May 7, 2010

Warm-ups! Use them for skills development

by Tim Fitzpatrick, R & S Chair for Women's Choruses

Choral conductors assign repertoire to teach many different concepts: expressive singing, stylistic awareness, tonal variety, vocal technique, rhythmic and harmonic discipline, ear training, music literacy, historical and multicultural perspectives, and so on. Every piece we teach presents a different set of challenges. Warm-ups should be utilized to reinforce desired learning outcomes and skills development necessary to achieve a satisfying musical experience.

Here are some ideas about how warm-ups can be conceived by drawing directly from the repertoire:

"Gloria" from Gloria D Major (Vivaldi) The dotted rhythm of the first choral entrance becomes a wonderful warm-up for fostering a light “belly marcato” when sequenced up or down a diatonic scale: “GLO -ri-a” [d,r,m,r,d]. The same choral entrance also features a nice SATB voicing of a D major chord which could be used as an exercise in tuning and chord balance when sequenced up or down by half-steps. For a more complex tuning exercise, chromatically sequence the I-I6/4-V-I  cadence found in last two measures of the chorus part: “Gloria in excelsis Deo.”

"He, watching over Israel" from Elijah (Mendelssohn). The opening theme of this chorus would be an excellent warm-up for intermediate to advanced choir. The four-bar theme demands superb breath control and an excellent legato, provides a lovely line for musical shaping, and contains a shift (D up to F#) that is great for smoothing out register changes, particularly in tenors and sopranos.
 
"See dat Babe" Christmas spiritual (arr. Stacey V. Gibbs). The opening unison statement of the melody is readily adaptable as a warm-up exercise. This 8 measure tune is enjoyable to sing and perfect for creating the proper vocal weight, color for a spiritual. Elements such as diction and subtle stylistic scooping can be incorporated into this warm-up as well; it is a great opportunity to sing and tune in the minor mode!

"A Boy and A Girl" (Eric Whitacre). Finding the right balance, tone, and good intonation to produce a beautiful Whitacre shimmer is a huge challenge in this piece.  There are so many ways that one can extract warm-ups from pieces such as this. For tuning, balance and blend, sing the opening chord on pure vowels [root, 5th, 2nd 3rd] and move in parallel motion up the diatonic scale [d,r,m …] or, for a greater challenge, move around by intervals [up a m3, up a whole step, down a whole step]. Extract any of the more complex “cluster chords” (mm. 16, 21, 40 etc.) and create tuning and balance exercises by singing the single chord and adding or subtracting the dissonant notes to teach the make-up of the harmony to the choir.   Create random cluster chords; establish desired tone and vowel uniformity by doing what is called a diatonic smear. Have the choir sing a descending major, minor or modal scale (on a neutral vowel, solfege, or numbers), directing each singer to choose a random scale degree upon which to stop, making sure that all eight scale degrees are represented by the time the tonic is reached. Have the singers take a breath and re-sing their randomly selected pitches on a series of beautiful vowels. The resulting cluster chord (smear) can be quite beautiful. Its novelty tends to draw singers focus into the sound of the vowel and the color of the cluster - achieving a very Whitacrean aesthetic.

Coda
For variety's sake, get away from the piano when doing warm-ups, or teach student pianist how to accompany warm-ups so that you can focus more intensely on the sound of the choir. Try doing simple rounds to establish sectional or choral blend. Even diatonic melodies that are not specifically rounds can be treated as such. For example, I use the plainchant "O Come, O Come Emanuel" on a neutral vowel, each section entering at the distance of four notes.

Folk melodies based on the pentatonic scale work very well as fugal warm-ups ( Pre-existing melodies also provide a great opportunity to develop expressive singing, legato and shaping of line). Ask a competent section leader or assistant conductor to lead warm-ups so that you can observe your singers' body language, posture and vocal production. Space permitting, get out of traditional block formation and try warming up in a large circle, or in sectional mini-circles.

Call or email me to share your great warm-ups ideas!

Sincerely,

Tim Fitzpatrick,
Assistant Professor of choral Music/Vocal Education
Western Washington University
Timothy.Fitzpatrick@wwu.edu
360-650-7290

Put the Speaking Voice in the Singing Place!
by Tim Fitzpatrick, R&S Chair for Women's Choirs

August, 2009

Whether working with young beginners or collegiate level vocal majors, in order to develop resonance, beautiful vowels, easier register adjustments and more expressive singing, I often ask singers to “put the speaking voice in the singing place” when speaking text  in rhythm or simply speaking it at a  medium slow chant.

When speaking in rhythm, I ask all singers to use their  head register, or upper adjustment, being as expressive as possible, emphasizing the space in the vowels with exaggerated vowels and relatively light consonants. This is a great way for inexperienced singers to access and strengthen a register they seldom use in everyday speech patterns.

Before doing vowel unification exercises [a, ε, i, o, u]  in warm-ups, I like to have singers do “wheelies” or “sirens” especially on [u or o], from  the top to bottom, or bottom to top of their vocal range while maintaining free and tall vowels through the registers.

I have appropriated this (all my best ideas are borrowed from somebody!) from a notable Seattle area teacher - who probably borrowed it from someone else - the practice of “doing Swedish” on text at a medium slow tempo with equal stress on all syllables. Each vowels is given the same duration, started in the middle adjustment, and with a very sustained legato portamento, is slid into upper adjustment. Great care is given to ensuring that each vowel is carefully placed with an equal measure of resonance and  ring.

To do this successfully requires proper breath support and a carefully managed release during phonation. Visually speaking, the effect of the exercise is like a thick colorful line that makes repeated upward loops - a  continuous vocal spiral from  the middle to upper register. This exercise does wonders for ‘mapping’ proper  resonance and support as the benefits of the “Swedish” exercise are transferred to the music.

I encourage singers to rethink their speech patterns in ways that are more beneficial to their singing voices, more expressive and effectual in communication. and healthier for the longevity of their voices. Men, particularly young baritones and emerging tenors, are encouraged to modulate their voices upward and out of the low monotone “cool and chillin'" range that so many young males gravitate toward.

All women, especially sopranos are reminded to ‘re-pitch’ their speech patterns so that they lie closer to the range in which they sing, rather than that of the ‘smoky-voiced FM announcer’. In general all singers are asked to ‘take the weight of the voice off the vocal folds’ and put the speaking voice in the singing place!

Tim Fitzpatrick Assistant Professor of choral Music, WWU and Women’s R & S WA State ACDA
Timothy.Fitzpatrick@wwu.edu

The Keyboard in the Choral Rehearsal
By Tim Fitzpatrick, WWU Choral Music Professor

The piano plays an important role in the choral rehearsal environment, from fledgling elementary and middle school, to advanced collegiate levels. Regardless of the degree to which you rely upon it, the piano can enhance or detract from the quality of your rehearsal.

Listed below are random musings/ observations taken from my own experience as both choral conductor and pianist. These ideas are borrowed from a session entitled, The Dynamic Duo: Conductor and Accompanist, to be presented at the 2009 MENC Conference in Spokane.

Position your upright so that the soundboard faces the choir. If it is larger than a spinet, consider a small stool that will elevate you so that you can easily see your choir over the top. Open the lid on your upright if it has a hinged top. This will enhance the sound of the piano for your singers, allowing a fuller spectrum of overtones to be heard. This makes it easier to your choristers to discriminate between lower and higher pitches. This is especially important for uprights in poor condition..

If you have a grand, try to avoid using it as a desktop. The more you pile things on your instrument the worse it sounds. If possible open the lid to the ‘small stick’ so that the sound improves.

When using the piano to give pitches, teach parts, or reinforce vocal lines in rehearsal, always play as musically as possible, especially if the instrument is in poor condition. Trying to compensate for an instrument’s muffled tone, or lack of volume usually results in an aural model that is more difficult to process. If your wrists and/or forearms are tired at the end of your rehearsal, you may be a candidate for early-stage tendonitis. Playing louder does not improve the singer’s ability to hear the correct pitches.

Draw singers attention with light, musical touch. Avoid the expression and practice of “pounding out the parts.” The louder one attempts to play, the more passively students tend listen. Try being more subtle with your touch and ask your singers to "turn up the volume” of their listening.

Even a piano in poor condition can be played in such a way that it sounds decent. Every instrument has its limits. Discover what they are.

When using the piano to assist warm-ups, try changing the voicing of ‘cue chords’ when exercising the choir up or down chromatically. Instead of using root position triad, play and open fifth with the left hand and play only the third with the right hand. This 'clarifies' the chord by providing richer overtones.

Stop doubling your choir’s vocalises as soon as they are singing them accurately. Reinforce the new tonic with a light staccato chord and get "out of the way" of the choir’s sound. This makes it much easier to assess the tone and pitch accuracy of your choir. It also forces them to listen more carefully; to listen "internally" rather than matching the "external" cues that are coming from the instrument.

As soon as your choir is able, try eliminating the piano from your warm-up routine. Give the ensemble an opportunity to train the ear and develop a sense of tonic, relative pitch memory, and tuning on ascending and descending chromatic scales.
           
The ideal model  is a vocal model. Use your voice as much as possible to model good singing. Find your vocal comfort level and sing from it. You do not have to be a voice major.  Even a single pitch model of a nicely rounded vowel is an effective teaching tool. Occasionally, try using a student to model a concept that your voice may not be able to demonstrate. As a male, I do this quite often when working with my female ensembles.
                         
Position the piano in performance so that, first, the choir can hear it and, second, the audience can hear it. For uprights, position on the right or left side of the ensemble and aim the sound board diagonally to the opposite side of the choir.

For grands, position stage left in front of the ensemble, lid on full stick if possible, and aim diagonally across the group. In our hall, my choirs report being able to hear the piano much better when the lid is removed. The sound of the instrument becomes more omni-directional. One can position the piano in the center of the formation. This is especially helpful for larger choral ensembles. 

If you find this information helpful and wish to explore the topic further, please consider attending the above mentioned session at the MENC conference in Spokane. If you have helpful tips of your own, or have contrasting ideas to share, please contact Tim Fitzpatrick at 360-650-7290, or email Timothy.Fitzpatrick@wwu.edu