purpose driven choral wam-ups
TRANSCRIPT
The Purpose Driven Warm-UpsCommon Mistakes We Make
Jo-Michael Scheibe, DMAProfessor and Chair
Department of Choral and Sacred Music USC Thornton School of Music
The Purpose of Warm-upso Routine vs.
Imaginativeo Mental set vs.
here we go again
o Time to bring focus vs. boredom
The Intent of Warm-Ups: Effective and Affective Types
o More than one purpose to each warm-upo Must be a tie between the warm-up and
the music makingo Proactive learning- the “why” of the
rehearsalo Set up expectations in the warm-upso Use it to help put the pieces of the puzzle
togethero Remember, the voice is halfway between
the head and the heart
PRO ARTE
PostureRespirationOnset
ArticulationResonanceTechniqueEfficiency
Based on the work of Don Brinegar
Physical (Relaxation)o Laughtero Body awarenesso Posture -
Alexander Technique
o “I’ve got a nose like a ping-pong ball”William Tell Overture
o Back rubs stretches
o Ugandan handclaps
o “Simon Says” -mirror images
Mental (Focus Activity)o 123456787654321 - take away
numberso Add gestures (claps, taps, snaps,
stomps, whistles)o 1-121-12321-1234321 etc. - take
away numbero Dr. Seuss
Bob Chilcott Exercise
Breath Management1. Seated hang
over the chair (grab ankles and breathe)
2. Pushups against the wall
3. Sitting against the wall (breath)
4. Pencil in hand –[su] (5-4-3-2-1)
5. Circular hand movements while singing
6. Lip trills (br)7. [v, θ, z]8. Onset9. Chest
compression10.Use [n, ŋ] rather
than [m] if intonation or resonance is a problem
Breath Management (cont.)11.[ni - nɛ - nɑ - nɔ - nu] or [vi - vɛ - vɑ
- vɔ - vu] with hands 12.G (use K placement)13.Shadow Vowels
o Light becomes [lɑ:itə]o Sleep becomes [slipə]
Vocalization1. Zing Zing Zah
(frisbee and hand clap)
2. Descending first3. Using no more
than a fifth to begin- octave at most - high notes flip over from waist
4. Drop on top notes5. High notes - tilt
head back slightly
6. Hand in front of mouth to engage even breath flow
7. Finger at back of note for soprano high notes
Tuning1. When Jesus Wept - Billings2. Compose your own tuning
exercises based on your literature
3. Hold chorale and then move 1/2 step in x # of beats (Shaw)
4. Use solfege5. Avoid use of piano
Tuning (…con’t)6. Tune according to the
harmonic seriesa. Unisons and octavesb. Fifthsc. Thirdsd. Color notes (2nds, 7ths, 9ths)
Chilcott Tuning Example
Shaw Exercises
Shaw Exercises (cont.)
Shaw Exercises (cont.)
Final Thoughtso Use music from the
rehearsalo Different learning
styleso Voice and choral
warm-ups difference
o And remember, don’t make warm-ups boring and put your singers on autopilot