Choral Warm-up, The

This text by James Jordan summarizes his 25 years of experience teaching and reinforcing healthy vocal technique for choirs at all levels of development. The book is a comprehensive guide to the teaching of vocal technique through the choral warm-up that he has presented to thousands of choral directors in workshops across the country. Philosophy, teaching procedures, and specific exercises are presented in the text. Among the topics included are: alignment (using Alexander Technique and Body Mapping principles), use of the sigh for diagnosing vocal problems, breathing, inhalation, exhalation, support, resonance, vowel colors, leaps, range extension, crescendo/decrescendo, martellato, staccato, procedures for teaching diction plus general diction guidelines, teaching and reinforcing rhythm and consistent tempo, and strategies for good intonation. This is a comprehensive vocal guide for choral directors. Accompaniment CD included. The Choral Warm-Up is designed to: help conductors plan and implement efficient choral warm-ups, build healthy voices within the choral rehearsal, provide vocalises that have accompaniments complete with modulations upward and downward, and categorize vocalises according to specific vocal objectives.