Singing is more physically demanding than one might think. Professional singers spend countless hours practicing vocal exercises and breathing techniques to improve their voice and explore their range.
If you’re serious about honing in on your singing talents and getting the most out of your voice, you’ll need to incorporate vocal exercises into your everyday routine.
Here are a few of the best vocal exercises:
Exercising the jaw
To get the most out of your singing voice, singers need to drop their jaws lower than they would talk. This can feel uncomfortable and take some getting used to. Jaw loosening exercises are a great tool that allows singers to get more comfortable with the feeling, so they can sing to the best of their ability.
To know where your jaw should be dropped while singing, you’ll want to take your finger and start at your chin. Trace your jaw from your chin to your ear. The part where your jaw curves are where you want to keep your jaw.
To practice, you’ll want to pretend you’re yawning with your mouth closed. While you yawn, you’ll be able to feel where your jaw drops. It’s important to practice with your mouth closed because you’ll want to avoid dropping your chin through the process.
Humming warm-ups
Humming is one of the oldest tricks in the book and is one of the best ways to warm up your vocals. That’s because humming doesn’t strain your vocal cords. To effectively utilize humming warm-ups, you’ll want to place your tongue at the bottom of your front teeth. Then, keep your mouth closed and hum up and down the scale.
Solfege
You’ve probably familiar with “Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do”. Singers start on middle C and sing through the solfege up and down the scale. For this vocal exercise, try this vocal warm-up acapella. It may take some time and ear training to master this exercise. However, practicing solfege is great for training your ears, improving your accuracy, and helping you with sight-reading.
Portamento
Portamento means “the act of carrying” in Italian and is also commonly referred to as the vocal slides technique. To use this exercise, you’ll want to practice sliding from note to note within your range. However, you’ll want to avoid the in-between notes.
It’s not exactly easy to catch onto right away, and you may struggle at first. Don’t feel discouraged! Incorporating this vocal exercise into your routine will help you feel your voice and allow you to explore the size of your voice.
Sirens exercise
To utilize the vocal sirens exercise, you’ll want to start with an “ooh” sound and gradually move from the low note to the high note of your range. Continue to move back and forth and you should create a sound that mimics a siren of an emergency vehicle. The sound will cover all tones between the notes as well.
The lip trill exercise
For this exercise, you’ll make a motorboat sound with your lips as you blow air through your mouth and nose. This technique is simple and helps you relax your lips before you start singing. Relaxing your lips will improve your diction while singing, the sound quality of certain words, and the sound of vowels.
Take your singing to the next level
To get the most out of your singing voice: you’ll need to prioritize vocal exercises and practice breathing techniques regularly. The more you practice singing from your diaphragm, the more comfortable you’ll feel with your singing technique.
If you’re ready to take your technique to the next level, the passionate professionals at MI are here to help. Our vocal program is designed to challenge students and allow them to explore their stylistic identities. Learn more about the vocal program today to see if you’re a good fit.