A 30-Minute Choir Rehearsal That Actually Works

Why 30 minutes can be enough

Many school and parish choirs only get a lunch break or a quick after-school slot. A short rehearsal succeeds when every minute has a job. Think one clear goal, a single focus section, and a clean finish so singers leave knowing they improved something specific.

Minute-by-minute plan (template)

0–3 · Welcome & goal
Take names, settle bodies, then state the goal in one sentence:
“Today we’ll unify vowels in bars 9–16 and shape the final cadence.”

3–8 · Warm up with purpose

• 1 min: Breath + posture (silent sniff, slow hiss)
• 90 sec: Resonance on ng–ah through the piece’s key
• 90 sec: Interval drill that appears in your focus section
• 1 min: Diction burst on the hardest phrase (“Gloria…”, etc.)

Warm-ups should sound like the music you’re about to sing.

8–20 · Teach or polish one section

• Speak text in rhythm, then sing melody only
• Add harmony one part at a time; don’t layer until the melody is secure
• Circle three bars that still need work—come back after a run

20–28 · Run something known

• One full performance of a familiar piece
• Fix two items only (tone/dynamics/ending), then run again

28–30 · Wrap & homework

• Recap: “We matched the [ɑ] vowel in bars 10–12 and nailed the rallentando.”
• Assign 60–90 sec of part learning with rehearsal tracks (QR code/URL)
• Confirm next rehearsal goal

Swap-ins for different choirs

SSA (young or treble-heavy):

• Keep melody in A/S1 for stability; give S2 a repeating counter-line
• Limit total singing to ~22 minutes; insert a 20-sec posture “shake-out”

SATB (small lower parts):

• Seat tenors near S2 for confidence; keep tenor tessitura C3–E4
• Let basses rest between low phrases; mark breaths together

Unison + descant (mixed ability):

• Teach unison quickly; give a short descant to strongest singers for the last verse

What to record (and why)

Use your phone for 10–20 sec clips:

• Focus snippet (bars 9–16) for at-home practice
• Model vowels on one tricky word
• Metronome tempo for the opening

Upload to a shared folder; title clearly: Piece – bars 9–16 – S/A – 92bpm.

Troubleshooting common time-sinks

• Fuzzy cut-offs: Agree on breath shape and hand cue; practise once in silence.
• Talky transitions: Pre-write the order on the board/slide; use a 3-word cue: “Bars 9—Ready—Sing.”
• Lost singers: Re-teach melody only; harmony returns after confidence does.

Rehearsal checklist

• ☐ Goal stated aloud
• ☐ One focus section, not three
• ☐ Two fixes on the run-through
• ☐ Tiny take-home task & link

Make it musical (not just efficient)

Even in 30 minutes, shape a phrase, colour a word, or craft a cadence. Singers will come back for that feeling.