Personalised Vocal Warm Up Routine – 20 mins

Adapted from Rodenburg, P. (1992). The Right to Speak: Working with the Voice. London: Methuen Drama, pp. 176-228

1.     Relaxation and Breathing –  10 mins

(a) Lie down on the back. Limbs at ease placed naturally at the sides of the body in corpse pose. Eyes closed and maintain a natural breathing rhythm. Clear thoughts. Check body for tension. Go through major joints (e.g. arms, legs, back) making sure that each area is relaxed after purposefully tensing up each part. Be aware of each of the tension points* that affect breathing and make sure to relax that part. 

*Any tension at any part of the body that affects the breathing patterns should be made aware. Physical activity might have caused unnecessary tension before this.

(b) Breathe in for 8 counts, andante, and breathe out for 8. Make sure there is no tension in any part of the body, and that the abdomen area is rising when breathing in – meaning that breathing is not into the chest but into the diaphragm area. Repeat 1-2 times for each set. 

If lung capacity allows, move on to 10 or even 12 counts on inhalation of exhalation.

(c) Decrease the counts of exhalation to 8, then 5 to energize the body with the quick exhalations

Roll sideways and slowly get up to a sitting position.

2.     Resonance and Vocal awakening – 5 mins

(a)  Massage the neck, and make sure all tension is released

(b)  Breathe in deeply, Hum. Repeat for 1-2 times and vary pitch.

(c)   Breathe in deeply, Hum and release into a series of vowels (Mah-Meh-Mee-Mai-Mou-Muu). Repeat for 1-2 times and vary pitch.

(d)  Massage neck to ensure no tension

(e)  Repeat (c), but this time in push up position, pushing into the cobra pose with the release. Repeat 1-2 times

3.     Articulators and pronunciation – 5 mins

(a)  Stretch face – eyes, nose, mouth, massage cheeks and ensure no tension. Blow lips.

(b)  Start with consonants, going through a series of consonants starting with the bilabial (b,p,m,w) in the rhythm (123 123 123 1), progressively towards the glottal. Do them only once unless there’s a trip. Refer to IPA chart for the consonants.

(c)   End with some tongue twisters.

“Red lorry yellow lorry, Red leather yellow leather, Irish Wristwatch, Peter piper picked… “

(d)  Power pose and final deep breath with fast exhalation.

References:

Rodenburg, P. (1992). The Right to Speak: Working with the Voice. London: Methuen Drama,