Nicolle Brower

Mr. White

CP English 12

10/7/16

Senior Project Research Paper

The key to having an amazing and successful concert is being prepared and capable of

singing the music. A very beneficial technique to doing so is to practice vocal warmups and

exercises. In order to accomplish this, a choir must understand the purpose of vocal warmups,

put these warm ups into practice, identify any issues the choir has, and learn how these issues

can be resolved through warm ups.

Vocal exercises are used to benefit performance and prevent injury. For vocal exercises

to beneficial, it is vital that the choir understands the purpose of each exercise. For example, Dr.

Christopher Arneson explains that lip trills are good for developing breath support while staccato

exercises using voiced consonants helps increase singers awareness of placement. There are

also specific warm ups that can help resolve any issues a choir is having. For example, if a choir

is having trouble staying in tune, singing intervals can be extremely beneficial.

Having the ability to stay in tune is a very important ability for a choir to have. Some

people naturally have an easier time with intonation than others, however there are many ways

to solve this issue. Firstly, there is repetition; weve all heard the saying practice makes

perfect, in order to master something we need to practice it over and over again. Repetition

exercises such as holding a note while changing vowels and ascending in half steps can

improve pitch accuracy. Secondly, there is muscle memory; after repeatedly singing a certain
note, your larynx and pharynx eventually remember what singing that note feels like. Memory

exercises such as singing intervals can help develop muscle memory of where a note sits in

your voice. Lastly, there is imitation; unconsciously, our voice will mimic instruments were

singing with. Listening to the music youre learning is a good way of ensuring youll sing it

correctly in the end.

Overall, the most important thing is that the members of the choir understand the

exercises, and want to put in the time and effort to do them and improve their sound. This

research shows how to ensure the members understand through clear explanations. With the

use of all these techniques, I hope to produce a successful fall choir concert.
 Works Cited

"Vocal Warm Up Exercises - NYEE." New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai,

2016.

Gagne, Jeannie. "The Woodshed: Improving Vocal Pitch Accuracy." Berklee College of

Music, 2012.

Arneson, Christopher. A Basic Guide to Vocal Exercises for Beginning Singing

Teachers. Rider University, 2016.

Freer, Patrick K. "Choral Warm-Ups for Changing Adolescent Voices." Georgia State

University, 2009.

Aldrich, Nicole. "Teaching Registration in the Mixed Choral Rehearsal: Physiological and

Acoustical Considerations." University of Maryland, 2011.