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In today’s How To Warm Up video, we’ll talk about why humming is one of the simplest and most fabulous exercises to warm up your voice. Why is it so great? Because humming up and down in pitch is a gentle stretch for your vocal cords! So it’s great to use as a warm up or cool down… in the same way that you would stretch out your hamstrings before and after you run.

I highly encourage you to adopt humming as part of your daily routine, and especially if you’re...

Today’s How To Warm Up video is a really big one! My existing laryngeal massage video from the beta round of How To Warm Up has 26,000 views and counting on youtube… which means that people are obviously searching to learn how to release tension in their throat! Are you one of the people who’s curious?? If so, I’ve got great news for you. The old video only featured two of the five full steps I teach to release muscle tension in and around the larynx. But...

Did you know that vowel sounds are created by the shape and placement of your tongue in your mouth? Try a few vowel sounds to see what I mean!

First say a long “Ahhhh.” For this sound, your tongue is low in your mouth.

Next say a long “Ooohh.” For this sound, your tongue is high in the back of your mouth and your lips come forward.

Finally say a long “Eeeee.” For this sound, your tongue comes higher in the front of your mouth.

Oral resonance is the quality of sound that bounces around in your oral cavity… aka your mouth. It helps you have a sound with more depth and richness of tone. In today’s How To Warm Up video you’ll learn how to tap into oral resonance so your sound bounces powerfully off the roof of your mouth and reaches your listener’s ear with ease. Who knows, you may even land a job as a radio DJ with this one!

Watch the Oral Resonance video here:

Alright – hop to it...

It’s time for another How To Warm Up video about resonance! In today’s video you’re going to learn how tapping on the top of your head will help you lengthen your vocal tract (the voice tube, if you will) up and down so you get a more lofty, floating sound. This exercise is especially valuable for people who are experiencing vocal fatigue and want to make a fuller sound with less work.

Watch the Loft Resonance video here: 

Short, sweet, and helpful I hope! And stay...

In today’s How To Warm Up video, we’re going back to the very beginning: our initial impulse to make sound. This one might feel a little bit woo-woo earth-crunchy to you (you always knew I was wearing Birkenstocks on those feet!), but I promise it’s a great one to try.

The deal is: you’re going to make a sound – yes just make a sound, not say a word – that feels true to you in the moment. Kinda like a sigh. And you’re then going to ask yourself: Was...

Wanna have a voice that travels powerfully through space and pings off the side of the room? Work on your mask resonance! In today’s How To Warm Up video you will learn how to tap into the “mask” resonance in the front of your face (think cheekbones and eyebrows), you’ll be able to create a more powerful sound with less work. Sounds pretty appealing, right? Let’s do it!

Learn the Mask Resonance exercise here:  

Enjoy this!!

xo,

It’s time for another How To Warm Up video, and today we’re doing a very classic vocal warm-up involving a very easy to find prop: a straw!

Learn how using a smoothie or soda straw, or even a coffee stirrer can up the ante on your vocal warm up and teach you how to calibrate your airflow so you’re not overdoing it. It’s simple, highly effective, and a great way to get your vocal cords functioning optimally. So let’s do it, shall we?

Practice the Straws exercise...

Welcome to the How To Warm Up video series!! 

If you’re like: “Ummmm, Elissa, I’ve been watching these videos for a year…” then I know the welcome sounds weird. I’m welcoming you back though, because I recently got around to re-filming the introduction video! (As you may have noticed if you’ve been following the videos for a while, they’ve had a new look in the last six months. After getting feedback that the series was...

Today’s How To Warm Up video is quick, easy, and goofy as usual. Check out my favorite warm up sequence for the articulators – namely the lips, tongue, and jaw (and a little somethin’ somethin’ for the skull too because it feels good!). If you get really good at this one, you can probably do the whole thing in under a minute. In fact, I’d like to see you try (yes that’s actually a challenge – post a video on my facebook page if you’re...