Choral Warm-up Packet

BODY

Align the Body: Focus on each area of the body from the bottom up, making sure each part is in
alignment. Start with bad posture, and slowly work your way up, fixing each section of the
body. Feet, ankles, hips, chest, shoulders, head.
Purpose: Modeling correct alignment, getting singers ready to have the most efficient stance for
singing. Modeling the difference in ability to breathe with good and bad posture.

Do as I Say, Not as I Do: Raise your arms from your sides all the way to up clapping above your
head. Count from 1 to 10 as you do so, having students follow. Each number corresponds to a
different arm height. You can say any numbers you like, and students will follow the number
you say. You can decide to move your arms with the numbers you say, or to other levels to test
the students’ focus.
Purpose:
BREATH

Hissing: Breathe in for 4, hold for 4, out on an “s” for x number of beats.
Purpose: Breath control. Breathing deeply, making sure you release air consistently at a rate so
that all your air is gone in the allotted beats.
Motion: Hold an imaginary balloon, let it expand as you breathe in, and slowly compress it as
you let air out.

What’s so funny?:

Purpose: Engage the breath, feel each note in your abdomen.

Motion: Rest your hands on your sides and feel your stomach expand and contract on each
note as you engage the breath.
 VOICE
Bumblebee:

Purpose: Practice scale in thirds, unifying registers as you jump to the high “mi” and make your
way back down through the break.
Motion: A scooping motion towards yourself similar to conducting in 1 on each “bumble” and
when you get to the highest note you throw you arms up and let them fall down slowly as you
make your way down the scale.

Tongue-Twister:

Purpose: Freeing up the tongue, releasing jaw tension, using the tip of the tongue to clearly
articulate.
Motion: Bouncing up and down to the beat, bending and extending knees.
Mommy Moo:

Purpose: Focus on unifying vowel sounds, resonance, and gradually warming up the lower
range of your voice.
Motion: Touching your face and motioning around your jaw to help shape each vowel.
Sweet Old Swan:

Purpose: Practice with legato, intonation on the octave jump, switching vocal registers and
maintaining similar tone.
Motion: Sway the arms gently as you sing, moving them in a flowing motion, following the
general contour of the melody.

EAR

Saucy Sevenths:

Purpose: Tuning, part independence, listening across the room to other voice parts, dynamics.
Motion: Once students seem to have a good grasp on the exercise, have them walk around the
room randomly and independently while they sing.
 MISC
Changing Rhythms: Students follow the conductor as they conduct in a 4 pattern. As you
conduct, instruct students to “ch” a variety of rhythms in time. Start with consistent beats by
saying simply “quarter notes, or dotted half-notes”. Then you can move to filling each beat,
“Quarter note on beat 1, stomp on 3, add the and of 4…”. Do this until you create a beat that is
too complicated to follow.
Purpose: Challenge students’ rhythmic abilities and help them really focus on following the
pulse of the conductor.
Motion: Include various body percussion when filling each beat, such as stomping, clapping,
snapping, etc.