Speaking of Voice: “My Go-To Warm-Up” by Art Lapierre

MY GO-TO WARM UP, by Art Lapierre (American River College Vocal Jazz Ensemble)

 

I use a basic ascending/descending major 9th arpeggio with various combinations of neutral vowels, vowels with voiced and unvoiced consonants, as well as text. I usually (although not always) harmonize this with a rolling I major 7th chord which moves to a IV major 7th chord on the 9th and remain there until the vocalists descend to 5 (sol). Remain there until the ‘resolution’ to 5 (sol) and then move back to the I major 7th chord. Harmonizing the 9 (re) and descending 7 (ti) with a IV∆7 chord creates a momentary 6th (la) and #4 (aka #11) (fi) over that chord. In this most basic exercise I can train, mostly diatonic (non-extended note), singers to learn to hear, maintain, and, maybe, accept extended harmony of the 7th, 6th, 9th, #11. Rhythm: all notes are additional root position exercises involve altering notes as needed:

 

Lydian/Dominant = b7 (tey)

Minor 7th = b3 (mey), b7 (tey), natural 11 (fa)

 

After these basic warmups I include various other types of ‘extended jazz harmony’ arpeggios.

 

Because most choral singers linger on open vowels much too long for what I refer to as “modified street English” I am constantly adjusting the words of any added text. I remember somewhere (Frank Pooler, I believe) giving me a warm-up exercise (I think it was Don Craig (?)) that included many short sentences of voiced/unvoiced consonants. I am sure there are many such exercises.

 

I usually alternate between eight of them and simply impose them upon my vocal warm-up. Ex: “Name the tune and I will sing.” I find this a great combination of initial, media, and final voiced consonants.

 

Additional exercises:

 

1 – Use various inversions starting on the 7th below 1 (do) up thru the chord members

 

2 – Add “feel” and “rhythmic” interpretation: ballad-rubato; swinging eighth notes; straight “Latin” eighth notes.

 

3 – Expand the exercise into a 4 and/or 8-mm phrases

 

4 – Harmonize to taste: Most likely beyond this short write 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.)