I’m pretty darn happy today. I received via mail my Specialist Certificate in Voice Technique & Musicianship from Berklee Music School Online after up-skilling by taking 3 papers in one semester (a years worth of study!) It’s very shiny & official looking. I’m going to frame it, hang it on my wall & stare at it daily!
Revisiting my voice technique & learning new things about my voice was an amazing experience & one I would highly recommend – obviously as I’m a vocal coach but even more so personally as an artist, the singer in me benefited 150%.
One other thing that has ABSOLUTELY changed my vocal life is daily warm ups.
Not as big a ‘ta-da’ as studying at Berklee but SOOOOOOOOOO important. DAILY warm ups, not just before you sing. Before you speak. First thing in the morning if you can. In the shower is even better.
It’s bizarre that many don’t connect singing & speaking voices as one in the same. The breathing is more managed for singing but certainly all the techniques can be applied to effective speaking.
Warming up for non singers is super important especially if they use their voice all day. Teachers, Call centre teams, Doctors, Receptionists, Mums – basically EVERYONE. Think about the impact losing your voice has on your day.
That is why I think EVERYONE should do a warm up.
Or even a vocal wake up in the form of a Siren.
My warm up is 12-20 mins long & I do it most every day.
Triggers are what help me remember. If I shower or drive my car anywhere – I warm up (& sometime Caraoke!!)
So what to do? A personalised vocal routine from my Berklee warm ups or my fave Warm up app on my phone.
Here are some more links to great resources for warming up your voice.
http://www.entnet.org/content/vocal-warmup-put-your-best-voice-forward
http://www.vocalhealth.org/professional-voice/vocal-warm-ups/exercises/
If you have any questions, yell out & I would love to know how you get on with your warm ups. It takes a month of consistency for you to see a MASSIVE improvement but trust me, you will!!
Happy warming up!
