Free Vocal Warm Ups and Diction Exercises for Your Voice!

Are you involved in the arts? Perhaps you are a vocalist, an actor or even a public speaker. Have you ever had your voice prevent you from performing your task effectively? You know, you probably could have avoided that. Did you know that you can have permanent damage to your vocal chords if you don't warm them up properly? Avoid permanent vocal chord damage. Warm up your voice - properly!

The following exercises are for the experienced actor, speaker or vocalist and should not be attempted by the average "Joe" or "Jane" for that matter. I'm kidding!! Anyone can try them... they're just mixtures of words and or sounds for goodness sake.

Say the warm ups however you like. Find your own rhythm and speed. I recommend starting slow and then increase your speed gradually. Admittedly, some of the warm ups may seem kind of odd. Some may even look stupid to you at first. Don't worry about that. Do them anyway. They have been designed to have both simple and quite complex patterns and are easy to remember.

Ready? Give it a shot. Don't forget to breathe!

1. Ah-blah, alligator; blah-blah, anticipator

2. Beckoned Becky, boasted Bobby, believed babbling Brooke.

3. Can't David Eat Fish, Gail?

4. Honduras has horrible hamburgers.

5. In Jeffrey Kemp's last meeting, no one presentation remained solid.

6. Trust the tongue twisters to tickle that tongue.

7. Ugly vampires wear extraordinarily yellow zippers.

8. Alligators - Baboons - Cats - Dogs - Elephants - Fish

9. Gorillas - Horses - Iguanas - Jaguars - Kangaroos

10. Llamas - Monkeys - Newts - Octopus - Porcupines

11. Quail - Rabbits - Snakes - Turtles - Unicorns - Yaks - Zebra

This set of free warm ups are to be used for practicing pure vowel sounds. They are to be said rhythmically with breaths after each line. Good luck and have fun!

A (pronounced ah)

ah - zah - ah - zah - ah - zah - ah

bah - yah - bah - yah - bah - yah - bah

cah - xah - dah - xah - cah - xah - cah

dah - wah - dah - dah - gah - dah - gah

E (pronounced eh)

feh - veh - feh - veh - feh - veh - feh

geh - teh - geh - teh - geh - teh - geh

heh - seh - heh - seh - heh - seh - heh

jeh - reh - jeh - reh - jeh - reh - jeh

I (pronounced ee)

kee - nee - kee - nee - kee - nee - kee

lee - mee - lee - mee - lee - mee - lee

mee - lee - mee - lee - mee - lee - mee

nee - kee - nee - kee - nee - kee - nee

O (pronounced oh)

poh - joh - poh - joh - poh - joh - poh

roh - hoh - roh - hoh - roh - hoh - roh

soh - goh - soh - goh - soh - goh - soh

toh - foh - toh - foh - toh - foh - toh

U (pronounced oo)

voo - doo - voo - doo - voo - doo - voo

woo - coo - woo - coo - woo - coo - woo

yoo - boo - yoo - boo - yoo - boo - yoo

zoo - oo - zoo - oo - zoo - oo - zoo

By doing all of them, you will speed through the alphabet, twice. Go through them all just 5 times and you'll actually go through the alphabet 10 times. Truly a great workout and warmup for the vocalist/actor/speaker! I'm not going to say that this is a full vocal warm-up. You should spend 15 minutes or more on warming them up. However, this is a great vocal warm-up tool. Feel free to remember them! Anyway, much success on your Voice and/or Public Speaking Adventures. Don't forget to print this out or bookmark it so that you can practice these and commit them to memory.

Other Quick Vocal Tips

Don't forget to breathe properly. Use good diction, even if you're reciting a part that doesn't require it. Differentiate between your "D" and your "T." (very, very common mistake.) Make each statement, every single word, stand out.