Warmups that Are Actually Fun

There are a million and one warm-ups you can do on a daily basis, and there are many fun warm-ups you can make-up if you want. But why spend the time creating one when you can just pick from a list of proven awesome ones?

I have used these in my time as a middle school and high school choir teacher, a voice class teacher, and as a one-on-one voice teacher. A lot of these fun warm-ups break the ice for your choir, reveal cool harmonies, make your mind really think, or just let you revel in the beauty of two complimentary lines.

I can’t guarantee that you will like all of them, but hopefully you can find a few fun ones to add your usual warm-up list.

Who Are These Best For?

These warm-ups are great for individuals who take voice lessons, for small groups, and for large choirs, too! So, really everyone.

There will be a few partner singing songs that will require at least two people, so some of the magic of these will not work for solo singers who are warming up alone.

Fun Warm-ups – Here We Go!

Zing-a-Mama

A classic warm-up that I don’t even remember where I learned it. I just know I’ve known it pretty much all of my choir days. I like this one for its zingy quality, the ability to add some physical actions to it, and how it helps keep your voice resonating towards the front of your face.

Yes, I Like to Sing

This may be considered a slight tongue-twister type warm-up at first, but in it really is just using the same word on different notes each sequence.

The confused looks and laughter at the first few attempts are sure to make for a good time while warming up. Trust me, you’ll get it!

I Love the Mountains

I knew this song before I bought a canon warm-up book, but it still is fun. It sort of reminds me of a Sound of Music and Heidi mixed together.

While this works well for practicing range and stretching your vocal chords, it can be sung with a choir for a delightful canon, too! Just start the second part after “I love the rolling hills” and you will be good!

Do-Re-Mo-Re and Add-Ons

I originally found this on YouTube, I believe.

Talk about fun! If you have a group of people who are very comfortable with holding their own, this is a great warm-up. In addition, it will support your teaching of solfege and sight-singing if you choose to go this route and practice with a little ear training/sight singing while warming up.

Win/win for all of us music teacher geeks who like to get things done while having a good time.

I Don’t Care if the Rain Falls Down

Kind of a joyful song to sing to remind us of all the happy things in life. Which is what the purpose of music is in most cases, in my opinion.

So enjoy learning and using this to warm-up next time! It can be used as a canon, too.

Tongo – Canoe Song

This is a call and response warm-up, so you will need at least two people. The best way to learn is to have the teacher teach everyone, and then have those who feel comfortable start leading the call for others to respond.

In the case of a church choir, this would be excellent practice for a cantor to incite the call for the “congregation” to respond.

Chumbara

The best part about this warm-up is that you can literally subsitute “chumbara” with any three syllable word. Imagine the possibilities. I know because I did this with Middle School and High School.

You could come up with the most crazy or the best words you want, within your best judgment, of course.

Laugh, Ha, Ha

I dare you not to laugh at this one! It is great as an ascending warm-up or for a canon again. Canons are super popular but oh so fun for testing if one has the confidence and ability to stick to their part.

Really, if any warm-up makes you go “huh?”, “what?”, you’ve got a great learning piece. On top of that, you want to look for ones that make you laugh while you attempt to sing them with a straight face.

Partner Songs – Super Pretty + Fun warm-ups!

Warm-ups that pair two or more different melodies together.

I love these for when you are learning polyphony and need to practice singing two different lines with different rhythms and times like that. These fun warm-ups provide a fantastic lead-in to those types of music.

Singing All Together – Melody w/ Countermelody

This fun warm-up is great for practicing a higher part with a different lower part. This is helpful for those who might be practicing a descant while others are trying to sing alto, tenor, etc.

It would also be a great learning tool for modifying vowels in upper registers and learning how to read rests and counter-rhythms as well.

My Paddle + Land of the Silver Birch

A great tune of two countermelodies that are sure to be a fun warm-up. The songs do not seem similar at all until you sing them together, and then it’s amazing how they fit.

This could be pretty sung a little slower, though usually I do it in a moderate tempo.

When the Saints/I Wanna Sing/Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

When I first introduced this different kind of warm-up to my class, they at first where like, what the world? By the time they got the hand of it, they loved it and all had a turn singing a different part.

I could group them into three sections with similar voicing, or I could just do every three people were on the same part. Numbering them off, if you know what I mean. That made them think twice as hard and they had to be strong on their part.

You can find the free sheet music here at 8Notes.com

Fun Warm-ups That Are Also Tongue Twisters!

Everybody loves tongue twisters, right? Maybe not, but these are nice to have for laughs and practicing fast songs with lots of words!

Peggy Piggy’s Purple Poodle Peddled Past the Postman – One of my favorite fun warm-ups!

If I could say there was one fun warm-up that my choir wanted to do all the time, this was it. Granted, it was only about half of them who “really” wanted to, but the rest were good sports anyway!

Tommy Turtle’s Turkey Tried to Telephone the Taxi

The same tune and idea of Peggy Piggy’s, Tommy Turtle’s is the more difficult and advanced version of the tongue twister. I like to incorporate this into our daily warm-ups every now and then so they didn’t forget it!

Diction is Done with the Tip of the Tongue and the Teeth

This is actually the most simple in this fun warm-up category, and it teaches you how you actually create diction, too. I like to do this one with over-exaggerated diction. Every song we sing needs to be conveyed clearly, no matter the genre or tempo.

Double Bubble Gum Bubbles Dubble

While this was not one that we did for choir practices, it was on my radar. Start slow with this one and once you can confidently say everything without stumbling, then go faster. And don’t forget to laugh at yourself if you mess up. That’s what these fun warm-ups are for, after all!

Related Posts:

• 10 Easy to Sing Catholic Hymns
• 5 Simple Vocal Warm-ups
• A Cantor’s Guide to Clear Diction
• 5 Ways to Get Better at Singing Every Day
• 9 Simple Tricks for Better Singing
• Reasons You Should Not Take Voice Lessons
• What Not to Do When Losing Your Voice
• Gregorian Chant Resources
• The Best Music Apps for Catholic Musicians
• Breathing and Posture Techniques for Singers

What are your favorite fun warm-ups!? Share them below in the comments!

Would you like to know where I got all of these warm-ups?