Confessions of a Songstress
Press “play” to hear Ariella narrate this blog:
Let me be frank with you.
I’m a professional songstress and a vocal empowerment coach, and I do not warm up my voice every day.
However, my voice is in great shape, my range is wide, and I can do well with little preparation the day of a gig.
Here’s why:
The voice, like any other part of the body, needs self-care, exercise, and love.
When we neglect our voice, our range becomes smaller, vocal flexibility shrinks, and we’re more likely to strain it through overuse or misuse.
I’ve been there, and I’m guessing you have too?
My voice is in great shape because though I don’t warm up daily, I warm up regularly.
I find that if I go 2-3 weeks without warming up (which is easy to do if I don’t have a speaking or singing gig coming up), I begin to lose my vocal agility.
And like losing any other physical ability, it’s easy to worry that it will never come back! However, when I begin to “lose what I got,” what pray tell do I do?
1- I do not fret. I still got it, baby!
2- I start with gentle warm ups.
3- I warm up regularly (for a good 5-10 minutes/day at least 4-5 days/week).
4- After warming up my voice, I use my voice – I sing songs, practice speeches, monologues, or do a video for you (or my peeps on Facebook).
And boom! I’m back at it. It’s important to keep continuity and vocal diversity, otherwise we have to rebuild. And while there’s no shame in rebuilding, it’s simply more work.
You got it, beautiful?
If I can do it, you can do it!
What questions do you have for me?
Plus!! I have a new tool that will help you warm-up with ease while caring for your voice, mind, body and soul! It’s called Vocal WarmUp Essentials and you can find it here.
In general if you’d like more tips for warming up and strengthening your voice, your confidence, and your self, please sign up for my newsletter!
I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below! When was the last time you warmed up your voice? How’d it make you feel?