Warm-ups · Beginner · Every style
Lip trill · slides on a fifth
A slow slide up a fifth and back stretches the folds smoothly from note to note, with the lips doing the work of steadying the air.
How to do it
- Start the lip trill on the low note.
- Slide up to the fifth like a siren, no steps in between.
- Slide back down and hold the last note.
Remember Smooth as a slide, not a staircase.
| Numbers | 1 5 1 |
|---|---|
| Sargam | S P S |
| Solfa | do sol do |
| Notes | G D G |
| Sung on | brr – – |
Where it comes from
More warm-ups
Lip trill · five-note scale
The buzzing lips hold back a little air, which takes the load off the vocal folds.
Lip trill · octave and a half
Up the chord past the octave, then down the scale: the long line carries the voice through its register change on an easy sound.
Hum · five-note scale
Humming keeps the lips closed and the sound buzzing in the face, so you feel where a good tone lives before you open the mouth..
Straw sirens
Phonating through a straw is the best-studied voice exercise there is.