I'm having trouble with warming up my voice. Once i have it warm i don't have any problems, but it's usually about 10 takes before i get to that point. I would prefer to have my voice warm before i step up to the mic. I'm not familiar with any "formal" techniques for warming up or caring for your voice. can any vocalists point me in the right direction?

I'm not a vocalist so I shouldn't reply, but I've noticed vocalists like to sing scales and arpeggios that cover their range (starting in the middle of their register then working to the extremes) in a relaxed voice, paying attention to "proper" breathing. They'll also sing different vowel sounds, first on the same note, then moving up and down the scale (e.g. "may mee my moe moo" on the first note of a scale,then the same thing on the 2nd note of the scale, and so on. Then they may change consonants, e.g. "tay tee ty toe too", whatever). Doing this while going from soft to loud is common. There are books on vocal excercises, though I don't know which ones are good.

Go to a professional vocal coach. They will do what is right for your voice,

Thanks for the advice dodo, but i'm sure you noticed my member name is Punx, it's not really worth a vocal coach for what i do haha. Basically i am looking ot strenthen my voice not improve my range

Hello Punx, My vocal teacher also stressed to practice relaxation and (as mentioned earlier) breathe control. Also, drink water and juice instead of pop or caffienated beverages (which is hard for me too!). Avoid smoking and other pollutants and the experts claim coughing or excessive clearing of the throat is detrimental. My teacher couldn't stress enough the relaxation techniques preceding, and during, a session and getting in the "zone" and handling the "mind" game of vocal performance. Warmups are very good just don't over do it-- do these warmups matching your vocal pitch with the guitar or piano. Hope this helps....

Punx, I spaced out the fact that a person should also practice good mic technique. Which involves volume and dynamic control per the proximity (distance) effect. And experiment with closeness and distance for different effects and timbre throughout a tunes chorus and/or verse while creating your own fades or different tonal colors of any said pre-amp or microphone. Just thoughts... B

Room temp water. Also another problem for singers that haven't done a lot of vocal work is they drink too much water before they sing. This can cause your body to think that there is a abnormal amount of water in your system so it will want to get rid of it hence drying your throat out (the opposite of what you want. So either drink the same amount of fluids the day before and the day that you sing or drink high levels the whole week you are expected to sing. Stay away from juices, alcohol, and sodas. Only water.

bouncing balls, Very helpful information. I must admit i have a hard time staying away from the soda when doing work at the house. I tried drinking gatorade or juice, but it tends to produce phlegm in my throat so i've switched to water only. As described in your second post I have been using a new microphone and that's part of my problem too. I'll try some of the suggestions you gave in your posts. Thanks

Hello again Punx, Another thing the "Pro's" claim is to not over-use your voice such as alot of talking or screeming and yelling (which hopefully nobody has to do unless it is for singing) the hoarseness factor plays a role if a person has to talk all day at work or jibber jabber at a party or whatever---so except for warmups and performance they claim the voice should rest too or not be over-used. These happened to pop in my head after I had posted so that's the reason for the multiple posts. I hope these help--I'm also always working at vocals...It's definately a challenge. Good Luck! "The Luck of the Irish"