the trouble with vocal warmups for a group is that everyone in that group
probably sings differently. even the ones who sing 'wrong' have built some
faith into that 'wrong' way and, if they are going to go into their
performance with confidence, a warmup has to support that 'wrong' way, not go
against it. exercises that are simple and take place mostly in the lower
and middle ranges probably won't violate anyone's notion of how they sing
and, it will get their vocal muscles warmed.
as far as non-vocal warmups are concerned, you can either do the same
thing everytime or, you can vary it according to your instinct for the needs
of the group. in the case of the former, if the warmups have been
succesful, the group may develope some superstitious attachment for them and
look for empowerment from them on a day when confidence is low. varying the
warmups according to the group dynamic would allow you to counteract
'negative' trends in the group. on a day when everyone is gloomy and
lack-luster, a game of 'tag' can turn that around (or, make everyone want to
kill you). on a day when everyone is so up they have no focus, some kind of
group meditation (i almost wrote 'medication' by accident) can help get them
focused again.
but, a warmup is just a warmup. you can't change the history of musical
theatre with a few stretches and a couple of 'la, la, las'. so, i wouldn't
worry about it too much.
mike
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