Page 20 - CT15-3

K-12 Resources:

"It's Time to Warm Up!"

by Patrick McGuire

Patrick McGuire is the director of music at Sts. Anne & make progress. When they can connect what they do in
Joachim Catholic Church. He is also the content coordina- warm-ups to what they are singing in the rest of rehearsal,
tor for the North Dakota ACDA publication, The Chorister. they synthesize the information presented to them and in-
PMcGuire@stsaaj.org ternalize it very effectively.

Editor’s Note: This article original appeared in The Chorister, Win- “SOVTs (semi-occluded vocal tract exercises) can
ter 2023. It is reprinted with permission. include lip trills; exercises using nasal consonants
[m], [n] [ŋ]; ‘blow fish’ (vocalising through a nar-
row opening of the lips, like a tight [u] shape; any-
What goes into making a “good” warm up? What are thing that occludes the vocal tract and therefore
some tried-and-true exercises to help our groups get better? the air. Using SOVTs helps moderate breath flow,
I asked vocal teachers across the region, and here’s what aligns the vocal folds, and allows the student to
they had to say: concentrate on other technical aspects like align-
ment and inhalation, [which] at the same time are
“Warm-ups are more than just preparing the voice effective and gentle vocalises for warming up, in-
to sing. Creating repertoire-influenced warm-ups termediate work, and cooling down.”
can be a great way to reinforce melodic, rhythmic,
and harmonic elements you are currently rehears- —Dr. Holly Janz,
ing.” Professor of Voice, Concordia College

—Brandon Hurley, Choir Teacher, This is a great nugget of wisdom! Intentional exercises
Dawson-Boyd High School (Dawson, MN) like these lead to intentional progress. When we break it
down and isolate techniques for our singers to practice, we
We can’t warm up for the sake of warming up. Our stu- help them cultivate more ownership of their instrument.
dents need purpose-driven learning to stay engaged and Be sure to talk through this at a level appropriate to your

ChorTeach Volume 15 • Issue 3 20 Spring 2023