Demonstration of the Essential Warm-up for the Mature Female Voice in Classical Choral Singing
Objective
Age-related changes to the mature female voice can include calcification and ossification of the vocal tract which affects the elasticity of the resonator causing changes to vocal timbre. Also,
the vocal folds may become atrophied, bowed or suffer swelling all of which effect their ability to close along the glottis causing a creaky, breathy or hoarse voice.
Based on the main findings from the author’s doctoral research on the longevity and functionality of the mature female voice, completed in January 2024, and her work for the past 30 years with older voices, it is essential that the mature singer always warms-up her voice before singing. It is also important that the warm-up targets the voice components most likely to be affected by age-related changes. The warm-up should commence at very low effort levels and gradually increase in intensity to ensure that the singer is always working with minimum effort and maximum intensity.
Method
The author proposes to do a live demonstration of her recommended warm-up with explanations of her methods. She will ask for volunteers to help demonstrate the warm-up or ask the entire audience to take part.
The warm-up includes sirens, lip trills, breath work, SOVTs, exercises for tongue root tension, constriction, blend across the registers and position of vowels. This is all condensed into a 15-minute warm-up. The author takes a very pragmatic approach to working with the mature singer. If she asked them to do hours of regular work, they would not do it regularly. Research shows that the little and often approach is best. Therefore, she tries to incorporate as many desirable outcomes as possible into each exercise, but the total warm-up should last for no more than 15 minutes.
This warm-up is the first part of an emerging pedagogy specifically for the mature voice based on the finding of the author’s thesis on the subject.

Author
Dr. Rebecca Moseley-Morgan
PhD MA(mus) BA(hons) ARCM(hons) FISM