Short answer
Humming exercises are the gentlest way to start singing: lips closed, little effort, and quiet enough that nobody has to hear. In a 2015 study that measured 13 partly closed-mouth exercises, humming produced the least pressure in the mouth (Maxfield et al., 2015). Start with one comfortable note, then slides, patterns and a slow tune, then open the hum into "ah".
Is humming good for your voice?
Yes. Humming is one of the gentlest things you can do with your voice, and voice teachers have used it to warm up and train singers for a very long time. What it isn't is a cure-all. It's a good way to practise, not a health treatment.
Humming belongs to a family that voice scientists call semi-occluded vocal tract exercises, or SOVT. "Semi-occluded" means partly closed at or near the lips. Others in the family are lip trills, tongue trills, buzzing on "zzz" and singing through a straw. A 2021 review in the Journal of Singing notes that hums, lip trills and tongue trills have been part of the voice teacher's toolbox for centuries, and that more than three decades of formal research now sits behind these exercises (Hijleh and Pinto, 2021).
The idea is simple. Partly closing the mouth raises the air pressure above the vocal folds, which pushes back on them gently. In computer models, this makes the voice work more efficiently, with less forceful collision between the folds (Titze, 2006).
Here's the honest part. Humming is the mildest version of this. When researchers measured the mouth pressure of 13 of these exercises in 20 adults, hums on "mmm" and "nnn" gave the least, and a straw in water roughly ten times more. The authors even questioned whether the gentlest sounds, hums and an "oo" vowel, create enough pressure to count as SOVT exercises at all (Maxfield et al., 2015, summarised by Hijleh and Pinto). Much of the research was also done with trained singers or voice patients rather than beginners. So humming is gentle and useful, but don't expect it to change your voice on its own.
Why humming is the best first step if you're shy
Humming is the best first step if you're shy because it's quiet, it doesn't need words, and it doesn't sound like "singing" to anyone overhearing. You can do it with the TV on, in the car or while washing up.
There's a second, less obvious reason. Because hums and other closed-mouth exercises muffle the sound, the Journal of Singing review suggests they can help students be less critical of themselves: you hear your voice without your usual judgements attached, and you pay more attention to how it feels (Hijleh and Pinto, 2021). If you dread hearing yourself, that matters.
And humming practises the core skill of singing: hearing a note and making your voice land on it. That's exactly what a pitch test checks, and it's the heart of learning how to match pitch. The free one-minute pitch test on this site asks you to hum five notes back, not sing them.
Hum five notes with Bud
Bud plays a note, you hum it back, and a live line shows how close you are. About a minute, and nothing is recorded.
Six humming exercises, from one note to a song
Do these in order. Each one asks a little more than the last, and the final one turns your hum into ordinary singing. Two to five minutes in total is plenty to begin with.
- Hum one easy note. Say "mm-hmm" as if agreeing with someone, then hold the "mm" on that pitch for a slow breath out. Lips together, teeth apart, jaw loose. That's your home note.
- Find the buzz. Hum your home note again and notice where you feel it: lips, nose, cheekbones. Teachers use that spread of vibration as a sign the voice is working easily, rather than as a goal in itself (Hijleh and Pinto, 2021). If you feel it only in your throat, hum more softly.
- Hum slides. From your home note, slide up a little and back down, like a gentle "hmm?" question. Then make the slides wider, like a soft siren. If your voice flips or cracks near the top, that's normal; keep it light.
- Hum a five-note pattern. Hum up five steps and back down (do-re-mi-fa-so-fa-mi-re-do), starting on your home note. Then start one step higher, then one lower. Stay where it's comfortable.
- Hum a slow tune. Pick a simple tune you know well, like Amazing Grace or Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and hum it slowly. People sing pitches more accurately at a slower tempo and on a single syllable than with words (Dalla Bella et al., 2011), and a hum is about as simple as it gets.
- Open the hum into a vowel. Hum "mmm" on your home note, then open your lips into "mah" without changing the note: "mmm-mah". Then "mmm-mah-mah". Then just "ah". Try the five-note pattern and the tune on "mah", then on the words.
Step 6 is the bridge from humming to singing. The Journal of Singing review describes the same idea: alternate a closed sound with an open vowel so the easy feeling carries over, and start from what feels familiar before moving to new skills (Hijleh and Pinto, 2021).
How long should you hum before singing?
A few minutes of humming before you sing is enough, as part of a warm-up of about 5 to 10 minutes in total. In a small study of voice students, 5 or 10 minutes of warm-up made singing feel easier, while 15 minutes didn't help more (Ragsdale et al., 2022).
Start singing fairly soon after. In a study of 24 people doing straw exercises, one measure of vocal ease returned to where it started within 5 minutes after a 5-minute session, and lasted longer after a 10-minute session (Kang et al., 2019). That was straws, not hums, but the lesson carries: warm up, then sing.
As daily practice, even 2 or 3 minutes of the six exercises above counts. Short and regular is easier to keep up than long and rare. For a complete routine that starts with humming, see vocal warm-ups for beginners.
Humming vs straw vs lip trills: which is better?
None is best for everyone. Humming is the gentlest, lip trills and a straw give your voice more back-pressure, and trills add a wobble that some people find loosening. Use the one you can do easily.
Swipe sideways to see the whole table.
| Exercise | Mouth pressure | What it's good for |
|---|---|---|
| Humming ("mmm") | Lowest of the 13 exercises measured | A first step, quiet practice, finding notes |
| Drinking straw | Low to medium | More back-pressure while staying quiet |
| Lip trill | Medium, more than a drinking straw | Loosening up if you feel stiff |
| Narrow straw | High | Once a wider straw feels easy |
| Straw in water | Highest, roughly ten times a hum | The most back-pressure; it comes from voice therapy |
The pressure order comes from Maxfield and colleagues' 2015 study of 20 adults (Maxfield et al., 2015). The Journal of Singing review describes humming as a "steady" exercise and trills as "fluctuating" ones that may help singers who feel locked or tense (Hijleh and Pinto, 2021). The same review reports Ingo Titze's advice to start with medium resistance, not the narrowest straw, because some people respond to strong back-pressure by squeezing.
So is straw humming better than humming? It gives your voice more back-pressure, which is what these exercises are for, so it's a sensible next step once humming feels easy. It isn't required. And when using a straw, all the air should go through the straw, none out of your nose or the corners of your mouth.
Does humming boost nitric oxide? What that study really measured
Humming does raise nitric oxide in the nose, but that finding is about sinus physiology, not singing or vocal health. Some popular humming articles stretch it much further.
The study usually quoted is a 2002 experiment with 10 healthy people. Nitric oxide measured in the nose went up 15-fold during humming compared with breathing out quietly. The researchers' explanation was that the vibrating airflow of a hum ventilates the sinuses, which make nitric oxide, and they suggested humming as a simple test of whether the sinus openings are clear (Weitzberg and Lundberg, 2002). Later research has used humming the same way, as a measuring technique for sinus and nasal conditions (Maniscalco et al., 2013, a review).
That study says nothing about your vocal folds, your singing, your range or your immune system. When a 2024 study tested whether humming-induced nitric oxide improves thinking or mood, it found no benefit to short-term cognitive performance or emotional processing (Francis et al., 2024).
The fair summary: hum because it's an easy, low-pressure way to practise pitch and get your voice moving. Don't hum for health claims. This article isn't medical advice.
Can humming increase your vocal range?
There's no good evidence that humming on its own increases your vocal range. Claims that it "strengthens the vocal cords" or "expands range" aren't backed by the studies we found.
What is true: warming up can make your top notes a little easier in the moment. In the warm-up study above, the women reached slightly higher notes after 5 or 10 minutes of warm-up (Ragsdale et al., 2022). And humming slides are a gentle way to explore the edges of your voice without pushing. Your range on day one isn't fixed, but we found no study showing that humming alone widens it.
If you want to know where your voice sits now, hum a low and a high note into the free pitch checker, or read how to find your vocal range. For a more playful way to explore high and low, Sky Song lets you steer Bud with your voice, higher and lower.
Questions
Is humming good for your voice?
Yes, humming is one of the gentlest ways to use your voice, and teachers have used it in warm-ups for centuries. It belongs to a family of partly closed-mouth exercises that can make voicing easier. Of those exercises, humming creates the least pressure, so it’s a great first step rather than a powerful training tool on its own.
Does humming count as singing practice?
Yes. Humming practises the core skill of singing: hearing a note and making your voice land on it, then holding it steady. Hum single notes, slides, five-note patterns and slow tunes, then open the hum into “mah” and “ah” so the skill carries over to singing with your mouth open.
How long should I hum each day?
Two to five minutes a day is a good start, and a few minutes of humming makes a sensible opening to a 5 to 10 minute warm-up. Short, regular sessions are more useful than one long one. Stop if your voice feels tired, scratchy or sore.
Is straw humming better than humming?
Humming through a drinking straw creates more back-pressure than an ordinary hum, so it gives more of the effect these exercises are used for. It’s a good next step once humming feels easy. Start with an ordinary drinking straw rather than a very narrow one, and keep all the air going through the straw.
Does humming increase nitric oxide?
Humming does increase nitric oxide measured in the nose, about 15-fold in a 2002 study of 10 people, because it ventilates the sinuses. That research is about sinus physiology, not singing. A 2024 study found humming-induced nitric oxide didn’t improve short-term thinking or mood. Hum to practise singing, not for health claims.
Sources
- Hijleh and Pinto (2021). Realizing the benefits of SOVTEs: a reflection on the research. Journal of Singing 77(3). NATS (PDF).
- Maxfield, Titze, Hunter and Kapsner-Smith (2015). Intraoral pressures produced by thirteen semi-occluded vocal tract gestures. Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology, via PubMed.
- Titze (2006). Voice training and therapy with a semi-occluded vocal tract: rationale and scientific underpinnings. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, via PubMed.
- Dalla Bella, Berkowska and Sowiński (2011). Disorders of pitch production in tone deafness. Frontiers in Psychology, via PMC.
- Ragsdale, Marchman, Bretl and others (2022). Singing after different warm-up durations. Journal of Voice, via PubMed.
- Kang, Xue, Piotrowski and others (2019). Lingering effects of straw phonation exercises. Journal of Voice, via PubMed.
- Weitzberg and Lundberg (2002). Humming greatly increases nasal nitric oxide. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, via PubMed.
- Maniscalco, Pelaia and Sofia (2013). Exhaled nasal nitric oxide during humming: potential clinical tool in sinonasal disease? A review. Biomarkers in Medicine, via PubMed.
- Francis, Petrovic, Lundström and Thunell (2024). Induction of nitric oxide via humming does not improve short-term cognitive performance or influence emotional processing. PLOS ONE, via PMC.
Not medical advice. Last reviewed October 2026.