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Vocal warm-up

Place your right hand on the centre of your body, above your stomach but below your chest.

There is a muscle inside your body there, called the diaphram. When the diaphram contracts, it squeezes air out of the lungs, sending this air upward. By contracting the diaphram, one produces air that can be used for speech and song.

As you say the following sounds, seek to contract your diaphram. With your right hand, try to feel your diaphragm contracting as you make the sounds:

Haaaaaaa (rhymes with "spa").
Haaaaaay (rhymes with "say").
Huuuuuuu (rhymes with "blue").
Hooooooo (rhymes with "go").
Heeeeeee (rhymes with "tree").
Hiiiiiiiiiiii (rhymes with "sigh").

Try making these sounds long and short, soft and loud, with higher pitch and lower pitch, and in various combinations.