Our classes always meet at 8:45 a.m. so it has been imperative that we get the voice and body moving to ensure healthy singing throughout the early rehearsal. An exercise that works well for accomplishing this is singing an arpeggio and then coming back down with different voice parts holding the various scale degrees to fill out the vertical chord. Using the syllables “See-ee-ee-ah-ah-ah-ah”, all voices sing up the arpeggio 1-3-5-8 on the see-ee-ee-ah. Sopranos stay on the 8 (ah), tenors descend and hold the 5th (ah), altos descend and hold the 3rd (ah), and basses round out the bottom finishing with the tonic on ah. It then modulates up and we do it again. Often we will hold the chord, tune various scale degrees and/or voices, utilize spin/vibrato and play with dynamic range while sustaining this chord. It serves as a tuning tool on the way up singing the 1-3-5 accurately as well as an opportunity to tune and land a basic major chord. It is also fun to work the same exercise in minor, or using other types of chords. Sometimes we will also run in place on the final chord to get the heart and breath moving more naturally and efficiently! The kids enjoy the physical aspect of “waking up” the body to prepare for a more productive rehearsal! Happy warming up!
(“My Go-To Warm-Up” features a favorite warm-up used by those choirs who have been selected to perform during the 2015 ACDA National Conference.)
Eileen Finley says