5 Vocal Warm Up Routines for Voice Actors

*Last updated July 2026

Key takeaways

Professional voice actors need the right vocal warm-up routines to prepare their voice for every recording session.

These exercises will help release tension in the jaw and neck while improving vocal tone, clarity, and projection.

In the same way, musicians tune their instruments, voice artists must fine-tune their voice to strengthen it against regular stress and strain, and help nail their performance in the first take.

In this article, we’ll take a look at five of the most effective vocal warm-up routines for voice actors.

Practicing these exercises regularly, alongside staying hydrated, getting at least seven hours of sleep each night, and resting your voice where possible, can help maintain strong and healthy vocals over the course of a long voice-over career.

1. Why is stretching important for voice actors?

Stretching is an important routine for voice actors because speaking is a full-body activity, not just something that happens in the throat.

Just like athletes, voice actors need to stretch and activate their muscles before performing.

Of course, it’s especially critical to stretch your mouth, jaw, neck, and upper body.

You can quickly warm up your mouth by moving it between different extremes such as maintaining a wide grin and fully opening your jaw.

You should also move your tongue around.

Simple exercises such as sticking your tongue out up, down, and sideways, and pressing it against the back of your teeth can warm up the muscles of your mouth.

To save time, do these stretches at the same time that you’re warming up the rest of your body.

Stretching to the side will loosen your rib cage and help you project power from your lungs:

1. Start by standing up and holding your arms straight up.
2. From there, lean to one side as far as you comfortably can, then hold the position for at least a few seconds.
3. Repeat the stretch on the other side, then continue for a few more reps if you’re still feeling tight.

Other classic stretches like rolling your neck, touching your toes, and stretching your arms across your body can help you maximize your voice and simply feel better in general.

Experiment with different stretching routines to see which ones have the best effect on your performance.

2. How can breathing exercises improve your voice?

Breathing exercises improve your voice by increasing breath control, reducing vocal strain, and supporting stronger vocal delivery.

Optimizing airflow to your vocal folds helps them to relax and therefore prevents strain when they’re used.

Done consistently, breathing exercises also strengthen the diaphragm muscles, helping you avoid running out of air when tackling a particularly demanding section of text.

One of the most popular breathing tactics for vocal performers is known as the straw trick.

Putting a straw in your mouth will force you to focus on a single point and make it easier to control your breathing patterns.

Along with breathing, you can also try humming or making other vocal sounds while holding the straw still.

This exercise makes the vocal tract longer, which will help improve your form while recording.

We also recommend making the hissing exercise part of your warmup routine. Here’s how you do it:

1. Start by standing in an upright yet relaxed position, then breathe in with your mouth. This breath should expand your belly rather than your shoulders or chest.

2. Once you’ve inhaled completely, exhale forcefully while making a hissing sound.
3. Try to keep the hiss as consistent as possible until you’ve exhaled all the air from your lungs.
4. You should aim to maintain the same intensity throughout the entire exercise.

Keep in mind that this is just a small selection of the vocal exercises used by voice actors and other professionals.

Check out the video below for even more ideas.

3. Why should voice actors practice tongue twisters?

Clear diction and vocal delivery are essential for voice actors, and practicing tongue twisters is one way to ensure both.

Articulating every single word (and syllable) can be difficult, especially when faced with long texts or numerous takes.

However, by forcing you to enunciate each word clearly so that you avoid mixing up sounds, tongue twisters, practiced regularly, can help you hone perfect pronunciation.

There are many different tongue twisters to choose from, depending on the sounds you want to focus on.

Here are some of our favorite tongue twisters for vocal warm-ups:

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
• I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop
• A box of biscuits, a box of mixed biscuits, and a biscuit mixer
• A proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot

Of course, the important thing is that tongue twisters prepare you to navigate even the most complicated part of the script you plan to read.

There are hundreds and hundreds of tongue twisters to choose from, so feel free to use the ones that you feel give you the best warm-up.

4. Are singing scales helpful to voice actors?

Basic vocal scales are a great way to strengthen breath control and build pitch awareness.

Hitting the exact right note doesn’t matter much for voice actors. What matters is sensing where your voice sits, so you can project highs and lows deliberately instead of staying flat.

If you have time, go all the way to the top and bottom of your range.

Some actors use a classic “ooo” or “eee” sound, while others prefer a nasal sound like the one in words that end with “ng.”

You’ll know you’re making a good “ng” if the sound stops when you close your nose.

5. What are lip trills?

Lip trills, also known as lip rolls, are vocal warm-up exercises where the lips vibrate together while making sound.

They’re an excellent exercise for improving breath support and vocal flow, which is why they’re often used as warm-ups for actors and singers, too.

World-famous singer Celine Dion demonstrates lip trills near the beginning of the video below:

To perform a lip trill, follow these steps:

1. Hold your lips together so that your mouth is completely closed.
2. From there, do a “B” sound so that your mouth vibrates without your lips coming apart.
3. Make sure to avoid falling into a “P” since the “P” sound is unvoiced.
4. You can enhance the basic lip trill by moving your voice up and down as if you were singing scales.

You’ll find it much more difficult to maintain your pressure and form as you move toward the edges of your range.

If you notice that you’re falling out of a strong trill, take a second to reset and then go back to the exercise.

Final Thoughts

You might think that your voice over starts when you hit “record,” but you need to start preparing in advance if you want to give your best performance.

The way you warm up for a recording session will have a noticeable impact on the finished product.

While every voice actor has a unique routine, these five exercises are a great place to start if you’re looking for a new vocal warm-up.

Want to know more? Learn what it takes to become a voice actor.

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