Conference Morsel: Innovative Warm-ups

(An excerpt from the interest session “Innovative Warm-ups for the Volunteer Choir,” presented by Michael Kemp, during the 2015 ACDA National Conference.)

 

       Ask yourself this.  Where did your current warm-ups come from?  Are you using warm-ups from your college choir days?  But if you are directing a choir with volunteer singers, their needs are far different.  Why warm-up choirs in the first place?  It is an accepted tradition, but are warm-ups supposed to accomplish something?  If chosen carefully and sung well, they could be interesting, intriguing, and useful in developing better sound and enhanced artistry.   Choose your warm-ups for your specific choir, for their specific needs, and for the specific music you are about to rehearse.  Caution…if chosen carelessly, warm-ups can even be detrimental to your rehearsals, e.g. staccato warm-ups before rehearsing a sustained anthem.

       Here is what well-chosen warm-ups could accomplish.

     <> They could “aha” experiences, stimulating enthusiasm for the entire rehearsal ahead.

     <> They could help choir members focus on attention to detail.

     <> They could teach and reinforce specific vocal, musical, and enunciation skills.

     <> They could evoke the habit of musical singing.

     <> Warm-ups also give directors the opportunity to adjust posture/facial shaping.

 

The bottom line is that warm-ups should not be casual experiences, but they should be chosen to teach specific skills and to prepare your choir for the music about to be rehearsed, e.g. tone quality, style of articulation, rhythmic clarity, proportions sensitivity, and enunciation clarity.  .

 

(Make plans now to attend your 2016 ACDA Divisional Conference!)