Warming Up
Many singing lessons or choir rehearsals start with a warm up. But what is it that we are warming up? Is our voice cold before we start singing? If so, does the singing of scales, or similar, make our voices any warmer?
There are things we can do to make sure our body is well-prepared for singing before we make any sound. We can release any tension that has built up in our bodies that will restrict vocal freedom. Many people hold tension in the neck, shoulders, arms, jaw, facial muscles and tongue. Tension in any of these areas will have a direct impact on our ability to sing. Stretching and releasing tension in these areas will allow us to sing with greater ease.
Link to guides for releasing tension
We can also check that that our body is in a good position to breathe efficiently when we start singing. First we can check that we our aligning our body in a way that will not restrict our breathing. It is important that all our joints are released so air can flow freely – i.e. ankles, knees, hip, shoulders, elbows, wrists and the joint where the head rests on the top of the spines. Try locking your knees, taking in a deep breath and then exhaling. Then try the same process with your knees unlocked. Did you spot any difference in your breath flow?
How we align our body is also important – our hip should be above our ankle, our shoulders above our hip, and our ears above our shoulders. Check that the head is not too far forward, that the shoulders have not been pulled too far back, that the body isn’t slumped or ‘stood to attention’, and that the knees are not locked.
Breathing and the diaphragm
When we breathe in our diaphragm descends and flattens to allow room for the lungs to expand. Link to another website video. When we inhale for singing we keep the shoulders and arms relaxed so the breath is not shallow, rather we feel inflated at the bottom of the ribcage. The belly will expand naturally as the diaphragm comes down. Sleeping baby.
If we want to sing long, sustained, phrases it is important that we don’t waste breath. By controlling the amount of breath we use, we can enable ourselves to sing longer phrases. People often talk about using the diaphragm when breathing for singing. We have no control over the diaphragm itself, but we can control other muscles that are attached to the diaphragm. We do this by keeping the diaphragm low and flat for as long as possible, so the lungs are able to stay inflated. By using our intercostal muscles we can keep the lower ribcage wide. Our intercostal muscles attach to our diaphragm. If we keep the ribs wide the diaphragm will stay low and we will be able to prevent the air leaving our lungs too quickly.