Wendy Morgan

Singers and everyday folks can benefit from these practical tips:

• Warm up your voice – if you don’t have a voice teacher or currently don’t use a vocal technique keep in mind that your vocal chords and the surrounding area are all muscles.  Just as you wouldn’t go to the gym or jump into any physical activity without a warm-up, you shouldn’t jump into full-out singing a song without warming up first.  At the very least hum the song through from beginning to end before singing it.
• Stay hydrated - drink plenty of water!  The vocal chords can get dried out in the Winter months due to the cold air and lack of humidity.  In the Summer months the air outside is better due to rain and humidity but unfortunately going in and out of air conditioning can cause the vocal chords to dry and tighten.  So drink, drink, drink.
• Open your mouth and say AH - make sure you do alot of yawning and feel the back of the throat open when you do.  I like using the yawn sigh (makes a good warm-up too.)  Just yawn and say AH keeping the tongue forward as you do (tip of tongue rests against the back of the bottom teeth) while going from one note to another.  It sounds like a siren.  AH is the most open vowel sound so also pay attention to your vowels while singing and always lean towards the more open sounding vowel.

Thanks and stay tuned for more practical tips for the singer from Wendy Morgan and The Vocal Gymnasium.