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Warm-Ups for Choral Dialogue 2015 2 Corinthians 4: 5-6 -"For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the

light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

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• Alignment – Stretching

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• Breathing 1) Breath Clutch : (isolates the spot just below the sternum which should be engaged at the beginning of every vocalise or phrase) 2) Hoo”k” breath : places the tone on the breath (coordinates the lower abdomen with the rib cage and strengthens the upper chest area so it doesn’t collapse while singing)

3) 5 seconds in, 5 seconds hold, 5 seconds hiss, 5 seconds empty 4) Circle Arm breath: it will increase breath capacity and help control expiration of air. 5) Haw”k” breath : This exercise helps the singer experience great support from the abdominal area as a result of the vocalization of the syllable.

H [ɔ] “k” H ɔ “k” H ɔ “k” H ɔ “k”

6) Hah-hay-hee-hoh-hoo Exercise: It will activate the lower abdominal muscles in order to develop support.

H[ɑ] H[e] H[ i ] H[o] H[u]

7) I, I, I Onsets and Releases Exercises: It will help to line up onsets evenly.

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8) Snuff zoh-zah-hum: These exercises will open up the nasal cavity and activate the lower abdomen. The lower abdomen springs out on the snuff, and one feels that it is activating the breath through each “oh,” “ah,” or “hum.”

Z[o]------------- Z[o]------------ Z[o]------------ Z[o]------------- Z[o]

Z[a]------------- Z[a]------------ Z[a]------------ Z[a]------------- Z[a]

H[ə]------------m H[ɔ]----------m H[ə]---------m H[ɔ]--------m H[ə]m

• Tongue/Jaw Coordination – Opening Vocal Tract

1) Hee-ah-ee-ah : Use “h” which is an aspirant and will take hold of lower abdominal area. This exercise connects tongue/jaw swing and extends breath capacity.

H [ i ] [ ɑ ] H [ i ] [ ɑ ] [ i ]

2) Kee-Kah-Kee: More advanced version of the previous warm-up.

K [i] K [ɑ] K [i] K[ɑ] K[i] K[i] K[i] [ɑ] [i] [ɑ][i] [ɑ] [i] [ɑ] [i] [ɑ]

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3) Lah-lay Exercises: These exercises will get the tongue and jaw to move together.

4) Nee and Nee-ay Exercises: These exercises are for freeing the tongue. They are also excellent for focusing the tone.

• Soft Palate

1) Ng – Hum : To extend both lower and upper ranges and bringing the tones

forward to focus them. It also bridges the voice over from one range to another. Find this tone by sustaining the “ng” of the word “hung.” Swing jaw as you begin descending. Ng-ee-ay-ah : More advanced version of previous warm-up. Works vowels evenly placed in “mask.”

[ŋ]----------------------------------------

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• Vowel Placement and Resonance

1) Flah-Flah-Nee: To promote the coordination of the jaw and tongue together. Watch that jaw drops straight down from the back, never jutting forward. (The tongue and jaw should always move together.) Watch that upper lip does not pull down on the “nee.” INSIDE SMILE. Modify the [ee] vowel to [ih = as in hit] vowel to open up pharyngeal area and resonate vowel better.

2) Flah-Flah-Ning-ah : (More advanced warm-up) This exercise is a development of the “flah-flah-nee” and is used for a more advanced study of focus and correct jaw and tongue action.

3) Hum-mah and Hum-may Exercises: They will train the jaw to swing freely,

coordinating the swing with the inside smile.

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4) Zay-luh-zah-luh : Be sure that the inside smile is present and that the jaw swings easily, but not too far on the first pitch. Allow it to swing more when going over the top of the third. If the tone is shrill or harsh, the back spaces are not open.

5) Zay-luh : Be sure that the inside smile is present and that the jaw swings easily, but not too far on the first pitch. Allow it to swing more when going over the top of the third. If the tone is shrill or harsh, the back spaces are not open.

6) Koo-Koo : Practice warm-up on staccato. Light and bouncy. When reaching

passagio; modify top-pitch vowel with a mix of [oh = as in toe] and [oo = as in shoe] to open spaces in pharyngeal area.

7) Ve-vah-ve-vah-ve-vah-ve: INSIDE SMILE, width across the mask. Jaw

swinging loosely at hinge. When reaching passagio (passage way into head voice); drop out all “v’s” except for the first “v.” Modify the top-pitch vowel with a mix of [a=as in hat] and [ah=as in aisle] to open spaces in the pharyngeal area.

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8) Waw-ee : Before attempting this exercise, one should do the first half of the wide snuff and say “waw.” Involve in the inside smile. Begin on middle C and one goes down as low as is comfortable, always being certain that the “waw” has the big wide snuff sensation before starting the tone. The “aw” feels as though it goes back up over the soft palate. On the decrescendo, the tone should be arched forward, with the back spaces open. The tone should never be pressed down.

9) Mah-Mah-Mah: Often in singing a text, the student will pull down the mask on the “m” consonant and will lose the inside smile. This exercise will correct this fault.

M[ɑ] M[ɑ] M[ɑ] 10) Ming Exercises: These exercises aid in the focusing of tone. They are also

excellent for getting the upper lip and the mask to work.

• Vowel Modification

Brings sung pitch and the resonance of vowels into their best

relationship.

[i] “ee” sound [I] “ih” sound [ɛ] “eh” sound

[u] “oo” sound [o] “oh” sound [ɔ] “aw” sound

[e] “ay” sound [ɛ] “eh” sound [æ] “a” sound

[ɑ] “ah” sound for “igh”[ɔɪ] “aw-ee” sound