Workbook This workbook comprises the worksheets and checklists from all the lessons in the Warm-ups & Exercises course. You can access all the lesson documents individually on the lesson pages. This book is intended simply to be a convenient way to download the materials if you wish to view them offline, for example on a tablet or smartphone, or printed out.
Lesson 2 Why do we do warm-ups? Answer: To prepare our singers to sing Many singers don t see the point of warm-ups. You may have people in your choir who grumble when you ask them to do vocal exercises and don t engage fully with the process. Here s a quick run-down of the benefits of warm-ups. We build our warm-up sessions using a four-tier structure, which we teach in this course. Start at the bottom and work up. Teambuilding Teambuilding is all about creating a great atmosphere within a choir. Singers often sit in the same place and interact with the same few people at every rehearsal. Teambuilding expands their experience and benefits the whole choir. Vocalising Vocalising gently engages the singing apparatus and increases the blood flow to the larynx and muscles, decreasing the risk of damage during singing. Over time, these exercises can improve the range and timbre of the voice. Breathing Breath is the generator of the singing voice. Breathing exercises continue the relaxation process and begin to engage the singing muscles. Steady, controlled breathing supports a consistent, beautiful sound. Relaxation Relaxation helps our singers to leave the hassles of the day behind them and bring their focus into the rehearsal room. It also releases tension, which can impede the voice, and promotes good posture.
Fundamentals of Choir Leading Warm-ups & Exercises Lesson 3 How the voice works All sound is produced in the same way. Energy causes something to vibrate. The sound waves produced by the vibration resonate in a space:- Generator Vibrator Resonator In the human voice, the generator is the breath (produced by muscular action), the vibrator is the column of air passing through the larynx, and the resonators are the air pockets in our heads, necks and throats. In addition, we have articulators, our mouths, lips and tongues, that alter in shape and affect the timbre of the sound. How the larynx works The larynx (sometimes referred to as the voice box ) sits at the top of the trachea (windpipe). It contains two vocal folds (also called vocal cords ) that open and close. They are open when we breath and closed when we swallow (to prevent food getting into our lungs). When we produce sound, the folds are almost closed and vibrating very fast as the column of air from the lungs pushes through them.
For an excellent animation of the larynx in action, check out this video on YouTube: How the larynx produces sound Remember We shouldn t lecture our singers in rehearsals, so detailed explanations of how the voice works and the affect of particular exercises are probably counter-productive. However, it s important that we, as choir leaders, have a basic understanding of what s going on in the body when we sing. 2
Lesson 4 Maintaining vocal health As well as encouraging our singers to take care of their vocal instrument, it s vitally important that we look after our own voices. During choir rehearsals, we speak to our choirs and, depending on the venue, we may be required to project our voices to be heard by everyone. Most of us also demonstrate to our choirs vocally, which will sometimes involve singing at the extremes of our range. The combined effect of speaking and demonstrating to our choirs can be hard on our voices, so it s sensible to warm-up before we start each session. Here s a quick warm-up that you can do before every rehearsal. It will only take you 5 minutes, and it will help you to care for your vocal instrument. 1. Stretching & breathing Gently roll your shoulders three times forward and three times backward. Yawn deeply. Stretch your arms out to the sides and up over your head as you breath in deeply through the nose. Gradually lower your arms back to your sides as you breathe out slowly through, saying sss. Repeat once more. 2. Check your posture Stand tall and think about your posture, scanning your body mentally from the toes upwards. Tuck your pelvis in slightly and imagine your navel moving towards your lower back. Lift your chest and broaden your shoulders. Lengthen the back of your neck and imagine a thread lifting you from the crown of your head. Gently move your weight from foot to foot, then forward and back, until you find a centred position. 3. Humming slides On a gentle hmm, slide up and down from the lowest point in your voice to the highest and back again. Do this twice.
4. Lip trills Do a few descending lip trills, then give your temples and jaw a massage. 5. Drink some water! It s important to drink water before a rehearsal. Try to drink about 30 minutes beforehand to give your body time to distribute it around your body and lubricate your larynx. Remember A really important way that you can protect your voice in rehearsals is by NOT shouting. If the choir is chattering and you re finding it difficult to achieve silence so that you can speak, don t be tempted to shout over them. Instead, look at the choir expectantly (don t forget to smile!), with your arms raised, and wait for them to come to silence. If you re hoarse the day after a choir rehearsal, you need to change something! 2
Lesson 5 Categories of warm-ups As we make clear in the video lecture, categorising warm-ups is, to a great extent, artificial, because many vocal exercises address multiple issues, and because the voice is an integrated system. However, thinking about vocal exercises in basic categories helps us to create balanced warm-up sessions. Below is a table that expands upon the categories we talk about in the video lectures. Relaxation Stretching Yawning Moving limbs & joints Massaging Posture correction Breathing Releasing the abdomen Opening the ribcage Engaging the support muscles Long breaths/notes Short, sharp breaths/hissing Resonance Nasal consonants (mm, nn, ng) Humming/sirens Facial expression/mouth shape Vocal cord closure Pitch/intonation Listening & repeating Scales & arpeggios Intervals Chords Blend Rounds Mixing voices Listening & repeating Dynamics Rhythm Clapping rhythms Listening & repeating Syncopation Note values Articulation Vowel formation & modification Consonants Lip trills Facial expression/mouth shape Tongue-twisters Team-building Improv games Rounds Clapping games Tongue-twisters Mixing voices
Lesson 6 Relaxation Why should we do relaxation exercises? For two reasons. They help us to leave the hassles of the day at the door and focus on the rehearsal. They also release physical tension which can impede our vocal apparatus and affect the sound we make when we sing. Here s a handy re-cap of the relaxation exercises demonstrated in the video lesson. Stretching arms above head Wiggling fingers and toes Shoulder rolls, forward and backward Shoulder squeeze on in-breath, release on out-breath Gentle head turns to sides, up and down, and ears towards shoulders (note - discourage allowing the head to flop back) Shrugging shoulders rhythmically, adding knee bends and ah sound Lion breath Posture correction - slouching, then growing up, standing tall, lifting the chest Breathing in, going up on tiptoes, breathing out, lower heels Finding centre of balance Tarzan massage, with ah sound Cleaning the teeth with the tongue Yawning Raise arms to side on in-breath, lower on out-breath, add a sigh Rag doll
Remember Make sure you tell your singers to work within their own limitations. Let them know explicitly that they shouldn t do anything that causes them pain or discomfort. 2
Lesson 7 Breathing Why should we do breathing exercises? Exercises that concentrate on breathing help us to engage the support mechanism comprising muscles in our abdomens, backs and ribs. Like any muscular system, it only becomes stronger when put under stress, so the more we breathe, the better we breathe. Here s a handy re-cap of the breathing exercises demonstrated in the video lesson. Sighing (really dramatic!) Breathing in while holding imaginary heavy bags Birthday cake (blowing out an imaginary candle with ha ) Bicycle tyres - breathe halfway in, breathe out with short, sharp hisses Breathing with intention (imagine a delightful surprise!) Quick breath in, long out-breath to hiss or hum, extending out-breath each time Lowering chin to chest on out-breath, raise on in-breath, long hum out Remember The gestures we use to direct warm-ups are often as important as any verbal instructions we give. When you indicate to the choir to breathe in, use an outward gesture (as if you were playing an accordion) rather than an upward gesture. The former will unconsciously encourage the choir to expand their ribcage, while the latter may result in raised shoulders.
Lesson 8 to 10 Vocalising Why should we do vocalising exercises? The larynx is a complex unit made of muscle, cartilage, ligaments and soft tissue. Gentle vocalising warm-ups increase the blood flow to the larynx and raise the temperature in the muscles, allowing them to stretch with greater ease. Here s a handy re-cap of the vocalising exercises demonstrated in the video lessons. Resonance Long note (getting longer each time) Long note chords, repeated with dynamic changes Perfect 5th slides Rollercoaster (sirens exploring whole range) to hoo Slides (through whole range, noticing position of most resonance) Smiling faces Pitch Thinking up or down when singing the opposite Counting intervals Ssh (scales with one or more notes replaced by ssh ) Blend Balancing chords (triads, then with additional notes - 7th, 2nd, 6th etc) Breathing together Remember Keep your instructions simple. A demonstration is often more effective than an explanation.
Lesson 11 Teambuilding What are teambuilding exercises? We use the term teambuilding to refer to any activity that encourages the choir to gel and to work together. Sometimes they involve singing, sometimes not. The important thing is that they re fun. We re not looking to make any technical advances with these activities - it s all about atmosphere. Why should we do teambuilding exercises? There are lots of reasons to do teambuilding activities. They continue the process of relaxing the choir and creating a good atmosphere in rehearsal. They encourage choir members to interact with others (particularly useful in large choirs). They change singers perception and keep things fresh. Here s a handy re-cap of the teambuilding exercises demonstrated in the video lesson. Papa s Got a Head Like a Ping-Pong Ball Clapping game Nobody Knows the Trouble I ve Seen Bele Mama (including walking around) Improvisation game And here are some additional ideas you might like to try:- Row, row, row your boat round. Start with two groups (second group coming in halfway through), then four (coming in after each bar), then eight (coming in every two beats), and even sixteen (coming in every beat). 12 bar blues improvisation. Divide into groups and improvise to a blues backing track using scat sounds.
Sharing a melody. Divide into two or more groups. Sing a familiar song in unison. Each group only sings when pointed to by the leader (who could be you or a choir member). The challenge is to make the song as seamless as possible as it hops about between the groups. Introductions. At a couple (or more) points during any rehearsal, ask the choir to mix up and stand or sit next to someone new. They shake hands and introduce themselves (even if they know each other, which gets over any embarrassment about forgotten names). Then continue the rehearsal in this mixed form until the next re-shuffle. This technique works best when time isn t particularly tight as it always takes a while for everyone to re-settle. Ways to mix up your choir When you re practising rounds, or any activity that involves groups, you ll need quick and easy ways to select those groups. The simplest method is to gesture to sections of the choir. (don t worry about being absolutely exact - let the singers near the dividing line between groups decide which way they ll go). That s fine until you want to mix up the groups. If you have time and space, you can physically move people around (and you can use moving around as part of the activity, as we demonstrated in the video, or as an opportunity for Introductions - see above). If you re working with a small choir, you can number them, 1, 2, 3, 4; 1, 2, 3, 4 (or however many groups you need), then have the number 1s sing together etc. In a large choir, birthdays give you great way to mix up. If you need 4 groups, say, everyone with a birthday from January to March will be group 1, April to June will be group 2 etc. If you wanted 3 groups, you d use 4 month blocks. This only works with large groups. In smaller groups, you end up with clusters of birthdays and one group that s much bigger than the rest. Remember Teambuilding exercises are all about fun. Don t get too hung up on correctness. The improvement in atmosphere, relaxation and teamwork are an end in themselves. 2
Lesson 13 Building up your toolkit Here are a few ideas for sources of inspiration and motivation that will help you keep your warm-up sessions fresh. Total Choir Resources - website and podcast Well, we would say that, wouldn t we! Total Choir Resources entire purpose is to give choir leaders the tools, tips and training they need to do a fantastic job. Choralnet (choralnet.org) The forum of the American Choral Directors Association. A great place for wide-ranging discussions about all things choir-related. Try their associated Facebook group too. YouTube The go-to resource for video. Try searching for teambuilding games and ice-breakers to find ideas, often from the corporate world, for silly things to do. As ever, you may have to wade through some mud before you strike gold. Find Your Forte podcast (ryanguth.com) A newcomer on the choral scene, Ryan Guth s interview-based podcast is a great source of motivation and new ideas. The podcast includes episodes called Motivation Monday and Technique Tuesday.