Choral and Vocal Warm-Ups for the Pianist: Choral Book

This book cuts through the guesswork of finding the right warm-up accompaniments by giving you a complete, field-tested sequence that your choir singers will recognize and respond to. Litten's inclusion of harmonic progression practice specifically for pianists elevates your accompanist from someone who just plays what's written to someone who understands the underlying voice-leading and can adjust on the fly.

Working through these warm-ups feels purposeful rather than formulaic. The progressions have been chosen deliberately to address specific vocal needs, and the accompaniment writing reflects a genuine understanding of how singers hear and respond to harmonic support.

This book is essential for pianists who accompany choirs regularly and want to deepen their understanding of how to support vocal warm-ups effectively. It's equally valuable for choral directors who prepare their own accompaniments or want to give clear direction to their accompanists about what each warm-up requires.

• Study the harmonic progressions separately before rehearsal so you can play them confidently without looking at the page, allowing you to watch the choir and respond to their needs.
• Start each warm-up at a comfortable tempo for the singers' voices that day; the accompaniments are flexible enough to adjust without losing their purpose.
• Pay attention to Litten's guidance on which progressions serve which vocal goals, so you can choose intelligently rather than playing through exercises by rote.
• Practice sustaining your own tone quality through the longer harmonic exercises to model the vocal focus you want from the choir.

Use this as your warm-up resource for the entire season, building your accompanist's confidence and consistency from rehearsal to rehearsal. The systematic approach works especially well for ensemble programs where you need to establish reliable vocal habits before moving into repertoire.

• Playing harmonic progressions fluidly and with good voice-leading
• Adapting accompaniment support based on the choir's vocal readiness
• Understanding the relationship between keyboard harmony and vocal registration
• Accompanying sustained tones and phrase shaping without depending on the written score