Resource: Vocal Warm-Ups and Sight-Reading Exercises

I found a fantastic book that every voice teacher should have in their collection, it is called The Private Voice Studio Handbook, written by Joan Frey Boytim. The author is well-known for her many solo compilation books and it is very likely that any one who has studied voice in high school or college (or privately) has used her books.

Just a short review of the book (I’ll do a more detailed one at a later date): It is written as though a woman was writing to Mrs. Boytim seeking advice on starting a voice studio. The book consists of her questions and the replies written by Boytim. It includes such topics as repertoire selection, managing a studio, what to charge, how to do taxes, and more. At the end of the book she also includes pages of warm-ups and sight-reading exercises for use by the teacher in their own voice studio (she gives permission to copy them for students). I would like to share a sample of two of the very useful pages that have helped me tremendously, the warm-ups and some syllable sheets (there are 5 of those)…after all, warm-ups are sometimes difficult to think up on your own! She also recommends using the Concone sight-reading exercises and Marchesi (she specifies what age etc. to use them for, and both can be found free at imspl.org). The Syllable Sheet also comes with accompaniment parts for the teacher to play along with the student. The accompaniment has some dissonant chords, to aid the student in learning how to maintain their own note with other music going on.

I highly recommend purchasing this book! It is a must-have for anyone considering teaching private voice lessons. Enjoy!

Boytim Warm-Up Sheet SampleBoytim Solfeggio Syllable Sheet - Set 1 SampleSample - Boytim Solfeggio Syllable Sheet - Set 2

About Lady Fair

Lady is a musician with a bachelor's degree in music education. She plays multiple instruments and has participated in numerous musical ensembles, giving her a wide variety of experiences and knowledge to use in her teaching career. Of her ensemble participation, she has fifteen years of band experience, nine years choral, and four years in orchestra. Éowyn's primary instrument is clarinet, with voice and piano being close secondary instruments. Throughout her musical education career she studied voice and clarinet simultaneously. In addition to clarinet, piano, and voice, she has also studied violin and oboe at the college level, and also plays recorder, tin whistle, and other instruments in the woodwind family. If you ask her, she will say, "I chose to major in music education because I have a desire to use my knowledge and experience in music to share its beauty and foster a love of music in the hearts of my students. I hope to encourage my students to try their hardest, feel like they have accomplished something, and give them a life long passion for music." Lady currently teaches private lessons on clarinet, sax, flute, oboe, piano, and voice, and recently gained a position teaching orchestra and chorus at a local middle school. She is also a member of the Once Upon a Dream woodwind ensembles.
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1 Response to Resource: Vocal Warm-Ups and Sight-Reading Exercises

  1. Appreciate the recommendation. Will try it out.

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