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Building the Adolescent Voice Part A Breathing, Breathing, Breathing! Teaching proper breathing technique is crucial to healthy vocal development. A supported voice has flexibility and freedom and can easily stretch and build the vocal range. Lie on the floor and identify the five different points of breathing – Rule of Opposites Stomach vs Low Back Chest vs Upper Back Right Side vs Left Side Curl up into a ball and breathe into lower back. This restricts the stomach from over-extending and engages the rest of the breathing apparatus. Cow/Cat Stretch Get into hands and knees position Inhale while arching the back up as a cat stretching Exhale while collapsing the back and swinging the hips through the arms while mooing. Shoulder Stretch On hands and knees, breathe in On the exhale, bring one arm under the body and try to touch the shoulder to the floor. Repeat on the other side. Hanging Upside Down with Greeting Bending at the waist, keep the arms, knees, and head loose Twist slightly to the right and greet your right foot Twist slightly to the left and greet your left foot Take a big breath in and get a little closer to the floor and greet the floor Chair Bridging Exercise Sit in a chair and lean forward, placing the elbows on the knees. Support head on hands and breathe by releasing the collarbone and isolating the back muscles. Vacuum Exercise While bending over, push all of the air out of the body on a “sh” – be aggressive! It’s not about the length of the “sh” but instead more about getting rid of the air When you get to the bottom and the air is gone, don’t breathe. Stand up, find strong posture, don’t breathe Breathe by allowing the throat to open and focusing on one of the five points of breathing to avoid gasping for air. This is a great exercise to use in rehearsal of a piece. There are three main physiological issues that restrict breath management that should constantly be addressed in the course of a rehearsal. 1. Tongue Placement 2. Lip Tension 3. Chin Position The tongue is one of the strongest muscles in the body and REALLY likes to help, especially when breath flow isn’t well-developed. When the tongue pulls back, it blocks the flow of air and creates tension in the vocal mechanism. The tongue should live in the bottom of the mouth, with the tip touching the teeth and the root of the tongue loose. Exercises to Release the Tongue: Singing with the tongue outside the mouth Hands on neck, thumb on chin Singing while massaging the root of the tongue with the thumb Opposites demonstration – can you feel the difference? The more the tongue can release, the clearer and more articulate the sound will be Even if the tongue is free and lying flat in the bottom of the mouth, the lips can still engage and pull down , blocking the flow of breath and cutting off the overtones while singing. Happy Kitty Whiskers = Happy Depressor Muscles Vowel Shape Mirror Exercise Grapes and Raisins Singing Through the Oh Breathing Through the Vowel Many times, when the tongue is pulled back, or the lips pulled down or back, the chin is engaged and is lifted quite high, especially when young singers are trying to reach higher notes. Hands on neck, thumbs on chin Partner singing holding the sides of the head Partner singing from the back with hand on head Thumb on chin, pinky on chest Opposites exercise – can you feel the difference? When the chin is too lifted, it compresses the flow of air through the larynx and compresses the vocal mechanism, restricting the flow of air and creating a tight, locked sound. Major Scales – can also be sung on vowels Major Arpeggios – can also be sung on vowels Placement, Placement, Placement! Many popular teaching books for music educators cater to the teacher and not the singer. These songs and exercises are often too low! Healthy vocal development relies on the use and development of head voice, mixed voice, and chest voice. Developing a balanced voice is key. Sirens Laughing Monkey Sounds Boomerang – don’t forget to catch it! Sighs from below, not just above Sliding fifths on “m” Sliding octaves while flubbing The augmented second of the harmonic minor scale is a great stretch that forces the singer to access an alternate register. Major Third Exercise again allows access to a different register via the fourth. The melodic minor scale also develops agility as well as aural skills and encourages freedom of the voice in both ascending and descending passages. It becomes more challenging when sung on a single vowel, with the back vowels of ah and oh more difficult than the front vowels ee and ay. The minor arpeggio is also good to develop agility as it forces the singer to deal with a large interval higher up in the range. This can also be sung on vowels. Intent, Intent, Intent! When a singer is able to communicate the meaning of the text, without schmacting, they understand intent. Singers must have the dramatic thought, breathe the intent, and sing the emotion. When studying repertoire, agree as group on the emotions throughout the piece and practice breathing in the emotion. Zoh! Make up various words and deliver them at various pitches, having the choir echo you. Incorporate different expressions and dramatic intentions. Have your singers lead the exercise. Sing it like a…. Cheerleader, Country Singer, Opera Singer…. Make it sound…. Happy, Perky, Encouraging, Sad, Sympathetic Practice, Practice, Practice! One of the main things singers struggle with when sight reading is keeping track of the tonic and dominant notes. Exercises which help singers feel the pull of the tonic are helpful in developing reading ability. Interval Exercise Building the Scale – can also be sung as a round After the choir has the exercise figured out, start leaving out various notes. Alternating Arpeggios – start by singing a major arpeggio, then sing the same arpeggio in the tonic minor. You could also change the pattern every time by calling out minor or major (or dominant seventh) and then playing the root of the chord. Chromatic Scales are incredibly difficult to sing but they are great for teaching singers to feel the difference between rising semitones and falling semitones. Move, Move, Move! It is easy to allow the voice to work without total body connection. This often results in a light, breathy tone, or a pushed, strained tone. Any time singers are allowed to move to develop the muscle memory of connection of voice and body will help singers develop greater depth of sound. Boot Camp Jumping Jacks Push Ups Sit Ups Bicycle Sits Planks Arm Circles and Twisty Turnies Singing Upside Down 1234 Arm/Leg shakes Hand Consonants Movements do not have to be elaborate – arm movements, bending of the knees, kicking the legs, flailing the arms, anything to get the body moving are all great additions to the choral rehearsal. Beyond Singing: Blueprint for the Exceptional Choral Program by Stan McGill and Elizabeth Volk Choral Charisma: Singing with Expression by Tom Carter Bumblebee!: Rounds & Warm-Ups for Choirs by Michael Griffin Building the Youth Choir: Training and Motivating Teenage Singers by John Yarrington How Does Your Choir Grow? By David F Donathan RCM Voice Syllabus One of the best resources in Alberta for choral music and resources is the Alberta Choral Federation. Workshops Works grants for clinics Choralfest and Evaluator Shadowing Music Conference Alberta Alberta Youth Choir and Alberta Children’s Choir Library rentals www.albertachoralfederation.ca