A vocal warm-up is a series of exercises that prepare the voice for singing, acting, or other use.
Purpose Changing pitch undoubtedly stretches the muscles, and vocal warm-ups help the singer feel more prepared.
Physical whole-body warm-ups also help prepare a singer. Muscles all over the body are used when singing (the diaphragm being one of the most obvious). Stretches of the abdomen, back, neck, and shoulders are important to avoid stress, which influences the sound of the voice.
Some warm-ups also provide voice training. Sometimes called vocalises, these activities teach breath control, diction, blending, and balance.
Famous quotes containing the words vocal and/or warm:
“The sound of tireless voices is the price we pay for the right to hear the music of our own opinions. But there is also, it seems to me, a moment at which democracy must prove its capacity to act. Every man has a right to be heard; but no man has the right to strangle democracy with a single set of vocal chords.”
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965)
“Eloquence must be grounded on the plainest narrative. Afterwards, it may warm itself until it exhales symbols of every kind and color, speaks only through the most poetic forms; but first and last, it must still be at bottom a biblical statement of fact.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)