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On the V oice
On the Voice

Matthew Hoch, editor <mrh0032@auburn.edu>

Warming Up the Choir:
Bridging the Domains of Singing Voice Pedagogy and Voice Science
by Regina McAllen, Melissa Forbes, and Diane Hughes

For many singers, the choral director serves as their Vocal Exercises and Their Contexts
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most influential teacher of singing. Additionally, cho- A fundamental step in teaching students to sing in-
ral directors may also be singing voice teachers and volves warming up the voice. In the following discus-
provide singing lessons to individual students. Warm- sion, we specifically focus on those exercises that fall
up exercises are used in both contexts. However, no- within “warm-ups,” as these are central in preparing
ticeable differences in terminology arise not just be- and facilitating students to sing. In doing so, however,
tween choral directors and singing voice instructors we do not discount the inclusion of a cooldown rou-
but also among speech-language pathologists and voice tine. Rather, we view this as a discrete category of vocal
scientists. The introduction of newer terminology exercises that is intended to produce different physio-
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adds to the existing confusion, requiring clarification logical effects from warm-ups.
in cross-disciplinary discussions and within the field of The literature firmly establishes that warm-up rou-
voice education. Moreover, scholarly research on the tines are widely practiced in both choir rehearsals and
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most effective methods for teaching vocal technique in singing lessons. One of the most prominent figures
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a group setting is scarce. Similarly, there are a range in the field of voice pedagogy, Richard Miller (1926–
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of perspectives on the utility of warming up the voice 2009), characterized the choral director as a voice
within the voice science community. Such divergences teacher, emphasizing their need to possess exceptional
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in both practice and research present an opportunity qualifications to develop the singer holistically, both as
to explore the purpose and objectives of choral warm- a soloist and chorister. Through warm-up exercises,
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ups, with a view to bridging the gap between the peda- teachers may strive to deepen students’ understanding
gogical and voice science domains and fostering a more of their voices, address their unique vocal needs, and
comprehensive understanding of the warm-up for cho- foster confidence in their singing abilities. Choral di-
ral directors. rectors and singing voice teachers, however, often hold
contrasting viewpoints regarding the purpose of warm-

CHORAL JOURNAL October 2025 Volume 66 Number 3 51