Rebecca Dias

Vocal Development Exercises

Secondary Praxis, Summer 1, 2015

1. Energizing, motivating, focusing

a. Body Percussion, call and response between teacher and students
b. Play chord and have students find the root, third, fifth, or non-chord tone
2. Posturing and aligning
a. Bend over at the waist and stack vertebrae, adding a stacking motion with
the hands
b. Have students stand in a line, facing one direction. Each student places
one hand on the rib
cage of the student in front of them, and the other hand
on the shoulder of the student in front of them. Relaxed shoulders, lifted rib cage
3. Inhaling, exhaling, and supporting
a. Sip in through a straw, hold the breath, and exhale through the straw
b. Big Dog Breaths, Small Dog Breaths
c. Hoberman Sphere to demonstrate low, expansive breath
d. Shout Sing across the football field
4. Breathing In Context
a. Melismatic vocal runs: s f m r d r m f s l t d t l s f m r d r m f s l t d r d t l s f
mrd
e-----

E Eh Ah Oh Oo Oh Ah Eh E (x2)

b. Singers have to stagger breath, as conductor holds up cards for them to

sing different chords.
They may choose which chord tone they would like to
sing, but may not have an audible breath
between chords.
5. Opening the Vocal Tract
a. Do Re Mi Fa So Fa Mi Re Do - Hum on the way up, open to Oo on Sol
b. Sigh that begins in the Vocal Fry, goes into upper register, and back to
Vocal Fry

6. Producing Tone that is healthy in all registers

a. Do Ti La So Fa Mi Re Do Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do on "Vee", making sure to
phonate the "V"
and concentrating the vowel
b. Ming Ming Ming Ming Ming
7. Extending the upper and lower range
a. Whoop di Doo, Whoop di Doo, Whoop di Doo - Very light and bouyant, no
weight
S

S D(high)

b. Zing Ee, Zing Oh, Zing Ah -ah-ah- ah

D

S M

Do S M D

8. Pacing cresendi and descendi

a. The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring, Bring Promise of Merry Sunshine
D D M S D* S M D

D D M S D* S M D - on mezza

di voce
9. Creating Unified Vowels
a. Hands on face to make "Scream" and sing Ah Eh Ee Oh Oo, on one pitch
b. Use spectogram to find vowels that are least resonant, and troubleshoot
with choir to make resonances even (will be accomplished by unifying vowels)
10. Modifying vowels
a. The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring, Bring Promise of Merry Sunshine
D D M S D* S M D
D D M S D* S M D - as the pitch
gets higher, relax the
jaw and allow the voice to be free- do not worry about the
consonants and open the vowels
b. Do Ti La So Fa Mi Re Do Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do on "Vee", making sure to
phonate the "V"
and concentrating the vowel. When it gets too low, switch to Ah
to effectively drop into chest
voice
11. Singing in legato and articulated styles
a. Ah Eh Ee Oh Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
D

D D D -R-M-R-D

first four are staccato, and Oos are legato

b. Flee Fly Floo Floh

S M D M S-D-M-S-D, all are staccato except Floo and Floh
12. Using body, face, voice expressively
a. Play Major or Minor keys, and use body to express what emotion it might
convey
b. "I love to Sing, I sigh for Spring" trying to make a marked expressive
change between the two
13. Rhythmic Consonants
a. Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
D

R R M

M S

MM

D D

b. Mama made me mash my M&Ms, I'm Mad

D

S D

14. Dynamic Resonance

a. Zing Ee, Zing Oh, Zing Ah -ah-ah- ah
D

S M

Do S M D

b. Open mouth hum to Ah, on one pitch

c. Ding, Ding, Ding, Ah. Boys on first Ding (D), Altos on second ding ( mi) Sops
on third ding, (S), all open to ah, which is mezza di voce
15. Singing phrases with forward motion
a. Ding, Ding, Ding, Ah. Boys on first Ding (D), Altos on second ding ( mi)
Sops on third ding, (S),
all open to ah, which is mezza di voce
b. Ne, Voo, Ne Voo Ne Voo Ne (DRD, SLS, DRMRD) Making the energy move
through the higher middle section to the last notes.