Riffing Exercises

From: Vocal Agility Daily Warmup for Low Voice
by Abram Poliakoff
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Description:

Welcome to Part 3, where we'll put our vocal agility to the test with popular riffing style exercises.

Exercises:
  1. Easy Slingshot Riff (I Will Stay):
    • Uses the pentatonic scale: 8886568.
    • Called a slingshot because it ends on the same pitch it starts on.
    • Sing the riff staccato-style, identify the momentum, and then sing it smoothly.
    • Practice taking the riff around your range.
  2. Harder Slingshot Riff (Keep Me Warm):
    • Expands with more notes: 12, 3216561.
    • Scoop up to the first 3 notes and finish with the previous pattern.
    • Sing staccato to feel momentum changes, then smoothly.
    • Practice as a full warm-up routine.

Daily Practice Tips:
  • Practice riffing daily to improve agility.
  • If you struggle, check out additional content on riffs and runs.
  • If you excel, add complexity with more notes.
  • Analyze riffs from favorite songs and turn them into routines.

Awesome work! For the final portion, we’ll sing through an extended daily warm-up routine with no explanation. Each exercise will be repeated 3 times, then moved up the vocal range.

Advanced Daily Warmup Routine:
A) Staccato 1-5-1-5, 5-4-3-2-1
B) Turnaround exercise (121, 343, 565, 343, 1) Keep it on the Ground
C) Extended Riff (6532123211) I Will Always Know

Are you ready? Let’s get started!

Audio:

Vocal Agility Daily Warmup for Low Voice-4A
Vocal Agility Daily Warmup for Low Voice-4B

Lessons:

Instructor: Abram Poliakoff

Abram Poliakoff is a singer, guitarist, pianist, teacher, conductor, and composer. He received a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Arts from USC’s Thornton School of Music and has been teaching music for 8 years. He is currently both the Associate Artistic Director and a tenor in the L.A. Choral Lab, which recently released its first studio album Sonic Visions in the fall of 2019. Abram teaches and performs a wide range of genres including Classical, Jazz, Folk and Popular music in the Los Angeles area. He has also sung with the San Francisco Opera and Pocket Opera in the Bay Area. His teaching mission is to help his students utilize vocal technique to find their authentic and healthy voice while maximizing genre flexibility and a naturalness of expression.