TVS Vocal Exercise Guide [1-12]: Breathing, Chromatic, Major Scale

Hello Singers!

Here’s the updated free vocal exercise for you to make your personal warm up and practice sessions more intentional and efficient! Remember that same scale exercises can be used for working on various areas of voice 😊.

📕For absolute beginners who has never tried singing in your whole life, our 30 Day Vocal Exercise online course provides step by step guide from TVS Coach Hanna + E-Book. Please check it out!

🎤If you’d like more personalised vocal lessons, sign up for the lessons with Professional Vocal Coaches at TVS!

Exercise 1: Breathing Exercise

  • Version 1. Diaphragmatic breathing: Following the pace of the music, try slow and deep breathing, engaging diaphragm and overall intercostal muscles. Feel the expansion and contraction of the belly muscles.

  • Version 2. Long exhalation exercise: Take a slow and deep breath in and hiss (ts) out minimum and consistent amount of breath for 30-45 sec duration.

Exercise 2: Single Pitch Chromatic Scale

  • Version 1. Pitch Accuracy: sing each note for 5 count duration while maintaining the pitch.

  • Version 2: Vowel articulation & Resonance: sing each note in the order of Ee (s’ee’) - Ei (s’ay’) -Ai (s’igh’) - Oh (s’o’) - you, while maintaining the resonant voice tone

  • Version 3: Staccato: sing each note in a short popping manner, focusing on producing gentle but clear voice

Exercise 3: 2-Pitch Chromatic Scale

  • Version 1. Pitch accuracy: Sing each note with ‘hum’ syllable

  • Version 2. slur/sliding : Sing the 2 notes in smooth connected way by gentle sliding up and down between notes while making each note clear

Exercise 4: Stepwise Chromatic Scale

  • Version 1. Solfege: Sing ascending melody with “Do-Di-Re-Ri-Mi-Fa-Fi-So-Si-La-Li-Ti-Do” and descending melody with “Do-Ti-Te-La-Le-So-Se-Fa-Mi-Me-Re-Ra-Do”
    Pronounce ‘i’ as ‘ee’ and ‘e’ as ‘ay’

  • Version 2. Lyrics: apply the lyrics “I will always sing these notes until I get them right’

Exercise 5: 2-Pitch Major Scale

  • Version 1. SOVT style: Apply puffer fish, lip trills, or straw method for gently increasing the pitch

  • Version 2. Switching Vocal register: Try the same exercise in Strong full voice (Chest Voice), Lighter ‘neigh’ing voice (Mix Voice), Airy cheering ‘huray’ing voice (Head Voice)

Exercise 6. 3-Pitch Major Scale (Fast)

  • Version 1. Agility practice: Try the scale as humming exercise with lips closed or only slightly apart

Exercise 7. 4-Pitch Major Scale

  • Version 1. Dynamic practice: Sing the song while making the volume change from soft to loud.

  • Version 2. Emotional Expression: Sing the song with the intention to deliver meaningful ‘non-verbal’ expression

Exercise 8. 5-Pitch Ascending Major Scale (Slow)

  • Version 1. Legato and pitch accuracy: Sing the melody with ‘ah’ feeling the connection of overall melody

  • Version 2. Connecting the vocal registers and resonance: Sing the melody in the order of ‘i, e, a, o, i, e, a, o, u’

Exercise 9. 5-Pitch Ascending Major Scale (Fast)

  • Version 1. Vocal agility: Keep the voice light and consistent and sing each phrase in one breath

Exercise 10. 5-Pitch Descending Major Scale

  • Version 1. Articulation: Sing the melody with ‘mi me ma mo mi me ma mo mu’ or ‘Sing it say it I love you’, feeling the change of vocal tract shape but maintaining the resonance

Exercise 11. 5-Pitch Major Scale, with Rhythm

  • Version 1. Consonant articulation: Sing the melody by applying 2-3 consonants (example: t, k, d, g, ch, m, n, l)

  • Version 2. Rhythmic expression: Sing the melody by applying the consonants to create ‘percussive instrumental sound’

Exercise 12. 1 - 5 Pitch Major Scale

  • Version 1. Breath control: take a breath between short phrases, then extend the length of each phrase within 1 breath

  • Version 2. Agility (riff/ run): make the note clear while keeping light voice flow

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