Do Re Mi

       I am in the middle of my final weekend here in New Hampshire, performing Amber in Hairspray. I have had a blast and will be sad to close the show. However, I will be so thrilled to get back to New York - where my husband is! :) Being apart, is the worst. We chose to get married because we wanted to be together. Luckily, since we have been married we haven't been apart longer than 2 weeks. Hopefully we won't have to go much longer than that ever. If it was our choice, Nathan and I would be together every minute of the day. We love being together and we actually work better when we are together, and are definitely happier when we are together.
     ANYWAY!! One thing that has surprised me soooo much from this gig is that no one warms up vocally before they go on stage. I graduated with a Bachelors of Music in Musical Theater from Belmont and Belmont University has a wonderful music school and I know that from my university and past experiences - I have great training.
      SINGERS MUST WARM UP! Our vocal chords are like any other muscle in the body. You need to slowly warm it up before you start asking it to do demanding tasks. There are also many different resonating cavities in the body that are used while singing and it is important to warm up those areas as well. They always told us in school that it is important to make all the ugly sounds first while you are warming up, than getting on stage and making a sound that you aren't sure how its going to come out. Not only are you going to sound better on stage, but you will be less likely to damage your voice.
       Personally, I always warm up my entire voice before every show. When I say entire voice, I mean my legit, mix, chest, and chest/mix. I always start with my legit (more classical) warm ups because it is how I started training and is the most comfortable and relaxed for me. I make siren sounds (like a firetruck) where I take my voice from the lowest note to the highest note on an "oo" or "oh" - while keeping all my muscles in my body as relaxed and loose as possible. After doing a few legit warm ups, I move to my mix. This moves the tone of the note to a more forward resonating cavity.
         During a legit warm up I feel the tone spinning behind my forehead and at the roof of my soft pallet. During a mix warm up, I feel the tone behind my cheekbones and right behind my top front teeth. I also work through my passagio, or 'break' during a mix warm up. This is a crucial part for me, and most of the reason why I warm up. As singers, we are trained to try and make the break between our chest voice to our 'head' voice as seamless as possible. My 'break' comes around a G or an A above middle C, but I can camouflage the break better if I flip out of my chest voice around an E or F above middle C. The best way for me to make my passagio seem transparent is by trying to make my legit 'head' voice sound similar to my chest voice. The best way for me to do that is by using my Mix.
        Before I have warmed up, my mix can sound foggy and weak. After warming up and finding full access to my nasal cavities and other resonating cavities that I can use to spin the tone, my mix can sound bright and forward - similar to my chest voice. My chest voice sounds most like my speaking voice and resonates in my chest and also in my nasal cavities and cheekbones. The higher I use my chest voice (or Belting), the more I try to place the tone in a 'safe zone' which would be in my upper cheekbones, as oppose to the back of my throat.
        ALL OF THIS TO SAY...It is crucial to warm up before performing. It blows my mind that most of these performers walk into their dressing rooms from the street, put on a costume, make up and a microphone, walk on stage and start demanding things from their voices. And yes...they sound great. They don't sound like they just woke up, because most likely they have been talking all day and using their voice, which is warming up the voice as well (if they are speaking on their optimum pitch - thats another blog...) But not many people are belting E's and singing high C's on a normal basis as they walk down the street.
            I have definitely gotten weird looks backstage whenever I have said "I'm gonna go warm up". Or if people hear me warming up, I have gotten looks like "What are you doing?" Sometimes it has made me feel like I was doing something wrong...or being an "over-achiever". But I know that is not the case. I plan on singing and performing for a long time and I want a healthy voice. And...if people have paid money to see a show that I'm in, it is my job to be ready to give them all that I have and not whatever happens to come out that day.
            I know that it isn't just this theater or the actors in it. I have experienced this in past gigs. I think it must be a difference in training. And by difference, I mean singers who have been trained and singers who haven't! :) Musical Theater performers must take their voices for granted and act lazy. It's just like not putting sunscreen on before you go out in the sun, it takes a little time but it protects you in the long run.
            Thanks for letting me vent. :)