The agenda of a vocal warm-up is always the same. The warm-up routine, however, should not be. The goal of a warm-up is vocal control. Whether you rap, sing, belt, scream, croon or perform spoken word, you will always get more from your voice if you warm up first. There's no avoiding it.

Those who feel it's unnecessary or silly are simply warming up as they sing rather than before. The amount of time you spend warming up should be based on your condition and your gig-not your schedule.

Struggling with your voice is a lot like being stuck in a traffic jam and just leaning on the horn. It's easy to blame the drivers ahead of you (musicians/audience/monitors, etc.) for making your life miserable when the truth is you didn't leave your house early enough. Remember, it's your responsibility to begin warming up early enough to allow for the unexpected.

The typical twenty-minute warm-up should be reserved for times when your voice is in pretty good shape to begin with and you have a lot of singing ahead of you. For instance, if you're scheduled for a long session in the studio or a full night in a club, most likely you will not be expected to be in peak performance mode on the first note sung. Most singers in this case will adjust the set list, placing easy songs first, gradually increasing the demand on the voice. There's nothing wrong with easing into the gig as long as you remember you're not fully warmed up when you start out. No showing off until your body gives you the green light.

On the other hand, let's say you have a big audition or you're performing a single song on Late Night with David Letterman. Twenty minutes will never do the trick. In these

circumstances, you should plan on at least an hour (maybe two). Your voice will have to be in tip-top shape right from the very first note. Since you won't be able to feel your way around for a song or two, all that exploration will have to be included in your warm-up. In other words, you'll need to arrive at vocal control before you step on stage.

My definition for vocal control is, "any pitch, on any vowel at any volume." Now some of you may roll your eyes and think that's a pipe dream, but it's the same standard musicians use for their instruments. A pianist will check to make sure every key is in good working order on the piano; a guitarist will tune each string before attempting to play. Only after their instruments are ready, will musicians begin to warm up their fingers.