YOUR VOX PLAN!
My favorite 10 MINUTE Pre-Show VOCAL Prep
(Originally recorded for Coley O’Toole, as he prepared for Green Day’s world tour in 2025)
“Well holy sh$t… I got the gig.”
We all love getting texts like these from musician friends, and I couldn’t wait to celebrate! Coley O’Toole, my dear friend, a platinum-selling songwriter and world-touring musician in We The Kings, was tapped to travel the world with Green Day’s in their Saviors Tour, playing keys and singing harmonies in some of the world’s largest, most prestigious stadiums.
Naturally, we talked about getting him some vocal warm-ups for the tour. His main goals were fighting off vocal fatigue, hitting the high notes with ease, and having great control over his pitch. As a vocal coach for recording artists in the music industry this is a situation that is very familiar to me. I’m often hired to work with artists going on major tours who have:
– No previous vocal training
– No time to get together in person with me in NYC
– No time to flail around breaking old singing habits and feeling like they don’t know what they’re doing
– Almost no control over their schedule during rehearsals or the tour
– A long grind ahead, with lots of travel and limited sleep
When I sat down to make the two videos I’m sharing with you here, I did not intend to publish them. So, you’re literally seeing me, in my home studio, helping a friend get ready for his tour. But the 10-minute routine I captured that day has been working so well for so many singers, I keep sharing this with more of the touring artists I coach. Even if we are working together weekly on more long term vocal goals, this routine is consistently upping the level of my vocalists’ performances!
As Coley said in a recent interview about the Green Day tour in chartless: “I’ve recently started doing actual vocal warms ups courtesy of Melissa Mulligan and they have been a life saver on the Green Day tour. My voice felt strong every night never fatigued thanks to those exercises.”
After two decades of working with THOUSANDS of singers, here is what I believe makes a great warm-up for professional artists (assuming your voice is healthy).
1. It’s SIMPLE.
2. It allows you to customize it daily, based on how you’re feeling and what needs more attention.
3. It includes breath, body, and the voice.
I must add that vocal coaching is best when it’s all about YOU. This is the part that you can’t get in a video, because no one is listening to you. It’s why working with a coach is always your best bet to optimize your routines and become super intentional about your vocal goals. So many singers are leaving vocal potential and beautiful, unique artistry untouched because they haven’t yet connected with the right coach, and they haven’t given themselves an opportunity to ask the questions they have about their instrument!
I’ve never met a human voice I didn’t find intriguing and awesome. Making art isn’t about winning a TV Game show where you get voted off if you don’t YELL THE HIGH notes at me or push a thousand notes into a riff (for no artistic reason). Art is about expressing what makes us human. And there are few things we have to offer that are more beautiful than our voices. Untuned, unfiltered, untrained… When it’s authentic there is nothing more gorgeous to my ear!
I wish you all the vocal joy and freedom you deserve this year and beyond!
Please reach out with questions or for more information about vocal coaching. I’d be happy to put a custom plan together for you!
All my best,
Mel
PS: Please reach out if I can help in any way.