Warming Up For A Show

Mah, Meh, Mee, Maw, Moo. Brushing the Teeth. Slides Hum to Open Vowel. The Range Rover on Ah. The Apple Nah Twang Triads. These are all warmup exercises on a new album. 

Australian music theatre performers across Australia are using a new tool to fuel their show-stopping performances.

If you have ever been backstage in the theatre during the half hour before a musical begins, you will know that each performer has their own routine before the show starts. 

Many actors are full of superstitions: don’t say good luck, only break a leg; knock three times on the door when leaving the dressing room and God forbid if you whistle!

These can vary for every actor but one thing everyone actor does is a vocal warm up. To help performers warm-up their voices, musical theatre performer Queenie van de Zandt has teamed up with her long-time friend, fellow performer and Sydney singing teacher Beth Daly to create an album of singing and vocal warm-up exercises to help professionals and amateurs alike develop their vocal skills.

The album, Singing & Vocal Warm-Up Exercises, features a collection of exercises designed to help performers develop their vocal range, pitch and control vibrato, as well as develop a healthy belt. 

Queenie was inspired to create the album after using Beth's exercises in her own training and seeing remarkable results.

"I am a self-taught singer who only had a handful of lessons in my life, but luckily those lessons were with my friend Beth Daly," said Queenie. 

"Beth is not only a brilliant musical theatre performer and writer but also one of Sydney's most sought-after singing teachers. I loved Beth's exercises; they really helped me develop my range, stamina and - most importantly – my belt! 

“So, when I began teaching myself, I used her exercises and then developed them further with my own students. Both our students started asking for a copy of the exercises, so Beth and I decided to record an album together and Singing & Vocal Warm-Up Exercises is the result.”

The album has received glowing reviews from industry professionals across Australia, such as Lucy Maunder, currently playing Roxie Hart in Chicago: 

“You couldn’t be in safer hands than with the incredible skills and vocal expertise of Queenie and Beth. Having these exercises on hand is a wonderful tool for any singer,” said Lucy. 

“Excellence in all performance training requires preparation and exercise specificity and vocal training is no exception,” explains Dr Debbie Phyland, Voice Medicine Australia’s Speech Pathologist & Voice Consultant, who regularly works with performers on shows such as Moulin Rouge and Mamma Mia! 

“These excellent exercises will not only have you ready to sing well but are sure to increase your vocal fitness over time too!”

So, whether you’re a ‘have a warble in the shower’ kind of singer or ‘you bring the house down in Hamilton’ kind of singer, Singing & Vocal Warm-Up Exercises can help you develop your voice to be the best it can be. 

Available now as a CD or Digital download from the Book Nook Performing Arts Bookshop.

https://booknook.com.au/product/singing-vocal-warm-up-exercises-album/