Chorus

Course Description (in-person instruction)

  • Perform beginning, intermediate, and advanced level music in a traditional choir setting

  • Rehearse in class daily

  • Focus on fundamental and advanced vocal technique, sight-singing, and music reading

  • Voice parts will be determined in class:

      • Soprano

      • Alto

      • Tenor

      • Baritone/Bass

  • Concerts will take place throughout the school year

  • Students with a variety of years of experience are welcome!

Materials: (in-person instruction)

  • Pencil

  • Composition notebook (MYP "Process Journal")

  • Choral Music Folder (provided)

  • Sheet music (provided)

Solfege Hand Signs.pdf

Solfege Hand Signs

Class Recordings

(Practice Tracks for each piece are below warm-ups)

Winter Concert:

Concert Music is TBD

MCPS Festival + Music in the Parks:

Festival Music is TBD

Spring Concert:

Spring Concert Music is TBD

Warm-Ups

(Adapted from "The Choral Warm-Up Collection" compiled and edited by Sally K. Albrecht)

1. Breathing: Inhale slowly through the nose, pull the air down deep to the bottom of the stomach, blow air out as if blowing a feather (4 counts in, 4 counts out, 8 counts in, 8 counts out, etc.)

2. Humming: 3 ways to hum

      • m (lips tightly together and teeth apart)

      • n (lips open and tongue behind the teeth)

      • ng (drop the jaw to "ah" position and raise the back of the tongue to the soft palate)

Do-Re-Mi-Re-Do (8 reps, descending)

Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-Fa-Mi-Re-Do (8 reps, descending)

Do-Re-Mi-Re-Do (8 reps, ascending)

Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-Fa-Mi-Re-Do (8 reps, ascending)

3. Yawn Sighs: establish pitch on first beat, sing "oo" throughout sigh, descend 1 octave

Yawn Sighs (8 reps, ascending)

4. Lips Trills: 3 ways to trill

      • Vibrate lips (let lips remain loose, support with breath)

      • Zzzz

      • Vvvv

Lip Trills (8 reps, ascending)

7. Physical Round: Singers will concentrate and watch the leader carefully in 4/4 time. Keeping a steady rhythm, the leader touches a part of the body twice (1, 2) followed by the chorus (3, 4).

      • Leader: Head, head Chorus: Head, head

      • Leader: Shoulders, shoulders Chorus: Shoulders, shoulders

      • Leader: Hips, hips Chorus: Hips, hips

      • Leader: Knees, knees Chorus: Knees, knees

      • Leader: Eyes, eyes Chorus: Eyes, eyes

      • Leader: Ears, ears Chorus: Ears, ears

8. Diction, Breathing, Consonants: explode each consonant, loosen the mouth and tongue, wake up the diaphragm.

      • K K T T P P Shhh, K K T T P P Shhh, K K T T P P Shhh, etc.

[Note: use only the consonant sounds, start slow, increase tempo gradually.]

9. Vowels (4 Part Warm-Up)

      • Humming on "m" (lips together, large space between back teeth)

So-Fa-Mi-Re-Do (8 reps, ascending)

      • Humming on "n"

So-Fa-Mi-Re-Do (8 reps, ascending)

      • Dark, vertical vowels: "OO" 2 beats, so-fa (mouth in the shape of a dime), "OH" 2 beats, mi-re (nickel), "AH" 2 beats, do (quarter)

So-Fa-Mi-Re-Do (8 reps, ascending)

      • Bright, vertical vowels: "EE" 2 beats, so-fa (mouth in the shape of a dime), "EH" 2 beats, mi-re (nickel), "AY" 2 beats, do (quarter)

So-Fa-Mi-Re-Do (8 reps, descending)

11. Expanding Range - Scale in Thirds: float the head voice down to lower ranges, free and open tone with space in the mouth and rounded lips

      • Sing on "Whoo"

Descending Scale in Thirds (6 reps, ascending)

13. Warming Up Our Voices

      • Warming up our voices. Ready, set, let's go! Do re mi fa so la, so fa mi re do.

Warming Up Our Voices (6 reps, ascending)

14. Vowels - May mee mah mee: Try with a variety of consonants (in place of "m")

      • May mee mah mee moh mee moo mee, may mee mah mee moh mee moo mee, may mee mah mee moh mee moo mee, may mee mah mee moh mee moo mee, meeee.

May mee mah mee (6 reps, ascending, accelerating)

15. Staccato Vocalise: Keep it light! Use abdominal muscles to pulse the airflow, use "yah" to relax the jaw and "ha" to keep the voice free of tension

      • Yah ha ha ha ha

Do-Mi-So-Mi-Do (9 reps, ascending)

16. Basketball Warm-Up: to build a clear, free tone in the upper register. Use a mental picture of a basketball player at the free-throw line. Bounce, bounce, toss!

      • Sing on "Ah"

Basketball Warm-Ups in Octaves (8 reps, ascending)

17. Diction - Raisins and Cereal: emphasize consonant diction (t, s, d)

      • I will eat my raisins and my cereal today!

Raisins and Cereal (8 reps, ascending)

19. Vowels, articulation, and vibrato: relaxed, free tone

      • Ah ee ah ee ah ee ah ee, etc.

A - Descending Scale in Thirds (6 reps, ascending)

B - Alternating Thirds (10 reps, descending)

21. Alleluia: open vowels, phrasing (breathing), diction, intonation

      • Alleluia, sing alleluia. Alleluia, sing allelu!

Alleluia (5 reps, ascending)

22. Exhale as long as possible: Put your hands at your sides. Inhale fr 8 slow counts while raising your arms to shoulder level. Hold for 8 counts. Exhale on a hiss for a voiced zzz for as long as possible while lowering arms. Remember to breathe deeply and use the full breathing mechanism.

23. Sniff: Sniff 3 times (with proper stance). Hold for one second. Sniff 3 more times. Release a yawn sigh that originates in the head voice.

25. Whole, half, quarter, eighth, triplet, sixteenth: Reserve breath throughout this warm-up.

      • Using "tss" or "shh"

Whole,half, quarter, eighth, triplet, sixteenth

      • "Whole, half, half, quar-ter, quar-ter, eighth note, eighth note, eighth note, eighth note, tri-po-let, tri-po-let, tri-po-let, tri-po-let, six-teenth note and, six-teenth note and, six-teenth note and, six-teenth note and done.

With Pitches

26. Breath control and diaphragmatic movement: each consonant is a quarter note, except the last which will be held as a fermata.

      • Ff, Ss, Sh, Ff, Ss, Sh, Shhh (hold)

[Note: use only the consonant sounds, keep steady beat, extend fermata each performance (15 beats, 20, 25, 30).]

27. Breath control and flexibility: focus on breath control with this warm-up of triplets

      • Choose a vowel sound ("oo", "oh", "ah", "eh")

Triplet arpeggios (6 reps, ascending)

28. Breathing and range: improve breath control, stretch range, and develop skills in counting and singing intervals

      • A: One breath for every 2 measures

          • "Do re mi fa so fa mi re, do ti do ti do"

          • 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 7 1 7 1

Breathing and Range A (6 reps, ascending)

Breathing and Range A (6 reps, descending)

      • B: One breath for every 4 measures

          • "Do re mi fa so fa mi re, do re mi fa so fa mi re, do mi so mi do mi so mi, do ti do ti do"

          • 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 3 5 3 1 3 5 3 1 7 1 7 1

Breathing and Range B (6 reps, ascending)

Breathing and Range B (6 reps, descending)

      • C: One breath for every 6 measures

          • "Do re mi fa so fa mi re, do re mi fa so fa mi re, do mi so mi do mi so mi, do mi so mi do mi so mi, do ti do ti do ti do ti, do ti do ti do"

          • 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 3 5 3 1 3 5 3 1 3 5 3 1 3 5 3 1 7 1 7 1 7 1 7 1 7 1 7 1

Breathing and Range C (6 reps, ascending)

Breathing and Range C (6 reps, descending)

29. Vowels and dynamics: Transfer the resonance easily obtained on a hum (m) to vowels sounds. Perform on one breath. Crescendo OR decrescendo on "moo".

      • "Mah meh mee moh moo, mah meh mee moh moo, mah meh mee moh moo, mah meh mee moh moo"

Vowels and Dynamics (6 reps, ascending)

30. Vowels and intervals: Use pure vowels sounds throughout this warm-up. (For example: "eh", not "ay")

      • "Mee, meh, mah, moh, moo" (2 notes per vowel sound)

Vowels and Intervals (8 reps, ascending)

41. Diction with familiar melodies: Warm up the mouth and tongue performing the following melodies rhythmically on a consonant.

      • Consonants to try: T, K, F, S, CH, SH

Jingle Bells

Deck the Halls

Yankee Doodle

42. Diction and intervals: Involve the tongue, lips, and breath.

      • "Zoo-ma zoo-ma zoo-ma zoo-ma zoo"

      • "Zing-a zing-a zing-a zing-a zing"

Thirds descending (8 reps, ascending)

46. Oak oars: Think about diction, where do diphthongs occur?

      • "Are our oars oak?"

Are Our Oars Oak? (6 reps, ascending)

47. Diction and scales: Clear, crisp consonants, and clean intonation.

      • "B D F L M N P T V V V V, B D F L M N P T V V V V, B D F L M N P T V V V V, B D F L M N P T V V V"

[Note: Sing the letters, not the consonant sounds.]

Diction and Scales (3 reps, ascending)

48. Sing a little, tra la la: Use this exercise for work on diction. It may also be sung as a round

      • "Sing a little, sing a little, tra la la. Sing a little, sing a little, tra la la. Sing a little, sing a little, tra la la. Sing a little, sing a little, tra la la. Tra la la la la la la la la la."

      • "One-ee-and-a, two-ee-and-a, three and four, one-ee-and-a, two-ee-and-a, three and four, one-ee-and-a, two-ee-and-a, three and four, one-ee-and-a, two-ee-and-a, three and four, one-and-a, two-ee-and-a, three and four."

Sing a Little, Tra La La (3 reps, ascending)

49. Bumble Bee: Work on diction and recognizing intervals. "Bumble" - B places the tone forward on the lips and engages the diaphragm, UH vowel drops the jaw naturally and opens the throat, M increases resonance, BOOL encourages rounded lips (bum-bool)

      • "Bum-ble bee" (bee occurs over 2 quarter notes on a slur)

Bumble Bee

50. Show Me the Money: Stay with the steady beat and take a good breath on beat 6.

      • "Money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money"

Show Me the Money (6 reps, descending)

51. Trilla Trolla: Get the mouth moving with this warm-up which alternates between the lips and the tongue. Bring the L forward due to the quick tempo. Focus on bringing the head voice down into the lower register.

      • "Trilla trolla trilla trolla trilla trolla tra, trilla trolla trilla trolla trilla trolla tra."

      • "Prilla prolla prilla prolla prilla prolla pra, prilla prolla prilla prolla prilla prolla pra."

Trilla Trolla (6 reps, ascending)

52. Hippopotamus: Sing with energized breath (h).

      • "Hip hip hip hip hippopotamus."

Hippopotamus (8 reps, ascending)

53. Many Many Ming: Tongue twister for diction and flexibility. Helps to develop crisp enunciation and vocal agility.

      • "Many, many, many, many, ming, ming, ming, ming. What a pity, what a pity, what, what, what, what. Pickadilly, pickadilly, zah, zah, zah, zah. Bibbidy, bobbidy, bibbidy, bobbidy boo!"

Many Many Ming (4 reps, descending)

Concert Recordings 2018 - 2019

SCMS Music - Spring Concert - May 30 2019.mp4

Concert Recordings 2017 - 2018

534400784.738806.MP4
534637577.486538.MP4
534637012.498038.MP4