Join in with Nigel's short vocal warm-up
Join Nigel for a short warm-up before singing. The warm-up consists of shaking arms, legs, whole bodies, loosening the tongue and repeating the phrase 'Hello! How are you? Very well! Thank you!'
Other warm-up activities
It is sensible to warm-up before each session. As well as Nigel's short vocal warm-up you could try some of the following activities:
Vowels
- Sing up and down a scale to the numbers 1 to 8, using B played on a chime bar as a starting note. Ask pupils to omit a number (eg ‘4’) and sing it silently in their heads and challenge them to pitch the following note (‘5’) correctly.
- Develop by changing the number omitted and increasing the omissions.
- Sing down a scale to ‘Do you chew blue glue?’ or ‘We three bees need trees’ or ‘Chocolate and banana sponge’ or other suitable combinations.
- After singing down from C’ - C, start the next scale one note higher and continue getting higher.
Tongue-twisters
- Say - or sing as four vowels - ‘Red lorry, yellow lorry; red leather, yellow leather’.
Other things to keep in mind when singing include:
Posture
- Encourage children to stand tall, knees loose and feet apart.
The singing face
- Encourage pupils to lift their face muscles by smiling.
- Humming phrases of songs will also encourage an unforced, well-blended sound.
Breathing
- Encourage the children to imagine an inflatable ring around the waist. Breathe in silently through the mouth, causing the ring to inflate all the way round the middle. Hold - and then release the air slowly.
