The Basic Warm-up Series Conclusion
Now that we've worked our way through the first series of Voice warm-up exercises, we've got some basic tools to create a regular warm-up with. Warming up only works if you're diligent enough to warm-up on a regular basis. The goal is not only to prepare yourself for the day, but also to build skills through your warm-up. So over time, this warm-up will become far too simple, too easy for an actor to find particularly useful. You'll need to update your warm-up by adding new exercises from the VoiceGuy, and from other teachers and resources, like books on voice and/or speech.
The entire Basic Warm-up Series is available as audio files from the Playlist page.
The VoiceGuy aims to put the tools in your hands to enable you to maintain your practice, without a teacher to constantly guide you. Look for more advanced series of warm-ups, podcasts and playlists in future postings of the blog. As those elements are added, I'll update this page with links to those resources. Starting tomorrow I'll begin the Intermediate Warm-up Series, with another ten step process through the voice work.
If you're finding these tools make you want to explore more voice work, please seek out a trained voice professional in your area. The Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) has a list of trainers, also listed by Country/State, that you can contact to find more information on further training. There is nothing like having a teacher to guide your learning!
Eric Armstrong is the voiceguy. Eric is a dialect, voice, speech and text coach based in Toronto, Canada, where he normally teaches full-time at York University’s Dept. of Theatre. Eric has been teaching voice for the actor full-time since 1994, and has taught in Canada and the US, at the University of Windsor, Brandeis University, Roosevelt University, Canada's National Voice Intensive and York University. He has worked for nationally and internationally recognized companies such as Crow’s Theatre, Volcano, SoulPepper, & Canadian Stage in Toronto, and The Court Theatre and Steppenwolf in Chicago. Eric holds a BFA from Concordia University (Montreal) in Theatre Performance, and an MFA from York University (Toronto) in Acting. His mentors were David Smukler (York, Canada’s National Voice Intensive) and Andrew Wade (Royal Shakespeare Company). He has also studied at the Drama Studio, London, and Il Stage Internazzionale di Commedia dell’Arte in Reggio Emilia, Italy. He’s a long time member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association, where he has served on the board, as a conference planner, photo editor for the Voice and Speech Review, Founding Director of Technology and Internet Services, and has written numerous peer-reviewed articles, essays and reviews for the VASTA Newsletter, the VASTA Voice, and The Voice and Speech Review.
Thank you for all of these wonderful articles.
My pleasure. Your comment has reminded me that I really should get my act together and start posting to voiceguy. So I’m committing to one per week.
I have just discovered your web site “The Voice Guy” and I am really excited to follow your excercises. I was diagnosed with oromandibular dystonia which has affected my speech. It causes uncontrollable muscle movements of the face and tongue. I am currently being treated with botox injections into my face and tongue but still have some problems with the clarity of my speech. Family understand me but strangers have difficulty. I have tried to get into some speech therapists but they mainly deal with children. I am really keen on impoving my articulation and your web site is one of the first that I have seen that deals with sounds and the tongue so thank you very much. Do you have a text book that I could purchase? I have downloaded the information from this web site and will start practicing immedately.
Warmest Regards
Linda P.