If your vocalist is any good, then he or she warms up before practice or gigs. The vocalist will go through various patterns, like a weight lifter, so that he or she doesn’t injure himself or herself. By warming up first his or her voice will sound better, no matter what kind of music. So, warming up is definitely not for wimps! There probably isn’t a single professional vocalist that gets a living wage and does not warm up. Opera singers warm up. Jazz singers warm up. Rock singers warm up. And, you guessed it, death metal and hardcore vocalists warm up! So, even if you scream, or roar, you will scream or roar better if you warm up.
A part of being a guitarist is to at least know how to do background vocals. If you are joining a band, you will probably start out as a cover band. Many common songs that bands cover require background vocals. This is such that every person in the band should know how to sing, even if they are not good at it. If you are the main singer, then you probably already know how to sing. However, if you do background vocals, and can’t afford vocal coaching, then I suggest asking the band’s vocalist for a few pointers. Not every band has a vocalist, so this email is not intended for bands that don’t have a vocalist. But, even still, you might find yourself strapped for cash one day and needing to join a band where you need to be able to do background vocals, such that if you are a musician, it is always good to know at least a little about singing.
For guitarists, when they warm up, it is especially important that they are able to sing the notes they are playing. So, when you warm up, play a scalar pattern and sing it at the same time! Start in the middle part of your range and work your way up and/or down. Also, singing the notes that you play is important part of studying improvisation on the guitar. Singing the note that you are playing helps get your body more connected. The object of being a musician is to be able to put every part of yourself into your playing.
One warm up I often do is the one prescribed by Melissa Cross on her Zen of Screaming Warm Up cd. Since I bought The Zen of Screaming, I have made several copies of this Warm Up cd. I keep one in my guitar case. I keep one in the CD player at home or in the car. Car rides are a great time to practice vocals. If I know I will be speaking somewhere, or singing karaoke, then I will generally do some warm ups, usually in the car while I am on my way to the bar. I keep the original Warm up CD tucked away in case one of the other copies I have gets scratched and needs replacing.
A part of being in a band is getting familiar with each other. So, before the show, if it is an option, do your warm ups with the vocalist. Even though you aren’t playing songs, you will still be building familiarity that will help you coalesce as a band. That is, play the same notes that the vocalists sings when warming up.
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