Why a warm up shouldn’t be just vocal exercises

Many of us choir leaders are constantly on the look-out for new warm up ideas.

Whenever I look on the internet, I always come across sheet music for vocalises. But these are only a small part of what a warm up should be.

Always listen more loudly than you sing

It always surprises me when singers sing so loudly that they can’t hear the rest of the choir.

photo by Constantin Tacke

It’s hearing the other harmony parts that keeps you on the straight and narrow, and it’s where the singing pleasure lies.

A great choir sound is all about balance: backing tracks, arrangements, voice parts, song choice, etc.

I came across a choir doing an outdoor performance recently.

They were really good, but were let down by the balance between backing tracks and the voices.

Starting back to choir after the summer break: 5 relevant reads

This is one of a series of summary posts around a specific topic, bringing together five relevant posts from the past. 

This summary is about the challenges and opportunities of getting back to choir after the long summer break.

Aiming high: trust the process, don’t focus on the goal

There is a big difference between succeeding at all costs and not bothering to make an effort. Neither brings true satisfaction.

The secret is to pitch somewhere in between: to take the work seriously, but to not lose sight of how relatively unimportant it is compared with what else is going on in the world.