Bumblebee!: Rounds & Warm-ups for Choirs

by Michael Griffin

Bumblebee! Rounds & Warm-ups for Choirs is more than just a wonderful collection of 130 choir exercises including 50 rounds. Michael Griffin, who has taught and consulted throughout the world, shares timeless wisdom to help you get your choir into shape.“Will prove useful for almost everyone” -Rhinegold Music Teacher Magazine."This is a great resource to add to one’s library of rehearsal tricks." - Anacrusis, ACCC, Canada“Bumblebee contains excellent new ideas and extensions on some of those well-known warm-ups that we all love to use. Backed by clear explanations of the purpose of each, it is a must have, particularly for less experienced choral directors.” – S Turner, PLC, Sydney.“Vocal physiology, singing pedagogy, and effective vocal examples to practise are excellently combined in Bumble Bee, making it a kind of 'one stop shop' for singing teachers and choir conductors. The vocal work is fun with music examples ranging in difficulty, catering for a variety of vocal contexts. The rounds are invaluable in themselves, offering participants many opportunities to make beautiful music. I even use some of these vocal exercises with my tertiary drama students, as they encourage vocal health and illustrate how the vocal mechanism works. I would highly recommend this resource to anyone who cares about voices and loves to sing well!” - S. Chapman, QLD"This is really good stuff for all kinds of vocal groups, choirs, conductors. Bravo!!" - Harrie Spronken, Netherlands."This is the thinking person’s guide to training a choir! Love it." - Margaret May, Australia."It's great to have some fresh warm-ups to add to the repertory. Being short and repetitive by their nature, we need lots of different ones and most of these are new to my choir. The tips for actions and techniques etc. are really useful, and the advice at the back of the book has made me review some of my strategies." - Philip Duffy, UK.

99 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2013

About the author

Michael Griffin B.Ed Music, M.Ed Studies, A.Mus.A (Pianoforte)

Michael Griffin has been involved in music education since 1985. As a conductor Michael and his school ensembles achieved many awards including the Australasian Open Choral Championship in 2004, a first for an Australian secondary school. Michael was awarded the Education and Arts Ministers’ Prize in 2006, and is listed in the Who’s Who SA Edition for 2007 and 2008. He was nominated for a National Teaching Excellence award in 2005.
In recent years, Michael has been based in Dubai and the UK, consulting in schools and at conferences in more than 20 countries. Michael has adjudicated eisteddfods in SA, QLD and the ACT. More recently, Michael has been consulting for Cambridge University Press redesigning music curriculum for Kazakhstan, and is currently Head of Music at CBC in Adelaide.
Michael’s books include ‘Bumblebee: Rounds & Warm-Ups for Choirs’ and ‘Learning Strategies for Musical Success’. Trained as a classical pianist, performance residencies include Dubai’s Burj al Arab and Australia’s Hayman Island.