Choir warm-ups are a great pastime while stragglers arrive... But they have potential for so much more! Warm-ups set the literal and figurative tone for your rehearsal.
SET THE TONE WITH INTENTIONAL GOALS:
Starting warm-ups with clear goals creates purpose, direction, and routine. The options for those goals are endless, but many choirs share similar aims. Here are some of the most common warm-up goals, as well as some tried-and-true ideas to work towards them.
Shake off the flehm. Use gentle exercises with small ranges and hums, sighs, yawns, and/or bright vowels.
Stretch vocal folds. Move higher and lower using arpeggios or other exercises with a large range. (An exercise that starts with the highest note - like a descending arpeggio - helps release tension.)
Find “center” to the tone. Bright vowels like “ee” or “aye” create clarity and focus to the sound. You may even encourage singers to “go too far” and create “ugly” or “immature” sounds. Of course, you won't perform that way! But exploring extreme brightness and then extreme roundness can help the choir settle in the middle.
Create warmth in the tone. Hollow, yawn-like, round vowels like “oh,” “oo,” or “ah” bring warmth and height into the sound. Again, encouraging the choir to go "too far" can help them explore the sounds at their disposal.
Encourage blending and align vowels. Slower exercises give opportunities for choir members to listen and match their sounds. Use questions like “Can you hear the people on either side of you? Behind you? Across the room?" and "Can you match the shape of your mouth with someone across the room?” Help them notice when their voices start to align and blend and no singular voice sticks out.
Work on enunciation/diction. Fast-moving exercises with tongue-twisters or other wordy lyrics get the mouth moving.
Lift soft palate. Finding "lift" is related to finding warmth, so focus on tall, round vowels. Have singers imagine singing with hot oatmeal on their tongue or a ping-pong ball in back of mouth. This encourages that resonant, cathedral-like space in the back of the mouth.
Activate lungs and breath support. Long passages with no breath help singers focus on support. What's more, moving or stretching the body at the same time creates activity in the abdomen. This is where our breath support lies. Also consider using loud “shh” or hissing sounds on rhythmic patterns.
Loosen up body, jaw, and face muscles. Wiggle the head, neck, lips, jaw, arms, legs, etc. while singing. While singing, gently rub the cheeks, forehead and jaw, or pretend to "chew some cud" like a cow. Sing while stretching or flopped over at the hips like a rag doll.
Create a fun environment and break the ice. Lead by example! Use silly words, sounds, and/or movements to help people loosen up - physically and emotionally. (We shouldn't take ward choir TOO seriously!) It can also be fun to have choir members sing passages in different ways. Have them sing in colors (“sing this neon pink/dark blue/etc.”) or in a certain style (“sing this like a cowboy/opera-singer/5-year-old/Elvis/etc.”). This helps explore warmth and different tones as well.
Get accustomed to following the director. Using an easy and/or well-known song/hymn, have them watch you carefully. Practice speeding up and slowing down, experiment with dynamic changes, etc.
Work on tuning/matching pitch. Usually this resolves pretty well with a focus on vowel-alignment and blending (see above). Consider also using a hymn or passage from your music, pausing on each chord, and listening until the chord "settles" or "rings."
Starting with warm-ups tailored to your choir’s needs is a sure way to improve the sound and culture in your choir. For more specific exercises, warm-up ideas and accompaniments, see my other posts and resources! And comment below with questions, ideas, and requests - I’m excited to hear from you!