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Alright friends… today’s How To Warm Up video is goofy. Watch me make some funny faces as I demonstrate how to do the “camel stretch” to release the muscles through the front of your neck and your jaw. It’s ridiculous, it’s amazing, and it’s a fabulous stretch.

By the way – a huge thank you and big love to my teacher and friend Paul Backer for teaching me this one. Paul is no longer with us, but he brought so many students at the University of Southern California and beyond joy with this exerci...

Today’s How To Warm Up video is going to teach you a really simple exercise to “stretch” your vocal cords. Yes is it’s true, that’s possible… just like any other muscle, your vocal cords can stretch! And when they do, it actually raises your pitch. So you’ll learn this very simple, useful warm up that moves from the top to the bottom and back up to the top of your pitch range to stretch and release your vocal cords smoothly. Let’s zipper!

Watch the Zipper exercise (sound) here: 

Have fun con...

Do you know what a trill is? Maybe you know you can’t do one? Well in today’s How To Warm Up video, we’re going to use a bilabial trill (that’s a fancy way of saying a trill with your two lips) to warm up your voice and your lips. Plus trills are totally awesome because they help calibrate your airflow… you’ll only be able to set them into this rapid vibration trill motion if you’ve got an ideal amount of air flowing through your vocal cords. Huzzah!

Alright let’s try some lip trills…

Watch th...

In today’s How To Warm Up video, I’m in the studio with plenty of space to move around so I can show you the “Do what feels good” exercise. This one is really important, and here’s why… yes I’ve created this How To Warm Up video series so that you can watch the Intro video, understand how to structure a warm up, and put together one of your own using all the videos in the playlist. But some days that’s just too heady/too by-rote/too prescriptive. Some days you just gotta follow your intuition an...

We’re going full-on yoga in today’s How To Warm up video… woohoo! In this video we’re going to play with resonance by chanting the sound Om. Om, which is also sometimes written as Aum, is the yoga mantra of the whole universe. It contains within it three sounds: Ah, Oo, and Mm. Ah is said to symbolize beginning or creation, Oo is said to symbolize middle or maintenance, and Mm pertains to ending or destruction. So by chanting the full sound Om, we tap into the vibrations of the whole universe, a...

In today’s How To Warm Up video, we’re going to do a really fun simple warm up that energizes you through shaking. Check out my version of the “countdown,” which warms up both your Body and your Articulation at the same time (woot!). It’s rhythmic, fun, and almost like the hokey pokey.

And by the way – if you know and love a different version of this exercise, feel free to share in the comments!!

Watch the Countdown exercise (body) here:

xo,

Today’s brand new How To Warm Up video covers my very favorite exercise for reminding your body what it feels like to engage the low belly action of breath support. If you want to be sure that you’re supporting your voice well, then check this out… you’ll learn both the “Sh, let it go” and “Hey, let it go” techniques that you can use in in every single warm up you do! Let’s dive in:

Watch the Breath Support – Sh, Let It Go exercise (breath) here:

Questions? Leave a comment!

xo,

I LOVE today’s How To Warm Up exercise, and I’m so excited to share it with you. Learn how a belly massage can help you release your guts and breathe more freely. Though I originally learned this practice as a technique for better digestion from my studies of Ayurveda (Indian medicine), I’ve found it’s incredibly beneficial for your voice too! Check it out, and as an extra bonus we’ll play with a water balloon too (you’ll get it when you see it! 😉)

Watch the Belly Massage For Your Voice (Body)e...

If you’re like me (coming from a theatre/singing/yoga background), It’s very possible you’ve done today’s exercise about a gagillion times. But it’s also totally possible that you’ve never done the roll down! Whatever your experience, I promise you’ll learn something new in today’s How To Warm Up video. Adding this Body exercise to your warm up is a fabulous way to be sure you’re bringing your full body into your vocalizing. So check out my interpretation of the classic warm up, rolling down and...

In today’s How To Warm Up video, we’re going to learn how to warm up your facial muscles so that all of your impulses can make their way into full expression! I’ve put this exercise under the Impulse category for that reason, though of course a facial warm up improves your articulation too! So join me for this fun, goofy sequence of exercises that will conclude in some totally ridiculous faces (yes, I’m fully aware of the screen captures that could now exist on the world wide web… but it’s worth...