale.

• Red leather, yellow leather
• Red lorry, yellow lorry
• Unique New York
• She sells seashells by the seashore
• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
• Many mumbling mice are making midnight music in the moonlight, mighty nice
• Toy boat (say it five times fast)
• The tip of the tongue, the teeth, the lips
• Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said, “The butter’s bitter”

All of these are traditional.

How should actors and speakers warm up?

Speakers and actors use the same body, breath and humming steps, then spend more time on consonants and on projecting the voice to the back of the room.

The 5-minute speaking warm-up suits teachers before a long day, presenters, voice actors and drama students. Keep the voice relaxed: projection comes from breath, not from shouting.

Do I need a warm-up video or backing track?

No. A video or track helps you keep going, but any routine with a piano note to start from works. The player on this page gives you the notes and a timer for free.

If you do use videos, choose ones that start gently and stay in your range. Singing along at full volume to someone else’s range is the most common way to strain.

What if my voice hurts?

Stop. A warm-up should never hurt. Drink water, rest your voice, and see a doctor if hoarseness lasts more than three weeks.

Warm-ups prepare a healthy voice; they don’t fix an injured one. If you lose your voice often, a singing teacher or a speech and language pathologist can help.

The warm-up routines, step by step

These are the routines the player uses. Times are minutes:seconds.

Quick 5-minute warm-up – 5 minutes, 6 steps

1. 0:40 Shoulders and jaw – Roll your shoulders back five times, yawn gently and massage the jaw hinge with your fingertips.
2. 0:40 Low, slow breathing – Breathe in through your nose for 4 counts, then hiss out on “sss” for 8 counts. Keep your shoulders still.
3. 0:40 Humming – Hum 1-2-3-2-1 on “mmm” with your lips closed and teeth apart. Feel a buzz on your lips.
4. 1:00 Lip trills or straw sirens – Blow through loose lips like a motorboat (or hum through a drinking straw) and slide from low to high and back.
5. 1:00 Five-note scale on “mah” – Sing 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 on “mah”. The piano moves up a half step each time, then back down.
6. 1:00 Tongue twisters – “Red leather, yellow leather”, then “Unique New York” – slowly, then faster, keeping every consonant clear.

Choir warm-up (10 minutes) – 10 minutes, 9 steps

1. 1:00 Stretch and stand tall – Feet hip-width apart, knees soft. Stretch up, let your arms drop, and roll your shoulders.
2. 1:00 Breath: hiss and pulse – In for 4, hiss out for 8, then for 12. Then pulse “ss-ss-ss-ss” together in time.
3. 1:00 Hum and chew – Hum 1-2-3-2-1 while gently “chewing” to keep the jaw loose.
4. 1:00 Sirens – Lip trill or “ng” siren from your lowest comfortable note to your highest and back – everyone at their own pace.
5. 1:30 Vowel scales – Sing the five-note scale on “mah, meh, mee, moh, moo”, matching vowel shapes across the choir.
6. 1:30 Arpeggio on “yah” – Sing 1-3-5-8-5-3-1 on “yah”, light and bouncy at the top.
7. 1:00 “Many mumbling mice” – Sing “Many mumbling mice are making midnight music in the moonlight, mighty nice!” on the scale.
8. 1:00 Tuning a chord – Split into three groups. Each group holds one note of the chord on “noo” until it sounds like one voice.
9. 1:00 First line of your song – Sing the opening phrase of your piece on “loo”, then with the words.

Fun warm-up for kids (5 minutes) – 5 minutes, 6 steps

1. 0:40 Shake out – Shake your hands, then arms, then legs, counting down from 8 to 1 each time.
2. 0:40 Smell the flower, blow out the candle – Breathe in slowly as if smelling a flower, then blow out a pretend candle slowly.
3. 0:40 Bumblebee hum – Hum like a bee on 1-2-3-2-1. Can you feel your lips tickle?
4. 1:00 Rollercoaster sirens – Draw a rollercoaster in the air with your finger and follow it with a “woo” sound, low to high.
5. 1:00 Copy-me scale on “la” – Sing the five-note scale on “la” after the piano. Little steps up, little steps down.
6. 1:00 Silly tongue twisters – “Red leather, yellow leather” and “She sells seashells by the seashore” – whisper them, then say them, then sing them.

Full 20-minute warm-up – 20 minutes, 11 steps

1. 2:00 Posture and stretch – Stand balanced, knees soft. Stretch, roll the shoulders and neck gently, and massage the jaw.
2. 2:00 Breathing – In for 4, hiss out for 8, then 12, then 16. Keep the ribs wide and the shoulders still.
3. 1:30 Humming – Hum 1-2-3-2-1 on “mmm”, then on “ng” (as at the end of “sing”).
4. 1:30 Lip trills or straw slides – Slide on a lip trill or through a straw from low to high and back, never pushing.
5. 2:00 Lip-trill scale – Do the five-note scale on a lip trill (or through the straw).
6. 2:00 Vowel scale – Sing the five-note scale on “mah, meh, mee, moh, moo”.
7. 2:00 Arpeggio on “yah” – Sing 1-3-5-8-5-3-1 on “yah”. Stay light on the top note.
8. 1:30 Octave slide – Slide smoothly from the low note up to the octave on “ng” or “oo”.
9. 1:30 Staccato “ha” – Short, bouncy “ha ha ha ha ha” – the movement comes from the belly, not the throat.
10. 1:30 Diction – “The tip of the tongue, the teeth, the lips”, then “Unique New York” five times.
11. 2:30 Song work – Sing a phrase from your song on “loo”, then with the words, at a comfortable volume.

Speaking warm-up for actors and speakers (5 minutes) – 5 minutes, 6 steps

1. 0:45 Stretch and neck release – Roll your shoulders, tip your head gently side to side and shake out your arms.
2. 0:45 Breath and counting – Breathe low, then count aloud to 10 on one breath. Next time, try to 15.
3. 0:45 “Mm-hmm” slides – Say “mm-hmm” as if agreeing, then slide it up and down to find your natural speaking pitch.
4. 0:45 Lip and tongue trills – Lip trill, then a rolled “rrr” if you can, sliding up and down.
5. 1:00 Consonants – Say “b-d-g, p-t-k” crisply, then “The lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue”.
6. 1:00 Tongue twisters and projection – “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” – then speak one sentence clearly to the back of the room.

From the Music Department

Classfern’s free vocal warm-up player on lessonplanner.info was written by the Classfern Music Department, led by Mr Chopin. When you’re warmed up, sing a song in the singing play-along with range check.