James R.

Wiggington
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Welcome to the Professional Singer’s Warm-Up!

Why Warm Up?

There are only a few singers who can sit right up in bed at 6AM and belt out anything from Puccini to
Aerosmith. But most singers need a good warm-up to safely get up to speed for singing. “Warming up”
during your show (the first couple songs of your set) really cheats your audience and compromises your
vocal health. Iʼve heard some hotshot artists bragging about how they never warm up. These are the
same artists who eventually end up in my studio with vocal problems. A proper warm up establishes a
balance in resonance, builds flexibility, and appropriate vocal cord adduction (closure). Youʼll have
much easier access to your entire range (meaning less strain and more endurance).

HOW TO USE THIS PROGRAM:

STOP!! START with Tracks 4-14 first (These are the demonstrations and explanations of the ex-
ercises). That way, you’ll know what you’re doing once you start using the actual warm-up tracks (1
thru 3).

I always suggest that you get a little physical before starting the Program every day. Try some light
calisthenics and/or aerobics before beginning. This increases blood flow and focus—good stuff for
singing.

WHILE DOING YOUR WARM-UP, keep these things in mind:

• This is a warm-up Program, not a teaching course! You should learn the actual technique from
the Singing Success program! If you don’t have the main program, you may find a couple of these
exercises more confusing.
• Don’t strain to “belt” everything in your chest voice! Allow your voice to pass freely from low to
high without “pulling up” and without getting louder.
• Go at your own pace! Some voices take much longer than do others to get warmed up. Pause
the Program and take a drink whenever you need to.
• Schedule time to do it right! Going through the exercises in your car on the way to the gig will
help, but it’s not ideal. Although it’s not always possible, try to arrange your show schedules in
-up before.
• Learn Singer’s Breathing! (Track 4) Master this simple technique right away. I recommend that
you re-visit Track 4 from time to time, because learning this way of breathing is easier than re-
membering to do it consistently!
• WARM-UPS don’t replace good vocal training! Find a voice coach that can reinforce these
techniques and keep you moving forward. This Program will improve your overall quality,
but its main purpose is to balance you daily and then to get you ready for performances.

James R. Wiggington

Welcome to the Professional Singerʼs Warm Up

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Pro Singer’s Warm-up (Male)

The Warm-ups:

1. Breathing before Warm-up (1:02)

2. Singer’s Morning Warm-up (7:47)
3. Singer’s Warm-up (12:48)

Demonstration Tracks:

4. Singer’s Breathing (04:19)

5. How to Perform a Slide (00:24)
6. Lip Trill/5-note Scale (00:58)
7. Tongue Trill/7-note Scale (00:47)
8. Descending Arpeggio/“bup” (00:38)
9. Lip Trill/Long Scale (00:39)
10. Long Scale on “mum” (00:39)
11. Descending Arpeggio on “nay” (01:22)
12. Up/Down Arpeggio on “moy” (01:08)
13. Lip Trill/Double-Mixed Octave (01:09)
14. Double Long Scale on “hmm;mum” (01:22)

Pro Singerʼs Warm Up (Male)

© Copyright James R Wiggington © Copyright Singing Success Inc. 2008 All Rights Reserved.