Baseline

Start by speaking or singing a short selection that's representative of what you're warming up for. An audition cut or introduction to a presentation is perfect! Choose something you know relatively well or have been working up lately, and if you're going to practice next, try your practice piece (...then compare again after you've practiced)!

Room For Improvement Scores 

0 = virtually no work left to do
1 = a little room for improvement
2 = some good work needed 
3 = ouch - this hurts (my body or my feelings!)

Have a listen. How far away from a gorgeous golden 0 does it sound right now? 
Feel it out. How far away from a blissfully confident 0 does it feel in your body?Effort rating: How much effort is this taking? Could you be using less effort for the same (or better) results?

Brain

Choose an exercise to help you set your focus, feel grounded, reduce stress, get clear on your goals, get your brain primed to fire quickly, deeply process what you're learning, consolidate skills, and/or retain all the goodness you create.

examples: say out loud something your are thankful for that your voice allows you to do; visualize hearing and feeling a perfect RFI score of 0 for both sound and effort including details like where you are when it's happening and what it feels and sounds like

Body

Start with a body scan to tune into where in your body you'd like to make a positive change. Choose an exercise that targets what you need most right now - whether it's waking up the body, stretching to reduce tension or increase flexibility or range of motion, improving alignment, developing strength, fine-tuning precision of movement, coordinating systems, getting your face and articulators ready for enunciating, or something else.

examples: stretch anything that feels tight; try to bring your body back in alignment as though you were stacked piece by piece like a Jenga tower so you don't fall over or lose any bricks; imagine a plumb line pulling up through your body, lengthening through the spine; clap 10x really hard to get circulation going; do some dynamic stretch with movement

Breath

This is where you can connect to your breath - the fuel and the support system for your voice. Choose an exercise that helps you tap into the powerhouse that is your support system, aligns breath and voice, frees up the channel, coordinate systems, helps reduce stress and tension, fine tunes the valving of the air at the vocal folds, or something else you need.

examples: conducted breathing (in for 1, out for 1, 2, 4, 8 and progressively longer phrases on "ssss", and then "zzzz"); sniff three times and then blow out imaginary birthday candles with puffy cheeks and pursed rounded lips; breathe in and feel your belly soften and expand (diaphragmatic breathing); breathe in and feel your ribcage expand (3D breathing); hug yourself and curl your back gently, then breathe in and feel your lower back expand

Voice

This is where you get to do all the vocalises and sound-making that gets your voice running smoothly! Choose an exercise that matches what you're planning to practice (eg a belting configuration exercise if you're going to a Wicked singalong later!), whether that's coordinating the onset of sound, configuring the thickness of contact of the vocal folds, stretching or contracting through your range, preparing for projection, flexibility, quick fire coordination for riffing, or something else.

examples: kazoo pufferfish, lip trills, straws in water, meowing, mirening (sirening through your range on the sound "ng", then "singing" a song on "ng" only, mouthing the words at the same time)

Barometer

Repeat the first singing or speaking task, and give yourself new RFI scores. Try your best to score yourself as you're feeling and sounding now without influence. 

Compare Findings

Typically, at least one score will improve noticeably; usually both. But if your scores feel further away from that golden 0? Don't panic. Sometimes it happens. A little reflection often reveals the culprit. Do you think you have more precision awareness now that you're warmed up? Are the little details now coming into view? Are feelings of how your warmup went impacting your perception? Would different exercises work better?