A survey of voice instructors came up with these common steps in the warm up process.
While the methods can vary, most warm ups seem to share these goals. Voice scientists break down the physiological purpose behind each one.

1.  Establishing balance, centering and an awareness of the whole body

Methods: Stretching, massaging, walking around the room, bringing awareness to the body's center of balance, noticing any areas of tension,  body mapping, and visualizations

Specific goals for singing:  

• ​Creating a sense   of balance so that the head and neck muscles close to the larynx aren't forced to overcompensate
• Finding a stance that allows the ribs to expand and the diaphragm to lengthen as it lowers on the inhale

2. Bringing attention to the muscles involved in breathing 

Methods:  Touching all the areas involved in respiration and noticing how they expand, Exhaling on consonants such as sssssss, shhhhhh, or fffffff, Engaging the abdominals during pulsed exhalation,  Suspending the inhalation and exhalation for extended intervals

Specific goals for singing:

• Allowing the diaphragm to descend and the ribs to expand so that during the inhale pressure builds in the lower torso and not around the larynx
  

3a.  Bringing attention to muscles of the jaw

Methods:  Massaging, chewing,  stretching

3b. Bringing attention to the muscles of the tongue

Methods: Tongue thrusts, tongue stretches, tongue curls,  panting

Notice if the area at the base of the tonuge feels crowded

Notice if the muscles underneath the chin feel hard or constricted

Notice where the tip of tongue rests. If it is pulled back from the bottom teeth, it is likely the larynx is being crowded and the pharynx cavity is small.

Specific goals for singing:

• Establishing jaw and tongue independence
• Allowing the tongue to come up and forward so that the larynx can be stable and free and the pharynx cavity remains uninhabited
  

4.  Closed mouth octave slides
(Semi-Occluded  Vocal Tract i.e. SOVT)

Methods: Straw phonation, MMMMMMM, NNNGGGGG,  ZZZZZZZ,  Lip trills, tongue trills

When the mouth is partially closed, back pressure reflects at the lips to help the folds vibrate with more ease and less muscular effort. See the Straw Phonation page for more information.

Specific goals for singing:

• Allowing the folds to stretch and come together  without the same impact and collision that occurs in open mouth singing

Vocal folds stretch during octave slides

5. Using nasal consonants to encourage 'focus' in the sound

Methods:  Going from MMMMM, NNNNN, or NNNGGGG consonants to any combination of vowels on scale patterns or suspended notes

When we produce nasal consonants air goes up behind the soft palate and into the nasal cavity. This can cause the bones around the cheeks, nose and lips to vibrate in sympathy with the sound being produced.  It's this sensation, that singers often describe as 'buzzing' or 'forward' or 'singing in the mask', that can be a useful tool. Often times if you translate this sensation to sounds that are not typically nasal, it indicates that closure, or adduction, is strong a the level of the vocal folds. Since you can't directly control the vocal folds, you can use the nasal consonants as a guide in how to find this 'forward buzzing' sensation.

Specific goals for singing:

• Establishing a sense of 'forward buzzing' in the face that indicates strong closure and efficient use of the vocal folds​​
  

6.  Establishing a sense of stability across all vowel combinations throughout the range

Methods: Going back and forth between two vowels and noticing if the sensation of resonance changes, Moving up the scale on one vowel and noticing how the vowel needs to shift,  Using neutral vowels to create as little change in vocal tract shape as possible

​Making a drastic change in the vocal tract shape between two vowels can
create an undesirable shift in the sound.  
See our pages on Formants vs Harmonics, Vocal Tract, Acoustic Registration, and Vowels for more information.

Specific goals for singing:

• Learning to shift from vowels that are similar in shape to create stability in the sound and in vocal fold vibration. 
  

​7. Releasing air before the sound starts

Methods: Putting an aspirate 'h' before each vowel, Relating the sensation of sighing to the start of the sound, Going back and forth between phonated and unphonated lip trills, Going back and forth between SSSSS and ZZZZZZ

​

During inhalation, the vocal folds open to let air in, during phonation they come together to vibrate. Coordinating this first moment of closure is crucial in creating the entire sound.  When done with too much vigor there can be a 'hard onset' or 'glottal attack'. 

Specific goals for singing:

• ​Coordinating the folds to come together without too much effort so that  squeezing and tightness doesn't occur in the sound

8. Messa di voce - gradually going from soft to loud to soft

Specific goals for singing:

• To coordinate the TA muscle (the heavy muscle) to gradually contract and gradually let go

9. Vocal fry

Methods:  Fry through a straw, Fry as an onset to phonation, Slide on a fry, Fry through several different vowel shapes

During vocal fry very little air escapes through the vocal folds and the TA muscle (the heavy muscle) lets go

Specific goals for singing:

• To release tension in the TA muscle (the heavy muscle) while still achieving closure in the vocal folds

10. Drawing attention outside your body

Methods: Looking around the room, Squatting, stretching, or dancing while singing, Pretending to toss a ball or frisbee,  Softening eyes and focusing on peripheral vision

When the conscious mind gets too caught up in the details of one task,  it often gets in the way of the subconscious completing the task.  Giving it a simple focus can liberate the body to achieve its goal.

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