Warm-up melodies

[RickF]

I'm curious if anyone else uses a 'warm-up melody' as part of their normal warm-up routine. After some scales, arpeggios and lip slurs I like to play "Scarborough Fair" (Simon and Garfunkel) but at the lower octave starting on low concert 'G' (it's 1 flat in but really G Dorian mode). After a few times I then play it an octave higher or at it's normal range.

What if any melody do others like to play in their warm-ups?

[davewerden]

Oh, yes! But I often just try to play by ear some melody that is floating in my mind at the time.

I have a few go-to melodies, though. "Groovy Kind of Love" goes entirely by scale (diatonic) for about 33 notes! In fact, in the whole main melody there are only 2 skips greater than a step:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gITde19Ec-A

"I'd Go from Rags to Riches" starts with a major triad plus the octave (1-3-5-8) so it naturally falls out of my bell.

Now and then:

Voi Che Sapete
Sukiyaki
Slow movement from Reicha Quartet

[cochranme]

Yep, every day. It changes depending on my mood, but some of my favorites are:

Bach cello suites
Various baroque sonatas (galliard, Telemann, Vivaldi, etc)
Arban melodies
Blazevich Tuba etudes
Bordogni vocalises
Snedecor lyrical etudes for trumpet
Brad Edwards Simply Singing books

Anything that “gets my spirit flowing” works. It has an effect on my entire day if I can get in a singing mindset early.

[jkircoff]

Brad Edwards Simply Singing books

I picked up one of the Simply Singing books at NABBA this year, and I frequently use it for warm-ups - especially when I'm tired of going through the same routines every day.

[cochranme]

I picked up one of the Simply Singing books at NABBA this year, and I frequently use it for warm-ups - especially when I'm tired of going through the same routines every day.

I learned a LOT from recording these regularly. There’s no place for bad sound/intonation/rhythm to hide.

[DaveBj]

If I don't have anything in front of me, I play hymntunes that I know, gradually changing keys until I reach the top of my range.

[John Morgan]

I have several I play:

Greensleeves
Sleepsong from Secret Garden (really pretty melody) Dave - you should do an arrangement of this!!
Perhaps Love by John Denver
You Raise Me Up

Also, like Dave, I like just picking out a melody I might be thinking of or have thought of recently. Good practice to see if you can get it right. If I booboo a few notes, I play it again and try for no mistakes.

I do the melody playing usually after doing warmup stuff. To sort of test whether or not I am dialed in.

[AlexS]

Pretty much every warmup. I'll do auld lang syne, or amazing grace around the circle of fourths( or fifths, but who's counting). I also like to do "impressions" of players I like on simple melodies they've recorded. i.e.
Danny boy- Brian Bowman
Deep river- Demondrae Thurman
Gentle Annie- Michael Colburn
Pure imagination- Toby Oft (if I'm playing trombone or not its still great)
etc.
Dave has a ton on youtube. Counterintuitively, these impressions have given me more of my own personality when playing and a wider sound palette.
Alex S

[DaveBj]

I have several I play:

Sleepsong from Secret Garden (really pretty melody) Dave - you should do an arrangement of this!!
*snip*
You Raise Me Up

*snip

I know we're talking about warmups, not performances, but "You Raise Me Up" is very popular among Southern Gospel tenor soloists, and back-up tracks are readily available is gospel bookstores, for those who want to actually perform it as a solo.

Likewise, karaoke tracks for "Sleepsong" are available on Youtube. I perform it with a track that just has a solo harpist.

[John Morgan]

I know we're talking about warmups, not performances, but "You Raise Me Up" is very popular among Southern Gospel tenor soloists, and back-up tracks are readily available is gospel bookstores, for those who want to actually perform it as a solo.

Likewise, karaoke tracks for "Sleepsong" are available on Youtube. I perform it with a track that just has a solo harpist.

David,

Quite right on back up tracks. The one you mention for "Sleepsong" is really nice. I have a band arrangement for "You Raise Me Up", actually a couple arrangements, one of them that Rick F. mentioned in another post.

I have always been a "melody" person. I LOVE beautiful melodies. And what better instrument than a euphonium to play them on!!

[RickF]

Some really nice melodies mentioned above. I also like playing some melodies that Nat King Cole made popular. Like, “Mona Lisa”, “Misty”, “Tenderly” and “Stardust” to mention a few.