warm-ups

How to Develop Children's Singing Voices in Choir

How to Develop Children's Singing Voices in Choir

If you go to the grocery store or the park or Target, you’re likely to hear it - the sound of a small child singing a song they know by heart (often looping through a favorite section over and over). “The impulse to move, speak, sing, and play rhythmically is a natural and vital part of being human” (source). But, if it’s not encouraged and nurtured from an early age, children can “forget how to sing.” 

How do you help them rediscover their singing voices? 
How do you develop it and teach them to sing in a choir? 
Where do you start?

In today’s post, I’m walking you through the ins and outs of developing children’s singing voices in a choir setting - from vocal exploration to developing choral musicianship. Let’s get started!

Exploring the Voice

This is a vital step in the process. Give children numerous opportunities in rehearsals to explore what their voices can do. This helps them build coordination and gain control of their voice, develop an understanding of the voice and what it means to sing, and build confidence.

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Breathing Exercises for Choirs of All Ages

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Breathing Exercises for Choirs of All Ages

Breathing is a vital component of singing.

But the way we breathe when singing is different than the way we breathe in everyday life, requiring us to use our respiratory muscles in new and different ways.

The goal when singing is to have breath control and good breath support.

Breath control means being able to inhale quickly and exhale slowly throughout the phrase while maintaining good posture. (source)

Breath support means using other muscles (e.g. abdomen, back) to support the work of the lungs and foster better tone production and the ability to sing longer phrases. (source)

The Ultimate Guide to Children's Choir Warm-Ups

The Ultimate Guide to Children's Choir Warm-Ups

Warm-ups are an important part of the choral-singing experience. Just like in sports, the voice is a muscle that must be stretched and "warmed-up" before active use, but warm-ups also provide an opportunity to focus at the beginning of rehearsal and concentrate on breath support, tone production, and resonance. Choral warm-ups are a great way to prepare new musical concepts (intervals, phrasing, melodic patterns, etc.), support vocal development, and foster the development of individual and collective musicianship.

"Warm-ups are where you teach your choir how to sing." - Josh Pedde, Indianapolis Children's Choir

Today, I'm sharing a comprehensive warm-up sequence geared toward young singers with tons of exercises and ideas for movement, breath, vocal exploration, tone production, vowels, energy and breath support, and diction. Happy singing!

50 Awesome Choral Warm-Ups for Church Choirs

50 Awesome Choral Warm-Ups for Church Choirs

Vocal warm-ups are an important part of singing, but they offer many other benefits in a choral setting. Choral warm-ups are an important and powerful tool to get your group singing together with a good tone, resonance, and proper breath support (source). Plus, there are many ways to include pedagogy and teaching in these first few minutes of the rehearsal that will save you time later.

Warm-ups are often an after-thought in rehearsal planning and many choirs tend to do the same batch of exercises every week. There's nothing wrong with this, per se, but if you spend just a few minutes thoughtfully planning warm-ups that prepare concepts from the repertoire, warm-ups become a valuable teaching tool. There are several benefits to this approach:

Your choir will be more engaged. By mixing up the warm-up exercises each week, you offer your choir a new challenge every time they come to rehearsal. They will likely pay more attention and be more engaged while singing.

You will spend less time introducing new pieces. By preparing new concepts in the warm-ups (e.g. triple meter or vowel placement or a melodic phrase), your choir will be practicing a challenging spot from a new piece without even realizing it!

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