Vocal Conditioning

The demands on the voice for the next three weeks as we prepare Beauty and the Beast
are tremendous, not just for singers in the 18-22 year old range, but for all singers.
Commitment to its preparation requires daily attention to building vocal stamina and
healthy production.
The warmup [sic] process for vocal athletes is the same as for sports athletes: (1) always
pay close attention to coordination efficiency, (2) begin at relatively minimal degrees of
strenuousness, and (3) gradually increase the degree of strenuousness. About 15 to 20
minutes of steadily increasing strenuousness is needed before vocal muscles and vocal
fold tissues are primed for optimum strength, range of motion, speed and precision of use.
One vocal warmup [sic] sequence for singing can be: (1) begin with about 5 to 7 minutes
of sound and pitch patterns that proceed from minimal to moderate strenuousness, (2)
continue with music that is moderately strenuous and proceeds to fairly strong
strenuousness, then (3) sing a few quite strenuous pitch patterns, and finally (4) sing
music that includes some quite strenuous passages. (Thurman, 2000)
SECTION I
Unless indicated by a double asterisk (**), each repetition of the pitch patterns are to be
one half step below the previous one. The double asterisk (**) indicates repetitions a half
step above. After you have warmed the vocal folds using the pitch patterns listed below,
you may move to the more strenuous patterns found in Section II.

Any vowel(s)

SECTION II
The following exercises are considerably more strenuous and should only be practiced
once the voice has been given sufficient time (10-15 minutes) for the muscle to warm.

FINAL COMMENTS
Your efforts should NOT be to work to vocal fatigue (in the same manner as weight
training)
Only sing as high or as low as you are comfortably able
Be aware of your body alignment as you vocalize
Be aware of how you are using your breath
o Inhale silently (open the throat)
o Exhale through that same sensation
o Breathe low in the body (ribcage remains comfortably open and expanded
throughout the breathing process)

Learn the pitches and rhythms of the Beethoven singing very lightly and softly; DO
NOT attempt to learn the piece at full voice
o Repeated hearings without singing will benefit you in this regard
On days during which you are unable to sing (whether due to a health issue, family
visiting, etc.), study your part in terms of
o German diction
o English translation
o Text spoken rhythmically

Works Cited
Thurman, G. W. (2000). bodymind & voice: foundations of voice education. Minneapolis:
The VoiceCare Network.