vowels

7 ideas for warming up the choir

Years ago I had a very experienced choral singer come up to me in Cantala and tell me that I spend a lot of time on warming up and inquired "isn't there an urgency to get to rehearsing the repertoire?".

Warming up the choir

Everyone seems to come to choir exhausted. It’s the end of their work day and while I know they are looking forward to creating music, their sense of listening and often also their vocal apparatus are fatigued. They are ready for the couch and some tv, but you are asking them to get up, smile and sparkle. Warming up the choir is an important transition from tired work day to musical brilliance.

The ABC's of Singing

One time I was asked if vowels were important in singing. I replied “vowels are like green vegetables in our diets: they are essential!”. This may seem obvious, but it’s important to understand the role vowels have in singing and how they are produced.

Vibrato + Choral Sound: Friends or Foes?

The gold standard of remarkable choral sound is unified sound. No one would dispute that. However, how to achieve this goal is not unified among conductors.