The Barbershop Blog

Transferring this Blog

2011-03-01T16:01:00.003+08:00

Hi everyone,

I have just redesigned my website and have included the content of this blog within the site, so I will no longer be posting here.

Go to http://joanne.oosterhoff.info to find and pick up feed from the new site.

Cheers,

Jo Oosterhoff

Tension vs. Intensity

2009-09-21T12:16:00.003+08:00

It's no surprise that often when we ask for intensity from our singers the result displays a greater degree of tension than when we began. That tension is usually displayed across the shoulders / chest and in the face, especially the mouth and cheeks, as we try to look like 'we mean it' and try to get our bodies 'involved'. The result? Possibly a more focused sound, but one that lacks ring, resonance and vocal freedom - and tired singers!

Of course, what we really want is more intensity in the sound, and bodies which are relaxed and engaged in expressive, free movement.

One of the precepts of kinaesthetics is that 'the biggest muscle wins' - that is, if your arms are making big circles you'll find it hard to sing softly. This can be used to distract tension from the upper body if the singer is encouraged to engage the big leg muscles, lowering their centre of gravity and usually giving them a much more relaxed and centralised (balanced) posture than when they are trying to be intense. The 'trying' stance is characterised by weight significantly forward onto the toes, full upper body leaning forward, 'turtle-neck' head... A centralised posture offers plenty of energy from the legs while providing a relaxed vocal mechanism.

If you pursue the kind of sound that comes from singing with full resonance and locking voices together, there is no need for 'surface tension' - whatever the volume, go for poised bodies and free sound. Beware of asking for intensity in a way which encourages your singers to sing 'tense' in some instances and relaxed in others. Be consistent in your requirements and the consistency of your performance will increase.

The Breath Of Life

2009-05-27T16:35:00.004+08:00

When we sing for any audience, breath is life - literally of course, but also the life of the sound depends on HOW we breathe.

Leading breath of the song: breathe in the pitch, breathe in the vowel.

Take Full Body Breaths wherever possible. This means breathing from the feet up, relaxing the diaphragm, springing open the ribcage (from back to front) and releasing all accumulated tension in the body to reset to a poised posture and attitude.

NEVER 'snatch' a breath. Personal Breaths are taken mid-note, mid-phrase and involve a PROPER breath. It takes no more time. It gives you 100% air instead of 50% and it releases tension instead of adding it.

NEVER 'push' your stomach out as you breathe in. That engages muscles not suitable for singing. The tummy FALLS naturally when you spring the ribcage and relax the diaphragm.

The 'pregnant pause' in the middle of a song is too often an excuse for the singers to HOLD their breath till the end of the pause, then breathe relatively quickly (and noisily) to start the new phrase. BREATH IS LIFE. Any time you are NOT breathing either in or out, you are technically DEAD. And this is where the philosophy of breath and energy gets involved...

When we sing, we are breathing out in an unusual way, and producing sound energy. Music also evokes an emotional response when performed well - let's call that emotional energy. So our instrument is putting out huge amounts of physical, sound and emotional energy. Is that why we're so drained by the end of the song? The fact is, we SHOULDN'T be drained, we should have MORE energy (be more pumped) at the end than at the beginning.

As a Showmanship tool, we talk about bringing in the emotional message of each phrase on the breath that precedes it. I like to talk about inhalation being our only opportunity to TAKE IN ENERGY while we perform. Breath is life, so each breath we take during a song should come with a rush of energy, which we immediately transfer into the sound and emotional energy delivered in the phrase. So take in that emotional energy (with a spring-relax breath) before every phrase and you will feel your performance energy build and build.

So back to the LONG BREATH (nee pregnant pause).... it can take a long time, but should be a slow, steady inhale of breath and energy, setting up the next phrase.

Breath also affects our unity. 75% of all synch problems are caused by confused breath plans, and at the higher levels, by lack of unit approach to breath style.

Lastly, without a relaxed body we cannot achieve vocal freedom. We cannot have a relaxed body if we breathe in a way which creates any tension. Remember that when you breathe, it should be a RELEASE, not a GRAB.

Barbershop Music

2009-03-13T11:07:00.004+09:00

Another in my series for school teachers with barbershop groups.
Part of what differentiates barbershop from other a cappella music is the way in which it is arranged. Although strict barbershop gives the most powerful potential, looser arrangements can have more audience appeal, so a mixture in your repertoire is desirable.

Structure of Barbershop Music

Barbershop is essentially tonal, triadic harmony in the major mode. Harmonisation uses the following 11 chords:

· Those based on the major triad:
o Major triad
o Dominant 7th
o Dominant 9th
o Major 6th
o Major 7th
o Major 9th
· Those based on the minor triad:
o Minor triad
o Minor 6th
o Minor 7th
· Symmetrical chords:
o Augmented triad
o Diminished 7th

The melody is carried primarily by the lead voice, while the highest voice sings a harmony part. This structure supports and enhances the overtone-producing characteristics of the major triad, dom 7th and dom 9th chords. These 3 chords provide the predominant harmonic flavor of arrangements.
Some music is just not suited to this style of arrangement, and using non-barbershop harmonization will result in an a cappella arrangement which cannot be used in competition, and cannot be called barbershop. Variety can be fun!

Uptunes

Usually structured: Intro – chorus – tag
Verse – chorus – tag
Intro – chorus – verse – chorus – tag

What tempo is the song? Swing, downbeat, backbeat? Does it have a stomp section?
Intro and tag are usually ad lib. Sometimes an “interlude” or internal verse can be done ad lib with a return to tempo afterwards. Make sure each ad lib section really sets up the tempo starts.
Where a song is repetitive, use dynamic or rhythmic variation to keep the energy flowing.

Ballads

Usually structured: Intro/Verse – “Hook”/Chorus – Climax – Tag

Emphasise the lyric message and melodic structure of the song as you decide your phrasing. Dynamics should be appropriate to the emotional message, should enhance the impact of that message and should be effectively performed by the group.

Selecting Music For Your Group

The characteristics of each voice part, either individual or chorus section, can affect music choice. Individual ranges and blend between parts can affect your choice where there may be large separation between two parts (usually lead-tenor or bass-baritone). The abilities of the group need to be taken into consideration when looking at music. Some of the “features” to note include:

Part Ranges
Melodic line movement and relationship to other parts
Embellishment / Interpretive promise
Vertical chord movement vs Patter
End of phrase chord movement / key changes
Echoes and slides
Where is the climax?
Non-lead melody
Words
Strong ending for uptune
Difficulty rating:
Rated by international
Fast / wordy tempo song?
Melody based on the Doh / incidence of accidentals
Athletic voice leading
Tempo / rhythmic intricacy

Personal Improvement - Commit To Change

2008-12-29T16:29:00.005+09:00

If you're doing a vocalise for a single reason, you're wasting your time. Find 3. Here's a cheat's list: posture, breathing, phonation, resonance, articulation, intonation/tuning, vowel shapes, chord synchronisation... you get the idea!

To practice at home and get results:

1. Practice in front of the mirror to correct:

Postural Faults / Tension in face or body
Expressive communication - body and face
Mouth shape
Choreography

2. Tape yourself to hear:

Vowel-to-vowel delivery of consonants
Clear and bright, short vowels, forward and resonated, locked and rung
Dynamic plan & vocal gems
Lyric delivery - all parts sing as melody
Lifted, relaxed, resonant, forward tone throughout range and dynamics

3. If you're singing for half a page without stopping, you're not learning anything. Expect to sing a phrase or set of phrases 5-10 times to get it to a higher level before proceeding. EVERYONE has SOMETHING they can improve on.

Speaking as a singer who is always striving to improve, every note and word I sing is on purpose. I'm putting placement, dynamic, character, emotion, tuning and more into every note, every phrase, while striving to achieve an effortless sound. Practice just lets you do it without hard thinking!

Vowels in Vocal Training / Warmups

2008-12-29T16:22:00.002+09:00

Wherever possible, use short vowel forms in your vocal development program (sometimes passed over as warmups). When singing short vowels (IH EH UH OH OOZE) placement of the sound is naturally further forward, in the mask (a desirable outcome), and is generally a brighter, more lifted sound. The musical leader should ensure that the same height/depth of sound is striven for at the same time, but by teaching your singers to hear and feel the shorter, brighter vowels, you will have less trouble with pitch dropping, and will produce, in general, more overtones.

A Note On Unity

2008-12-29T16:17:00.002+09:00

More than any other vocal ensemble, the barbershop chorus requires total unity of voices. As the First Violins of a chamber orchestra must sound like one instrument and not vie amongst each other with individual 'soloist' character, so each voice part must be of one voice.

This means, of course, that soloist traits such as vibrato, 'chest' pressure on the sound, and spontaneous interpretive embellishments (altered timing, vocal inflections, dynamics, breath plan) are not present. The greater the skill of the chorus, the more of these expressive elements they can execute AS A GROUP. The artistry is in the ear of the director, not in the individual singers. Theirs is the skill of unit delivery and 100% commitment to the artistic plan from the director.

Showmanship & Choreography

2008-07-14T15:51:00.003+08:00

Another in my series for school teachers with barbershop groups, this topic covers some basic fundamentals of the Showmanship category...

Choreography

Choreo should be relevant, vocally supportive (or at least not detractive) and naturally expressive (not mechanical). Having a visual plan is simply ensuring that what is seen enhances the musical product and is entertaining rather than distracting from the music.

Facial expression is more important than choreo.

Physical freedom during singing is vital for vocal freedom and emotional involvement. The freedom of sound you hear from a true Gospel Choir is due in a large part to the fact that they move freely and constantly throughout their songs.

Showmanship

Showmanship is about identifying with the character of the song's 'voice' and putting across that character and message to the audience. Most people are highly visual in they way they take in information, and visually matching / enhancing the music is an important part of the barbershop artform. As with Opera and Broadway, barbershop is a dramatic musical form - this is why we have choruses not choirs, and directors not conductors.

Involve your Theatre Arts teachers in this process. Older students can contribute on the costuming side ('character' or 'classic' costuming) especially if you have a textiles programme in your school. Dance teachers may also be helpful to you.

Basic Barbershop Interpretation

2008-07-14T12:59:00.003+08:00

I'm writing a resource sheet for school teachers who have barbershop groups at their schools and need to take the first step into changing their singing style from a cappella to barbershop. Here's the gist of my tips on interpretation of songs...

Characteristic of the style, barbershop interpretation has several 'rules of thumb' by which we are guided as we strive to bring out the full musicality of our performances. These depend firstly on what kind of song it is.

Tempo Song (Uptune)

A Tempo Song or Uptune is one which is sung primarily with a strict beat. This can be 6/8 or C - as long as it is IN TEMPO it falls in this category.

Tempo can only be changed or interrupted once during the song - the 'toe tap' of the audience must not be lost more than once or their enjoyment of the performance will be diminished. This means that acceptable forms include:

songs with a single 'ad lib' verse sung in the middle
the inclusion of a 'stomp' section
a song that starts 'ad lib' then sets the tempo some way through.

If a return to the original tempo is required after such an interruption, this is usually done by a pause or fromata on the last note(s) of the ad lib or stomp section. Tempo can also be reset from a slower delivery by using an accellerando.

Many uptunes have an 'intro' which is generally sung 'ad lib', with the tempo set on the first beat of the verse or chorus which follows. Most uptunes complete with a 'tag' which is usually all or partly 'ad lib' as well, even if this is only a suspension on the penultimate tension chord and then a held resolution for the last chord. These bits are added to the top and back of a song to make it feel finished as there is no accompaniment to play an introduction or ending for us.

Ballad

Ballads are sung totally ad lib or rubato.

There is a general sense of 'pace' remaining, but all note values are changeable from what is written. The reason for this is that we strive to draw out as much of the song's message as possible - for some songs this is easy, as high notes and important phrases coincide, but for other songs, where the held value is often on an unimportant word (like 'is' or 'of') it can make a dramatic difference to the portrayal of the message.

For example, if the words are "life would be nothing without you" then you have a choice of emphasis: "life would be NOTHING without you" or "LIFE would be nothing without YOU" etc. One hopes (as in this case) the melody will help us: it peaks on 'nothing', so that's where the emphasis should be. This is where artistic license comes in, and individual interpretation and connection with the song.

In general, chords to hold include:

where melody rises to a natural word and music climax
in an end-phrase chord progression, the most interesting tension chord should be suspended the longest to increase the pleasure of resolution for the auditor
where pleasant chording combines with word emphasis

Words are milked of all meaning, using emphasis by sound colour, embellishment, vocal effect etc. to add full dimensionality to the piece.

Dynamics

Dynamics follow word meaning and melodic direction.

Unless done for effect (eg from fff to ppp), dynamics shouldn't change significantly over a breath. Dynamic change should occur WITHIN the phrase, where it can be noticed by the ear and therefore used effectively to enhance musicality and meaning.

Want to stay in pitch?

2008-04-07T08:45:00.003+08:00

Make sure that as you transition through the vocal line, each successive vowel is LIFTED into the vowel space under your hard palette, not allowed to fall into the jaw.

To feel the difference, try singing (on one note) "we are" and notice the way it feels to LIFT out of the EE to a bright AH (for "are"). Now go EE and let the AH (for "are") fall into the jaw space. Doesn't sound that bad, but you'll lose pitch with that approach, and ring fewer chords with the 'darker' vowel sound. Can you hear and feel that the 'dropped' vowel has had the top resonators chopped out of it?

Growth Mindset

2007-12-02T08:57:00.000+09:00

Just read a great article on how different mindsets affect achievement. The Growth Mindset is one where intelligence and 'talent' are recognized as requiring a lot of effort and hard work to bring to fruition. A Fixed Mindset believes that ability is innate and if you don't have a talent for something, there's no point in trying, resulting in the avoidance of that skillset, or making the individual feel disillusioned by lack of success, rather than spurred on to greater effort as happens with a Growth Mindset.

You can read the article at Scientific American: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-secret-to-raising-smart-kids&print=true

When I read it, I immediately recognized that this theory applies to singers as well. So many, many times I've been told by people that they're not good singers, or that it's all right for me, because I'm talented so singing is easy for me... What a bunch of crap! It's when people truly believe that they will never sound good that improvement is impossible. Every time I make a learning tape or learn a song, I am aware of deficiencies in my performance and strive to correct them. When you watch me singing, I'm feeling each note and tuning it, caressing it, lifting it... a lot of practice has made it 'easy', so don't belittle the achievement by telling me it's just talent!

Just recently several people have, quite separately, told me they hate to listen to their voice (on recordings) because they hear all the deficiencies and failings in it. This indicates to me a Fixed Mindset - you don't want to hear your deficiencies as you believe you can't correct them. It's also a major problem with vocal freedom and truly giving yourself to the music as your vocal self-image is something you hate. It sounds a bit naff to say 'learn to love your own voice' but your singing confidence and ability will definitely improve if you can get over that aversion.

Dale Syverson has a vocal lesson every week. Luciano Pavarotti had a voice teacher and lessons all his adult life. You think they're not talented? Effort is rewarded in this artform. 'Talent' is really just good technique, and the only gift some people have is starting out with better natural technique, or fewer problems!

So tape yourself singing a song you love. Listen to it, to the sound of your voice. To start with, don't get hung up on technical faults you hear, but listen to the vocal character - what makes it sound like you. Listen to it and listen to it (you may want to do more than one song!) for weeks and months and slowly you'll get used to that voice. If a technical flaw is bugging you, work on fixing it, record a corrected version of the song, and enjoy hearing the improvement! As you continue this process, you'll not only lose the 'hate' for your voice, but will start to feel proud of your voice, proud of each correction you make. You'll start to feel great satisfaction, knowing what you are achieving, and this will only spur you on to greater improvement. Practicing in front of a mirror is a great way to eliminate bad vocal habits by the way: you can see posture problems and see when your mouth isn't the right shape or moves on a target vowel. It's another thing people hate doing, because they don't like to look at themselves - yet not looking isn't going to solve the problem!

So don't hide away from your voice - that's defeatist and Fixed Mindset and will never allow you to grow beyond your current abilities.

The Lost Art of Breathing In

2007-11-12T13:04:00.000+09:00

I'd have to say that THE most common breathing problem I encounter in one-on-one vocal lessons (and quartet coaching) is inadequate or faulty inhalation. People seem forget how to breathe in (something fairly vital and unconscious) once they start singing. In fact, people work so hard on breathing that the breaths they take get smaller and more muscle-bound than ever and getting them to release all that tension and remember the full-body breath is hard work!

Do you fall into that category? If you've been practicing your 'catch breath' and not practicing the relax-and-spring-open feeling of taking a full breath, you're probably missing out on air and working far too hard to do it.

Go swimming and do some breast stroke with your head going under at every 2nd stroke, breathing out through the mouth while you're underwater - you'll find you take a lovely, full breath very quickly and without muscular strain. That's just what you need to be going for when singing.

Building Unit Sound

2007-11-04T00:33:00.000+09:00

Here’s one way of looking at Unit Sound.

Listening Skills provide the foundation to all good ensemble singing. You need good ears to hear and adjust to the others in the group, but you’ll find that as you get better and better, your ears will also improve, so you can hear smaller and smaller decrements of difference and work at eliminating them.

Instant, Accurate Pitch is required to produce vertically aligned chords. It’s pretty hard to think about unity if the sound is muddy from chord to chord, or plain out of tune!

Blend is the bit that most people think of for unit sound, not surprisingly! We’re looking for similar vocal production skills and the same ideal sound, but also the harmony parts need to listen to the natural strengths and characteristics of the Lead’s voice and try to sing with a similar character – enough to make the blend great and the sound clean.

Instant, Matching Vowels will make a huge difference to blend, among other things, and working on vowel matching can help with matching Sound. The bit I’ve called One Voice is the hardest part. It’s 100% mental. It’s the transition from singing together to singing as one. You can’t achieve it without a certain mastery of the other aspects of unit sound.

There are several techniques that spring to mind to assist in promoting these skills in a quartet.

Sing in a circle – only back-to-back. It’s a totally different aural experience.
Use vowel vocalises to focus your ears on matching – this is why ‘warming up’ as a quartet is essential. My fave is the 5 vowel unison-split to chord, followed by 5 chord tag sung on those vowels (‘I Sing Barbershop’ tag chords). More on that and how to make the most of it if you ask me!
Duetting – if you can’t hear the lead, you’re too loud. MATCH volume, bass/lead and bari-below/lead to give her full support without drowning her out. See my other posts on why duetting is brilliant.
Sing lying down, with your heads in the centre. This totally changes how gravity affects your breathing mechanism and facial mask. It’s much harder to force chest voice (therefore much easier to mix into head tone) lying down, so you end up with an open, relaxed tone which is easier to mesh with the rest of the quartet.
Bitch pitch. And ALWAYS lift the octaves and 5ths (that’s YOU baris and basses).
Break down phrases to identify target vowels and ensure all 4 voices match. Watch out for consonant clusters.
Voicebox Tunnel – get your lead to sing “wee wee wee” (slow and strong) on an Eb or so in her best resonant, open tone. Stand in front of her, adjusting for height so that her voice is projecting directly into the back of your neck (your voicebox). Sing the “wee wee wee” with her, matching her sound as much as you can, feeling her voice resonating through your voicebox and out through your mouth, mixed with your sound. This can be a really weird experience at first! Get the other 2 to stand out front and comment on the blend. This is the best exercise I know to get in touch with the Lead sound. Thanks Dede :-) You can do this with phrases from your song too.
Use One Voice – more on this soon.

Lead, nee Baritone

2007-11-03T13:49:00.000+09:00

A really good way of fast-tracking the transition from a harmony part to Lead is to get your lead to sing your songs by themselves, in front of you. It may feel a bit embarrassing/scary at first, but you'll get a lot out of it as a quartet:

singing Lead requires a certain amount of solo quality and charisma - this strips away the hiding spots and helps you get over the hurdle of OWNING the melody and selling the song;
if you've just switched into Lead, your quartet lineup is new. This technique will get the harmony parts attuned to your inflections, sound etc. much faster than when they're singing at the same time
it's very easy to be 'driven' by other members of the quartet if you're not used to singing Lead - a real no-no, so getting to put your stamp on the interp solo is a really good plan. But do remind her, harmony parts, where you have moving notes when she's holding (& spinning);
the Lead needs to take responsibility for lyricism. If duetting with another part feels like a fight, or you feel you're changing what you do to fit in with them, stop, sing the phrase solo for them, then insist they sing it exactly as you do. You should feel totally supported and weightless in a duet or full quartet, if they are doing this properly!

Even if you've been singing Lead for years, this can be a great way to refresh your confidence within the quartet and get those pesky harmony parts listening to you!

Learning Songs – Mark Your Target Vowels

2007-10-27T17:30:00.000+08:00

Want to get a step ahead and learn your songs at the level you’d like to sing them? There are a couple of easy things you can do to improve your chances of success, and all they require is preparation before unleashing the song to your singers.Quartets may choose to do this preparation together, so initial interp of phrases is agreed by all, or your “Quartet MD” or coach can do it, if you have one!

Any note that is held for any length in a phrase, and especially the last note of each phrase should have its target vowel spelt above it.

In my example above, the red dots indicate a held word, green double slash is a unit breath mark. You can see I haven’t marked every single word, nor shown the diphthong every time – too much marking can obfuscate rather than clarify things for the learner.

For each held syllable I’ve indicated the target vowel.I’ve also marked the following potential traps:

where a note is held by some parts and moved by others.... target vowel must not move until you’re ready to hit the next note (or breathe), as in “say” and “clear”. Also, the holding parts must practice ‘spinning’ the sound and keeping the vowel fresh and bright;
some words are sound smudges waiting to happen. “message”, “matter” and “ever” are the 3 in this intro. Each has a second syllable which if not learnt correctly will end up only semi-sung “messg”, “mattr” and “evr” – no target vowel in there, so we end up with nothing we can use to lock and ring, and a smudge in the vocal line. If we identify the target vowels as we are learning, we can hope NOT to fall into that trap!

There are other things to look for and practice as the notes and words are being committed to memory:

take note of big jumps in pitch. If they go up (as in “say” and “oh” for the basses) you must prepare mentally and physically for the upper note before you attempt to move to it – make the space for the sound first. You must also lift the top vowel, refreshing its shape as you move from note to note, where it is held for several pitches. If the pitch change is downward, sing the bottom vowel/pitch as bright and high as possible;
work on the flow of each phrase, trying to feel a circular movement between held notes or over the phrase as a whole... kinda hard to explain! If you try and ‘direct’ your own singing, you’ll be less inclined to clomp evenly through sequences of words (like “message from my heart”).

Hopefully, your learning tapes will reflect these target vowels – there’s nothing like learning from a good example. Also, before you copy out the music for the rest of the chorus, these markings should be made so that your singers are all learning the same thing. If you let them mark up their own, I guarantee there’ll be some who miss bits out, some who think they’ll remember, so don’t write it in, and some who think they’ll write in their own spelling of the vowels.... it’s human nature!

Spelling Vowels

2007-10-27T17:27:00.000+08:00

The key here is BE CONSISTENT.

Whatever you choose as your example words, make sure vowels are never spelt with more than one vowel (EE is the same vowel twice, so that’s OK, but AY is not – that’s a diphthong, and yes, Y is a vowel) and choose SHORT vowels whenever possible.

Below is my method of spelling, which works well with Australians and Brits – not sure about our US friends. I like to put an H after the vowel as it reads shorter: “I” could be said as “eye” but “IH” reads like the vowel in “itch”.

Vowel Spelling (reminder word)

IH (it)
EH (pet)
UH (hut)
OH (hot)
OO (ooze)
AH (part) – a classical vowel, not the Aussie crow... almost always comes before an R. Wherever possible, use UH instead – it’s shorter/brighter and less difficult to match!
EE (beat)
A (at)
URGE (urge) – this is a funny one: you might spell it ER or UR, but the whole point is to sing the vowel without introducing the R into it! Obviously, you don’t put the GE on when you sing it in context.

When a matching problem comes up, replace the syllable at issue with the reminder word for a few repetitions, then when you’re used to the sound it should be, try the real word again.

Make sure you pronounce a big contrast between the 2 vowels of a diphthong, max 80:20 target:diphthong. In “my” you can feel the distance between the target vowel “AH” and diphthong vowel “EE” – make sure you travel all the way, or you won’t hear it at all.

You will find from time to time something you can’t spell using these rules.... find a reminder word that works for you!

New Music, New Level?

2007-10-24T15:30:00.000+08:00

Have you ever noticed that skills you've spent the last 6 months drumming into your contest songs appear by themselves (at least to some degree) in the new song you started last week?

It's true, learning new songs is an important factor in increasing your skill level, especially if you're trying to make a big change from the 'old way'. I've frequently been asked if a group should 'chuck out' all its old songs because of the old habits in them, rather than try to fix them, and the answer in my opinion is YES. Now, I'm not advocating mass slaughter in the repertoire, but embarking on a 'music refreshment' program, replacing old songs one by one, can be of real benefit.

The key issue here is that new songs be:

chosen to work in with the skill set you have been working on
chosen to replace in function, the song being dropped (a show starter, or tearjerker ballad etc)
introduced with those new skills in mind, employed during the learning phase of the song, not once notes and words are known.

I guess this is one of my pet peeves: that so much of the time, learning the notes and words is given very little attention, especially in a chorus situation. It's once people are supposed to be 'off paper' that education starts to be applied to the music. That's BACKWARDS! If you were learning to play the piano, what would you think if your teacher gave you some music, sent you home and said, "go and learn this, and when you know it, I'll teach you how to play it"? You'd get yourself a new piano teacher!

But that sounds like a whole other entry to me! Learn Smart, not Twice.... coming soon to a blog near you :-)

New Quartet? Learning Songs

2007-10-23T14:09:00.000+08:00

After the initial fun of finding a name and a couple of songs to sing, many inexperienced and some semi-experienced quartets have difficulty translating that enthusiasm into a fantastic educational momentum that can mean the difference between a long-term success and a short-term dabbling into the art of quartetting.

For quartets where there are non-music readers present, if a member of your quartet can sing you a tape, things will come together much more quickly (professional tapes are available if there's no-one in your group, or you don't want to put extra pressure on anyone). Set your expectations before you start rehearsing - what you expect to be practicing at the following rehearsal (so you can all do homework) is a great way to wrap up a session, and can help focus you on the lessons of the day. If you've stated that you all want to be off paper (mostly at least!) with a song within two rehearsals, then everyone knows what is expected of them, and you'll all feel like you're pulling equal weight.

Once you have a general handle on the music and your phrasing/breath plan, it's time to start the most important activity of your quartet life: duetting. Many leave this step until they're fine-tuning for contest or an audition. My tip to you is do it as you are learning each new song.

By doing so:

the lead will have a chance to practice (over and over) her fluid vocal line, working on her interpretation and consolidating her technique in tricky bits, so that the other parts can match her sound and consistent (but musically flexible!) interpretation;
each part will fine tune their ears into the lead sound and feel where their part lies in relation to the melody, so that solid, vertical chord singing is encouraged, and you reach the best blend and unit sound possible;
each part can practice singing their part like the melody - it's so easy to sing a harmony part as a sequence of notes, rather than lyrically as the lead does, but until harmony and melody match in flow, synchronisation and unit will suffer;
the 2 listening parts can tune their ears to the level of unity they are striving for themselves in helping the duetters to sing as one - it's much easier to hear a mismatched vowel or badly aligned consonants when you're not singing at the same time!

Bass-tenor, bari-tenor and bass-bari duets are..... interesting, especially if their are a lot of octaves in the duet, but the three lead-? duets are of primary importance while learning a song. Yes, this means the lead sings 3 times as much. That's her job - her line is the most important!

Start with lead-bass (the most important duet of all), then do lead-bari, then trio lead-bari-bass, then lead-tenor, then trio lead-bass-tenor, lead-bari-tenor, then put all four parts together.

I promise you. It will sound fantastic.

Performance Planning

2007-10-15T16:51:00.000+08:00

Most people know that to perform at a high standard, they need to plan their performance. In fact, you get marks for it in more than one judging category (SAI). So most barbershop quartets will have a plan for each song: dynamics, tempo, rhythm, phrasing, breath plan, choreography. Some will even have planned for embellishments, emotions, faces, vocal colour - and will plan a SET of songs as a whole performance - that is, the bits in between too!

Sometimes planning what the audience is doing can help lift your performance from great to standing-O.

At a certain level of singing, we may sing a phrase and be emoting the message: for example "come back and forgive me, please do (please do)" from O How I Miss You Tonight. Go from the introversion of feeling that message, to thinking about sitting in the audience, listening to the phrase being sung. As an audience member you want to music to wrench at your heart on "come back" then be released as the lead soars up to "and", then the abject piteousness of "forgive me", then the transfiguring beauty of the "please do" echoes drifting to perfect silence should leave you holding your breath, totally suspended in the music.

OK, I've really gone to town on that one, but that's the idea! How does that change the way you think about singing the phrase? You may not end up articulating it in quite that detail (!) but feeling from the audience's perspective as you sing will totally connect you with them (that's called Audience Rapport on your score sheet) and will result in a magical experience for all of you!

How Do I Know If I'm Doing It Right?

2007-10-15T16:40:00.000+08:00

I get this question a lot.

If you have a good vocal teacher, he or she should help you identify the physical feeling associated with the 'right' way vs. the 'wrong' way.

Also, if it feels more relaxed/lifted and 'easier' yet the sound you make is better, you've probably just eliminated a flaw. You see, Vocal Freedom (the ultimate goal for singers) is exactly that - it is a very liberating feeling, causing no pain, almost effortless in the actual creation of the sound.

What should exhaust you is an ultimate connection to the music, and your efforts to become a conduit for your audience. You'll know from their reaction when you get that right!

The Secret To Success

2007-10-15T16:27:00.001+08:00

What is the secret to success?

1. Decide how you define success, then
2. Be totally committed to CHANGE in order to achieve it, then
3. BE successful, ALL THE TIME.

For example, if my friend wants to succeed at singing with open, unweighted sound. She must:

1. define success as a consistently open and unweighted sound, through all dynamics and pitch ranges,
2. commit to relaxing her throat, opening her mouth cavity, placing the sound somewhere on the hard palette (depending on vowel) and keeping the sound moving and alive, for each vowel sung, without dropping anything between vowels regardless of breaths or consonants,
3. ensure that every time she sings a single note or more, she sings with that vocal definition, and stops if she finds she's singing the 'old' way.

It's simple, yet making permanent change to our physical and mental singing habits is one of the hardest things you can attempt! It takes discipline, and sometimes, a helpful ear that can keep you in line until the skills become YOUR CHOICE (you can easily correct yourself). Then it's up to you to never sing it any other way!

Welcome

2007-10-13T17:21:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone!

This is my new blog for writing down those moments of inspiration that happen when I'm in the middle of a coaching sessions and a pearl of 'wisdom' drops from my lips... You know that feeling when all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and you see the whole picture at last?

Well, in any case, I hope you find it an interesting and useful read.

Cheers,

Jo