Everyone says warm-ups are essential. Everyone says they protect your voice. But when we looked at the research, the honest answer surprised us.

The injury prevention framing is a recent invention—borrowed from sports medicine, where even that field can't prove warm-ups prevent injury. Meanwhile, the physiological mechanisms we assume are happening (increased blood flow, tissue temperature changes) remain largely theoretical.

But here's what troubles us more: the concept of "warming up" gives singers permission to practice mindlessly. The bel canto masters understood something we've forgotten—their exercises weren't warm-ups, they were skill-building. Every repetition either builds a good habit or reinforces a bad one. There's no neutral.

Team

Read by Drew Williams Orozco

Written by Josh Manuel

References

Afonso, J., Ramirez-Campillo, R., Sarmento, H., Santos, J. A. R., & Clemente, F. M. (2024). Revisiting the 'Whys' and 'Hows' of the Warm-Up: Are We Asking the Right Questions? *Sports Medicine*, 54(1), 23–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-023-01908-y

Elliot, N., Sundberg, J., & Gramming, P. (1995). What Happens During Vocal Warm-Up? *Journal of Voice*, 9(1), 37–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0892-1997(05)80221-8

Gish, A., Kunduk, M., Sims, K., & McWhorter, A. J. (2012). Vocal Warm-Up Practices and Perceptions in Vocalists: A Pilot Survey. *Journal of Voice*, 26(1), e1–e10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2010.10.005

Hoch, M., & Sandage, M. J. (2018). Exercise Science Principles and the Vocal Warm-Up: Implications for Singing Voice Pedagogy. *Journal of Voice*, 32(1), 79–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2017.03.017

Iwarsson, J., Lindström, M., Hertegård, S., Sundberg, J., & Nägga, E. (2022). Effects of Warm-Up Exercises on Self-Assessed Vocal Effort. *Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology*, 48(3), 121–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/14015439.2022.2075459

Moorcroft, L., & Kenny, D. T. (2013). Singer and Listener Perception of Vocal Warm-Up. *Journal of Voice*, 27(2), 258.e1–258.e13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.11.001

Motel, T., Fisher, K. V., & Leydon, C. (2003). Vocal Warm-Up Increases Phonation Threshold Pressure in Soprano Singers at High Pitch. *Journal of Voice*, 17(2), 160–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0892-1997(03)00004-3

Ragsdale, J., Nix, J., Sandage, M. J., & Hoch, M. (2022). Collegiate Singers' Perceptions of Vocal Warm-Up Duration. *Journal of Voice*, 36(1), 145.e1–145.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2020.04.009

Ruotsalainen, J. H., Sellman, J., Lehto, L., Jauhiainen, M., & Verbeek, J. H. (2007). Interventions for Preventing Voice Disorders in Adults. *Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews*, (4), CD006372. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006372.pub2