Summary
Objective
In choral performance, a wide variety of musical expression is required to deliver
the worldview of the work to the audience. Singers need to regulate their mind-body
to be in the optimal state, which includes relaxed concentration and flexible kinesthetic
controllability in sensation, expression, and vocalization, for the chorus. Therefore,
a choral warm-up focused on the mind-body could be crucial for various musical expressions.
However, what kind of warm-up helps the singer achieve the optimal condition for the
chorus remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of a warm-up method focusing
on breathing, physical movement, imagery, and the combination of those factors on
singing performance.
Method
Twenty-five choral singers were randomly assigned to five groups, and then singers
for each group online conducted one of five warm-up conditions (breathing / stretching
/ imagery work / all works / control) and performed singing tasks to evaluate singing
performance, including sensation, expression, and vocalization, both subjectively
and objectively. Changes in mood were also measured using the second edition of the
Profile of Mood States.
Results
The results showed that the warm-up with imagery work or all works could objectively
and subjectively enhance singing performance. By contrast, the warm-up with breathing
or stretching did not significantly improve performance, but did enhance subjective
evaluations in general. In addition, no significant correlations were found between
the objective performance evaluations and changes in individual mood.
Conclusions
These results suggest that a warm-up focusing on mind-body interventions, especially
imagery work, may enhance choral performance, thereby providing new insight for the
establishment of more effective choral warm-up methods.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 22, 2022
Accepted:
August 19,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
