Winter Warm-Up: Lip Trills Galore!
- Melissa LaCicero
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Brrr! January is here again, and you can probably already feel that cold weather can be one of the toughest seasons for singers. Between dry air, colder temperatures, and tighter muscles, your voice may feel stiff, weak, or unreliable. The good news? With the right vocal exercises for cold weather, you can protect your voice, warm up safely, and continue making progress. Let's turn that winter BRRRR into some healthy lip trills!
Why Cold Weather Affects Your Voice
During winter, singers often experience:
Dry vocal cords due to cold air and indoor heating
Increased muscle tension in the neck, shoulders, and jaw
Slower vocal response, especially first thing in the morning
Greater risk of strain if warming up too quickly
Your voice is made up of delicate muscles and tissues, and just like athletes need extra time to warm up in the cold, singers do, too. (Plus, the delicious holiday foods last month didn't help our vocal health.)
Gentle, Healthy Phonation with Lip Trills
Lip trills are one of the safest, most therapeutic vocal exercises available, especially during recovery, rebuilding, or cold weather. This is due to how trills allow your vocal cords to come together efficiently without slamming together during oversinging.
Be sure to first warm up your upper body with a quick stretch, since tension in your body can become tension in your voice. Then you are ready for your new go-to lip trill routine!
The rule of 5: Hold each trill for a minimum of 5 seconds. Repeat each type of trill 5 times, and do the entire series 5 times a day!
Complete a lip trill without any voice use or pitch- air only.
Complete a lip trill while humming a mid-range, easy pitch. It can be any note that is within your comfortable range!
Complete a glide up and down while trilling. Start low in your range, go to the top of your range, and come back down. You should sound like a siren!
Switch between unvoiced (no pitch) and voiced (while humming) without stopping. (Air-brrr-air-brrr-air-brrr)
Easy enough, right? Lip trills may feel almost too easy, but that’s exactly why they work. By focusing on one gentle, low-risk exercise, you allow your voice to warm up, strengthen, and rebalance without tension or strain. When done consistently, this simple daily routine builds healthy vocal habits that support long-term progress!