You have a job or audition to record. Or maybe you need to deliver a lecture or presentation. A vocal warm up improves the quality of the sounds you make. It also helps prevent vocal injury. This month we present some of the more popular ways to warm up your instrument.  

Gently humming, feeling the focus of the sound on the lips, is an excellent way to warm-up the voice. You should hum gentle melodic glides on the "m" sound feeling a tickling vibration in the lips and nose area.

Singing is also a fabulous warm-up for voice actors. Pick your favorite tune and sing it softly. Don't belt it out - remember you're warming-up, not getting ready to sing on American Idol.

Crisp lips save slips and a slip saved is time saved. Tongue twisters are excellent for warming up the muscles of the lips and tongue. Although not a tongue twister, the following sentence is a workout for the face and mouth muscles. It contains multiple instances of hard consonants and resonators. Say it 8-10 times - starting very slowly and building up speed: Listen! What do you think I am, a piece of ripe fruit you can squeeze the juice out of and cast aside?

Another popular method, used by many voice actors, is to take a wine cork (just the cork - we recommend removing the bottle first) and speak as clearly and naturally as possible with the cork clenched tightly between your teeth. Five minutes is all you need to loosen the muscles. When you remove the cork, your jaw will feel a little sore but you'll enunciate much more clearly.

Try all these suggestions and see what works best for you.