Warming-up the singing voice prior to auditions and performances has been considered a standard practice in the voice community for decades. A myriad of warm-up routines have been developed to achieve optimal vocal function for performance. Many factors impact warm-up structure and duration such as current vocal state, amount of time given before an audition, and environment or studio space available to singers. The purpose of this study is to examine three specific types of warm-ups – a SOVT-centered warm-up, a traditional vowel sequence warm-up, and a full sing-through of a selected audition piece – to assess, in light of these 3 warm-up strategies, which is the most efficient way of vocalizing tenor voices enrolled in a classical voice or musical theater training program at a major northeast school.

Participants of this study consisted of undergraduate-level tenors enrolled in either a Musical Theater BFA or Classical BM degree program. Each trial for each participant used one of the three warm-up strategies. All tenors were requested to learn in advance of the testing a specifically-selected passage from the audition repertoire standard to their genre (classical or musical theater).

Vibrato rate/extent was collected and analyzed by VoceVista Video Pro and consistency of airflow by the Glottal Enterprises Aeroview program. Results of these measures as well as an exit survey of participants were used to assess which warm-up strategy presented the most optimal outcome of the parameters measured. Discussion includes suggestions for the structure, sequence, and duration of warm-up routines.