Video 1 - Physical Warm-up
My colleague Amanda and I recorded some of our favourite warm-ups to share with you online! We chose some warm-ups to address different areas of vocal production: the body, breathing, tone, flexibility, and diction.
Here is our first warm-up, which focuses on warming up the body and becoming limber enough to sing healthfully. Using back stretches, shoulder and neck rolls, and knee bends, Amanda moves some of the areas where singers experience the most tension. It's important to remember that singing is a full-body activity, and from the neck down counts!
Video 2 - Breathing Warm-up
Our second warm-up focuses on breathing. Amanda emphasizes the fact that breath shouldn't be held - inhalation should be followed by a natural, controlled release. In this video, she demonstrates how an inhalation of constant duration can fuel exhalations of varied lengths, using proper breath control.
Video 3 - Resonance Warm-up
In this video, I work on maintaining a good inner mouth space for the [u] (ooo) vowel. [u] is a fantastic vowel for tuning because of its limited overtone series, resulting in an even, blended sound throughout the choir. The temptation, however, is to keep the molars close together. By switching to [u] from an [ɑ] vowel, the mouth space of the latter can be kept while singing the former.
Video 4 - Flexibility Warm-up
This flexibility exercise sets the foundations of vocal flexibility, beginning with the two-note melisma.
Video 5 - Diction Warm-up
A tongue-twister can be a fun way to introduce children to good diction. The speed and precision of a tongue-twister ensures that children will have to enunciate well and quickly just to "get the words out".
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