Happy Kitty/Woeful Kitty

On page 51 of this issue, you will find one of Anne's warm-up exercises called "Meow." As we often do, we have taken the warm-up and plugged it into a short song. This helps to reinforce the concept and makes it fun since warm-ups can sometimes be rather dry. In the case of "Happy Kitty/Woeful Kitty," both the major and minor forms of the warmup are used, so you could allow singers to exaggerate the emotions of each version. You could also make it more interesting or challenging by dividing the class into groups. Have part of them sing the lyrics versus the meows, or the major versus the minor, or some combination of both. Be sure the focus of the warm-up effort is not lost though. There's actually a purpose to this! When they're done, their lips and tongues should be good and warmed up and ready to sing the next song.