Back to Basics

Back to Basics

Philip Brown

The Star of the North is launching a new column this year called “Back to Basics.” The purpose is to give practical advice to choir directors. These “basics” are items that we’ve learned before but maybe forgotten, or new ways to teach a familiar skill. Just like a baseball player needs to continually practice their swing, or a basketball player practices passing and free throws, we need to be practicing these fundamentals regularly. By remembering our basics, we can elevate our choirs to new heights.

In our first feature, Philip Brown shares some great vocal exercises that focus on fundamental aspects of good singing technique that can make a big difference when practiced consistently. Let’s dive into these tried-and-true methods and see how they can enhance your choir’s performance.

[fusion_youtube id=”vqJZY8akyKY” alignment=”center” width=”” height=”” autoplay=”false” mute=”false” api_params=”” title_attribute=”” video_facade=”” thumbnail_size=”auto” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” css_id=”” structured_data=”off” video_upload_date=”” video_duration=”” video_title=”” video_desc=”” /]

1. Bubble Exercise: Students use cups filled with water and straws to blow bubbles while singing. This helps them focus on maintaining steady airflow, but also is an example of a  Semi Occluded Vocal Tract (SOVT) exercise. SOVTs are great for aligning the vocal folds in an optimal way for efficient singing. Check out the video below by Ingo Titze to learn more about SOVTs!
2. Starburst Exercise: Students place a Starburst candy lightly between their back teeth to maintain space between their molars while singing.
3. Blow Pop/Tootsie Roll Pop Exercise: Using a blow pop or Tootsie Roll Pop, students sing without letting the candy touch the roof of their mouths, which helps raise the soft palate.
4. Paper Exercise: Students hold a piece of paper in front of their lips and try to keep it buzzing using an “ooh” sound, which aids in airflow control.

[fusion_youtube id=”0xYDvwvmBIM” alignment=”center” width=”” height=”” autoplay=”false” mute=”false” api_params=”” title_attribute=”” video_facade=”” thumbnail_size=”auto” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” css_id=”” structured_data=”off” video_upload_date=”” video_duration=”” video_title=”” video_desc=”” /]

About Philip Brown

Philip Brown is the Director of Choral Activities at Totino-Grace High School and conductor of the high school choirs with Angelica Cantanti Youth Choirs. He graduated summa cum laude from Bethany College (KS), majoring in K-12 music education. He later received his M.M. degree in music education from Northern Arizona University.

Before arriving in Minnesota, Philip started his public school teaching in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado (Arvada West High School). While in Minnesota, he has taught at White Bear Lake Area High School, Hopkins High School and Bloomington Jefferson High School. At Totino-Grace he conducts the curricular choirs and heads up the competitive show choir program. Along with his school teaching, Philip also conducts the Cantanti Singers and Treble Singers within the Angelica Cantanti Youth Choirs organization.

His choral groups have been selected for performances at: CMEA Conference, CU-Boulder Madrigal Festival, MMEA Mid-Winter Conference, ACDA-MN Fall Conference, NC-ACDA Conference, MSU-Mankato Choral Festival, ACDA-MN Choral Arts Finale, St. Olaf College Choir Festival, Concordia College Choir Festival, Northern Voice Festival, and the Americana Portrait Festival with Mack Wilberg. Choirs under his conducting have collaborated with the Minnesota Oratorio Society, Minnesota Choral Artists – The Singers (Morten Lauridsen Festival), Great Northern Union, VocalEssence (!Cantare!), Northern Lights Chorale, Cantus, and the National Lutheran Choir. While on tour his choirs have consistently received superior ratings, best in class awards, and grand sweepstakes awards at various music festivals and competitions.

Philip was honored as the 2011 ACDA-MN Young Director of the Year. He was selected as the Director of Note for Minnesota by Choral Director Magazine in 2012. In 2013 he received the VocalEssence/ACDA-MN Creative Programming Award for his repertoire philosophy and programming. Philip was named the Bethany College Gold Award recipient for 2015 and was the Winner of the Youth Choir Conducting Division for The American Prize 2016, and again in 2020. He was also the featured community member in the Eden Prairie Lifestyle Magazine for 2020. He conducted the Angelica Cantanti Youth Choirs – Treble Singers at the 2019 National ACDA Conference in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri; and recently the Cantanti Singers under his conducting will be featured at the 2024 ACDA Midwestern Conference. In the spring of 2024 he will get the honor of guest conducting Singers in Accord, based in the twin cities.

Philip is an active clinician/guest conductor and professionally affiliated with ACDA and NAfME. Recently he was named the ACDA Repertoire and Resource Chair for Senior High School choirs.

Instagram – @philipbrownconductor
Email – philipbrown22@yahoo.com