Mindless repetition or intentional preparation--the warm-up period can serve either purpose. Unfortunately, choral teachers frequently find themselves too busy to plan adequately for a focused, productive warm-up period that prepares the way for music making and music learning. The purpose of this article is to provide a structure for designing meaningful warm-up activities, present examples of effective warm-up exercises, and offer methods and resources for future use.
A brief ten-minute warm-up period that is focused on preparing chorus members to sing, listen, and learn establishes the direction of the rehearsal and furthers ongoing vocal and musical development. A beginning repertoire of warm-up exercises addressing these areas is helpful in minimizing planning time. Once students learn these beginning exercises, they can be used as models for ongoing development of new ideas and warm-ups.
Writing each exercise on an index card makes for easy structuring of the warm-up period. The index cards allow for flexibility and freshness because the order of the exercises can be changed and new exercise cards can be added. Each exercise card should contain the exercise notated in an appropriate beginning key, the corresponding syllables or text, the purpose of the exercise, any related kinesthetic activity, and, when known, the source of the exercise. The exercises provided in this article, all of which are presented as they might appear on index cards, are useful for preparing chorus members for singing, music making, and learning.
Preparing choir members for healthy singing and developing vocal technique takes thought and planning. Four subcategories are typically addressed: (
Images are useful for addressing issues of posture. Pretending to be a puppet with various strings attached can be illuminating, especially for younger children. Students can imagine that the strings are attached at such points as the sternum, the back of the crown, and the upper forehead. The strings can be adjusted to create various physical alignments that either support or hinder healthy singing. Other useful directions include "Stand as tall as you would like others to perceive you" and, after specific description and explanation, "Assume your best singer's posture."
A single exercise can be used to address multiple vocal and musical considerations. The exercises provided address matters of breath (figure 1), vocal production (figure 2), vowel formation (figure 3), and vocal development (figures 4 and 5). Each exercise is labeled with its fundamental purpose, although many function in several capacities. This is the case for all exercises presented throughout the article.(Unless otherwise indicated, exercises were created by the author or are commonly used by choral directors.)
It is frequently taken for granted that chorus members know how to listen and what to listen for. Establishing and refining external and internal hearing takes time and practice. Intentional inclusion of listening exercises and activities is essential to promoting ongoing development of aural awareness and discrimination.
The most helpful approaches encourage listening internally, as well as listening within and across sections. One activity to promote internal hearing begins with the teacher conducting at midtorso level while the singers are singing aloud. When the teacher stops conducting and holds a hand overhead as a signal, the singers stop singing aloud but continue singing internally. When the teacher resumes the conducting pattern, the singers sing aloud at the appropriate musical point, generally two to four measures after the point where they stopped. This activity can be used with familiar unison melodies, solfège patterns, or current repertoire selections.
External listening can be encouraged in many ways. Statements promoting focused listening include "Hear the singer to your left" (your right, behind you and left, etc.); "Rotate your 'antennae' around the chorus as you sing, directing your attention to previously unnoticed voices or passages"; and "Listen louder than you sing." In addition, singers can cup a hand in front of their ear (palm towards ear) to create a "satellite dish" and intentionally include other voices in their aural arena.
Several of the exercises provided work equally well for focusing on listening or musical learning (figure 6 and figure 8, exercises c and d). These exercises, in addition to passages from choral music, can be performed by the full chorus or smaller groups. Changing the chorus formation alters singers' hearing parameters and challenges chorus members to adjust their listening and increase their independence. Possible formations include mixed arrangements, sectional circles, and one big circle. Assigned numbers also work well to create quick and varied ensemble combinations that challenge listening skills.(
Warm-up exercises and activities are also useful for introducing and furthering music reading, conceptual learning, and musical expression. Exercises such as those in figure 7 introduce sight-reading vocabulary and establish intervallic and rhythmic relationships. Music-reading skills can be connected with choral literature by having students sing hand-signed or notated passages drawn from current literature and then locating them in the music.
Various musical concepts can be highlighted for careful attention by means of warm-up exercises. For example, enunciation or cadential structure might be the focus of one segment of the warm-up period (figure 8). Other exercises for learning musical concepts, such as rhythmic patterns, metrical considerations, and vowel formation relative to actual text, could be drawn directly from the music being studied. Expression can also be addressed in the warm-up period. Various expressive elements such as articulation, style, and dynamics can be presented within the context of passages selected from the music. Another means of exploring expression is by altering one or more of these elements while singing repeatedly through canons. Warm-up exercises such as exercise d in figure 8 can be devised to explore and enhance expressive elements such as phrasing, tonal production, and vocal color.
A warm-up period structured to prepare chorus members to sing, listen, and learn is time well spent. The outcomes relative to vocal and musical development are well worth the necessary time and planning. My hope is that this article provides music teachers with some initial ideas for establishing a well-planned and effective warm-up period. Additional resources are provided in the sidebar on page 40. Once the structure and processes are established, the possibilities for furthering musical learning and growth within the warm-up period are endless. The warm-up period becomes more meaningful and creative when musical development and learning are the focal points.
(n1.) Sandra Frey Stegman, "Making Music Meaningful in the Choral Classroom," Choral Journal 40, no. 9 (April 2000), 17-21.
Haasemann, Frauke, and James Jordan. Group Vocal Techniques. Book, Video, and Vocalise Cards. Chapel Hill, NC: Hinshaw Music, 1989.
Neisheim, Paul, with Weston Noble. Building Beautiful Voices. Singer's and Director's Editions. Dayton, OH: Roger Dean Publishing Company, 1995.
Phillips, Kenneth P. Teaching Kids to Sing. Book and Video Series. New York: Schirmer Books, 1992.
Telfer, Nancy. Successful Warmups. Books 1 and 2; Singer's and Teacher's Editions. San Diego, CA: Neil A. Kjos Music Company, 1995.
DIAGRAM: Figure 1. Breath management
DIAGRAM: Figure 2. Vocal production Source: Exercise "a" is reprinted, by permission of the publisher, from Charlotte Adams, Daily Workout for a Beautiful Voice, video with booklet (Santa Barbara, CA: Santa Barbara Music Publishing, 1992). Exercise "c" is reprinted, by permission of the publisher, from Barbara Brinson, Choral Methods and Materials: Developing Successful Choral Programs (New York: Schirmer Books, 1996), 185.
DIAGRAM: Figure 3. Vowel formation
DIAGRAM: Figure 4. Vocal development, tone Source: Exercise "a" is reprinted, by permission of the publisher, from Henry Leck, Vocal Techniques for Young Singers, video with booklet (Fort Lauderdale, FL: Plymouth Music Publishing, 1995).
DIAGRAM: Figure 5. Vocal development, range Source: Exercise "a" is reprinted by permission of the publisher, from Wilhelm Ehmann and Frauke Haasemann, Voice Building for Choirs (Chapel Hill, NC: Hinshaw Music, 1982). © 1981 by Bärenreter-Verlag, Kassel; used with permission. Exercise "b" is reprinted by permission of the publisher, from Barbara Brinson, Choral Methods and Materials: Developing Successful Choral Programs (New York: Schirmer Books, 1996), 188.
DIAGRAM: Figure 6. Listening
DIAGRAM: Figure 7. Intervallic and rhythmic relationships
DIAGRAM: Figure 8. Enunciation
PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): A thoughtfully planned warm-up period can help singers enhance their singing, listening, and learning skills.
By Sandra Frey Stegman
Sandra Frey Stegman is visiting associate professor of music education in the College of Music at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.
