Speaking of Voice: “My Go-To Warm-Up” by Cory Evans

MY GO-TO WARM UP, by Cory Evans (Utah State University)

 

For my choir, our daily warm-ups and routines usually focus around establishing appropriate STYLE for the wide variety of repertoire selections we perform.  I am certainly concerned about establishing a beautiful blend, an exquisite choral tone, and all of the other elements necessary for a beautiful choral sound, but our focus is always on the STYLE of the music.  I feel that today’s choral singer needs to be able to perform a variety of styles with equal skill and our singers need to feel comfortable switching from one type of music to the next.  If my choir is singing a spiritual, our vocal production is different than if we are singing a lush a cappella choral piece with intricate harmonies and a straight tone approach.  My focus is ALWAYS on getting the appropriate STYLE, and this informs our warm-ups and preparatory exercises.  We warm up with vocal production that fits the style of the music we will be rehearsing and performing.  I love to begin a choral rehearsal of spirituals and gospel music by simply having our accompanist play the piece on the piano with me at the drum set, simply allowing the singers to “grab on” to the style and develop their voices that way.  A warm up with straight tone blending does not lend itself as well to the style of a gospel or spiritual, but a warm up with full-throated, stylistic singing does.  On the other hand, music with a more straight tone, blending sonority requires a warm-up  that fits the style of that particular music.  For this, we work on blending intricate chords with simple, healthy tone to allow the singers to become one sonority of sound across the entire ensemble.  This requires listening and adjustment of vocal technique to allow the intricate harmonies to sound clearly and in tune.  Chords with tight harmonies do not work with vibrato or, more appropriately, wobble.  Understanding the STYLE informs the warm-up we engage in.    Let the STYLE dictate the vocal production and ways to achieve it.

 

(“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.)