Warm Ups That Leave Them Wanting More

I love discovering new songs I can use in warm ups.

In fact, I introduce a brand new warm up almost every week in my classroom.

But, I don't just sing it once and move on. Oh, no.... there's a an art to introducing it, singing it, getting the MOST out of it, and then leaving it just at the right time so that they'll be happy when you return to that particular warm up.

Yes, there is definitely a place for routine exercises that establish consistency and good habits.

But this is different. This is part of a positive expectancy that energizes your rehearsal and your singers.

To help explain the process, I'll share the details about the newest (to me) warm up that I brought into rehearsal.

I found the warm up "Let's Sing Together" somewhere in a reel one day. (This isn't even the video I first saw - but it's definitely the same song.) I immediately knew I wanted to do this at the beginning of the school year with my singers. It's syncopated. It's catchy. It's a canon. It has body percussion. It's about singing! What's not to love?

Here's my process laid out by day:

Day 1.

1. I sang the first three phrases and asked the singers to identify which phrase went up at the end

2. Echo/sing that phrase.

3. I will sing the first 2 phrases, you sing the third.

4. Which phrase goes down at the end? Repeat process.

5. Add in first phrase with echoes, then unison, until they're comfortable with all three phrases.

6. Add "stomp stomp" on the (1 2 3 4) AND 1 right before they sing each phrase.

7. Praise and move on.

Day 2.

1. Review the first three phrases

2. Sing 'Let's sing together now" and ask them what's different about that phrase.

3. Echo/sing that phrase.

4. Add in clap clap "Not To-" clap clap "Mor-row" for measure 4.

5. Do the entire song w/ stomps and claps.

Day 3.

1. Sing all the way through in unison

2. Break into 2- 3 sections and do in canon

Day 4.

1. Add body percussion in the last measure. (I did eighth notes beginning with beat 1 following the last word "now": clap, shoulder shoulder, tummy, tummy, leg, leg")

2. Practice singing "Let's sing together now" + body percussion a few times at a slow pace.

3. Pick up the tempo

4. Add in the stomps at the end

5. Go straight into the song w/ all body percussion

Day 5:

1. Sing the entire thing in canon

2. Do the entire song in unison without singing any of the words.

3. Do the song two times in a row: One w/ vocals and one without.

4. Do it that way in canon (2-3 parts).

For future use: You could use this in so many ways! Arrange as an opener, like the The Children's Voice Studio did in the video clip, use it as a teaching tool at a recruiting event, record it for parents/teachers.

I'll bring this back in a week or two and take it to the next level with some dynamics.

Always leave your singers wanting more! Stop using a warm up before they're tired of it! If it's still "new" to them, they sing with more energy and engagement. I love when I move on and I hear "Oh....we're done with it already?" or we dismiss class and I hear "What? Class is over already?" Yep. And, my favorite is when I bring back a warm up from a few weeks or months ago, and they yell "yay!!", "I love this one!".

Give them bite size pieces of success. You want them feeling confident and safe, but not "full" - you want them to want more.

Being intentional with our warm up plan - even with each specific warm up - can build a lot of momentum and engagement in the rehearsal. When they're loving it and you're loving it, the whole vibe changes and wonderful magic happens.

Here's to those new warm ups!

• Teresa

P.S. If you're looking for ways to power up your warm up routine, check out my Power Warm Up Course!