Vocal Warmup strain or fatigue

Hello Camille,

Thank you for your work, I am completely new to learning how to sing, I started two weeks ago and I find that my voice feels a bit strained or fatigued during and after vocal warmups

Is it because  I'm using muscles I've never used before or am I overdoing it

I do the 4 recommended vocal warmups you gave everyday lip thrill, MUM, OO, AH

I've been doing each one for 3 minutes straight with a minute rest

what do you recommend I should do in terms of rest intervals between each warmup and duration

Thank you

Hi, Khalil! 

While I don't have a specific time limit in mind, it may be worth cutting down on your practice time for the moment, to see if that helps. So instead of 3 minutes each, try just one minute of each exercise. A minute of rest in between is a good idea, but you might skip that since your total warmup time will be reduced! Then, if you want to practice again later in the day, you can. 

To avoid unnecessary strain, make sure you are:

- Standing with good posture (careful to not reach the chin up or forward)

- Taking low, relaxed belly breaths

- Singing with a relaxed jaw, tongue, and neck (use a mirror to help monitor yourself)

- Modifying the exercise when necessary (for example: sing on a hum or lip trill instead of an AH, if the AH starts to feel strained)

- Drop out when any exercise gets too high or low to be sung comfortably

Best of luck!

Thank you very much will try