About this exercise
Warm-Up: Downward Slides
Descending slides start in the easy, light top of the voice and carry that quality downward, which is the opposite of what most untrained singers do. Starting high and sliding down keeps the folds thin and the sound released, so when you arrive in the lower range you bring the head-voice ease with you instead of dragging chest weight up. It is the exercise behind a smooth mixed voice Keep it gentle and stop if it feels strained. This exercise plays a reference slide from a comfortable high note to a comfortable low one and follows your pitch on the way down. Notice the moment the sound thickens; that is where chest voice wants to take over, and the goal is to let it arrive later and more gently each time. Three minutes, and your middle range feels easier.
How to do it
- From a middle note, slide down on "vv" or "zz", like a sigh.
- Go down, not up. Downward is the easy direction for a cold voice.
- Keep it quiet, more sigh than song.
- Six slides, each a half step lower.
Sliding down asks less of a cold voice than reaching up. Do this before [[warmup-lip-trill-5]] on a cold morning.
What the app listens for
with headphones, your pitch in cents against each note, and whether you held it in tune.
What comes next
The daily plan uses descending work as the bridge into mixed voice, then adds ascending patterns once the top stays light on the way down.
If singing hurts, stop. Pain, hoarseness, extra effort, lost range or constant throat clearing for more than a day? See an ENT or laryngologist, or a speech therapist who works with singers. Don’t practice harder.
What is head voice?
The upper register where vocal folds thin and stretch, vibrating mostly at the edges. Produces lighter, floaty tone. Named for the sensation of vibration in the head. Used for higher, softer singing.
What is chest voice?
The lower register where vocal folds vibrate along their full length and thickness. Produces strong, rich, speech-like tone. Named for the chest vibration you feel. Used for most speaking and lower singing.
What is mixed voice?
A blend of chest and head register qualities - the vocal folds maintain some thickness while also stretching. Produces a powerful but connected sound through the "break" zone. The goal of most contemporary vocal training.