The Art of Barbershop - Step by Step

If you have never had the opportunity, or taken the time, to attend a contest weekend in a region/district outside of your own, you are missing out.  Being able to take in the sights and sounds without the pressure of competing and having the opportunity to meet people that have a passion for music the way that you do is a fun and energizing experience.

This past weekend, my quartet had the opportunity to be the mic tester quartet at the Region 23 Sweet Adelines International Regional Competition.  What a treat!

As mic testers (also an experience I would recommend), we were able to experience the contest stage environment for the first time in this quartet without the pressure of actually competing.

As audience members, we were able to enjoy our hobby being on fine display by people that we are not familiar with.  It is fun to see how universal that experience was even though we were half way across the country from home. I enjoyed it very much and I highly recommend to you for when/if you get the chance.

A quick “shout out” to my new friends in the Tune Town Show Chorus in Nashville, TN.  They took the stage as a mid-size chorus with 59 members and outscored the large chorus in their region that has a history of wining.  And, they did it with a total of 623 points! (They also received the Most Improved Chorus award by raising their score 44 points from last year)

Way to go ladies, you truly were a “Dixieland Delight”.

You can always learn by watching and listening to others.  Each chorus and quartet in our organizations brings something different to the table.  You can take concepts or ideas from those that do well and use them in your own performances.  Or, you can see the things that got in the way of success for those that struggled and work to keep those things out of your repertoire.

With Region 23 and the Dixie District of the Barbershop Harmony Society having their contests the same weekend and in adjoining venues, we were able to see some wonderful performances with a large variety of performers.  It was a great barbershop weekend indeed.

I recently had a choreographer of a mid-size barbershop chorus ask me this question:

“How can I get my “C” level chorus

to move at an “A” level?”

Well, the short answer to that question is:  You can’t.

Now, let me explain….

You won’t be able to move at an “A” level until you can sing at an “A” level.  Now obviously, in barbershop contests, you can get “B” or “B+” scores in the other categories and get an “A” score in showmanship or presentation, but to me, the overall effect is that it has to go together.

There are lots of steps that you can use to start building your visual package, but you can move like Cirque du Soliel and it won’t really matter if you are not singing barbershop harmony well. The visual is only really scored in one category; the singing is scored in all of them.  And those that think that the music performance does not play a role in the showmanship/presentation categories are sorely mistaken.

Just know that if you tailor a simple plan that enhances the music and does not interfere with your work on the vocal product you will have much better results than if you try to dance “Richtones” level but cannot support it musically.

Stay tuned for more tips and techniques to help you continue to build the visual.  I will just take you on the Sweet Adelines International and Barbershop Harmony Society honor systems that you are already addressing the musical product.

Best of Luck!

OK, it’s confession time….”My name is Sheri, and I use my hands way too much in an “I’m directing” sort of way when I sing with my barbershop quartet.”  There.  I said it.

At the start of barbershopstep.com I said that I might talk about some of my own personal barbershop experiences from time to time, so here’s my story.  My new quartet was being coached this last Sunday by Jim Bagby (Baritone, Rural Route 4, 1986 Champs), and one of the things that I was told was that I was trying to guide my quartet to stay with me by using my hands.  His suggestion was to stick my hands in my pockets and use the natural inflections of my voice as the guide to the other three members of my quartet. Let me just say that this is a lot harder to do than it sounds.  I was able to accomplish what he was asking of me, and my quartet tuned into my sound better.  At that point, they had no choice.

So, lesson learned, right?  Well, not so much.

The very next evening we were auditioning for two of the three Sweet Adeline International choruses that we represent.  My husband was so kind as to make a video tape of our performance for my chorus.  Low and behold, despite the fact that I was actually making a conscious effort to keep my hands under control, the old adage of “old habits die hard” reared its ugly head.  I could see the times that I was making the effort to either hold my hands still, or even do some other things to add to the story telling process, but there was WAY too much arm waiving going on.  I will even admit that it was distracting from the message that I was trying to portray.

So, long story short.  “Watch the hand waiving kiddo!”

In barbershop singing, the ebb and flow that must take place in the phrase that you are singing must happen with your own vocal energy.  Not by pushing and pulling with your arms to try and “make” it happen.

I’m trying not to be too hard on myself since this quartet has only had five rehearsals together so far, but I don’t like to make excuses.  So, I guess I’ll be spending more time with my hands in my pockets until can work my hands in a more relaxed manner.

You should try it sometime.  If you do, come back and tell me what you think.

Note to self….never teach new choreography on a night when you know that next week’s schedule does not allow time for a review.  It’s a waste of time….two weeks later, no one remembers.

Unfortunately, the answer to this question is both yes and no.  Sometimes doing a “barbershop fan” move where everyone fans their outside hand/arm up and out to the side at the end of a song or at a place where you are emphasizing or trying to achieve the lift is what works best for that moment.  I just tire of it being used all of the time because that’s the easy or expected thing to do.

What I propose is, not a revolt on the concept all together, but a way to find other options so that the fan doesn’t just become the barbershop default move for every lift, phrase climax, or end of a song.

How can we achieve this?  It’s pretty simple, don’t try to reinvent the wheel, just come up with some other options.  I’ll try to describe a few:

• Bring the outside hand up and towards the director in the center on the penultimate, or next to last, chord.  Then on the last chord, you can fan around and open creating more of a visual effect than just the standard fan.
• Experiment with filling your own space instead of having to reach out to make your point.  By this, I mean have the hands free and moving with one or both up and away from the body.  You can have it be subtle like you’re just naturally moving that way, or choreograph a move where everyone’s hands come up.  Then, for the “lift”, or dramatic effect, bring the hands back down to your sides while filling up that space between your body with your knees, chest, shoulders and head pushing through the hands as they come down.  The hands have to have and energy or push to them or it looks weak. With the right tension and drama worked between the hands and the body it can be very effective.
• Instead of doing a move with the hands, just have everyone step forward on their outside foot to grow using their knees.  Small move, but done correctly it adds great drama.  (This move can be done in reverse for a really quiet moment.  If you do the move subtly you can achieve an effect where the audience “senses” that the moment is pulled in and dramatic, but won’t actually notice that you moved purposefully)
• Do the stepping move just listed above, but add a slight turn “down the tiles”*.  If everyone really hones in on the director at that “chorus stance” angle and then slowly turns out to open up more to the audience it is a good visual effect.  Of course you want to keep your director in your peripheral vision.  Nothing ruins a good ballad like a poorly executed cut-off.

Anyway, you get the idea.  There are lots of ways to achieve these very effecting alternatives to “the fan”, or barbershop move 101 as we call it in my chorus.  Just find a few that work well for your and your group and mix it in with your other choreography and your fans to add interest to what you are doing.

Your audience will appreciate the variety in your performance.

*Different people call “down the tiles” different things.  I am referring to the move where all members face completely forward instead of in the natural curve of the risers.

Most choruses spend 20-30 minutes at the beginning of every rehearsal doing vocal warm-ups, but there aren’t very many that make the most of the warm up time in a visual/physical way.  There are several ways to accomplish this concept, and hopefully one or all of them will be something that your chorus will find effective.

Simple Emotions –
This is the easiest way to incorporate visuals with warm-ups.  Select a warm-up that you like to do.  Say it is “ma-may-me-mo-moo” in chords. Then have the chorus sing that same line while conveying different emotions.  I.e. Angry, sad, happy, exited, etc. Typically you can hear the changes in energy and emotion as you change each concept.  Be alert that some darker emotions like angry or especially sad, will actually pull on the pitch itself.  Now is a good time to address that issue.  Sad (or slow) does not equal flat.

Eight Count Exercises –
Most of us have seen how cheerleaders always have a little dance routine no matter what song is being played.  You think “do they really know a whole dance to every song that is going to be played at the game?”  No.  They accomplish this by creating several short routines based on an eight count beat.  Once that know those, then they can use those “routines” with almost any song that could be played that has a 4 count meter to it.   Take the time to create a routine with several 8-counts worth of steps.  Once you’ve done that and have the steps taught, then you try to “dance” those steps with any typical chorus or regional song.  The same eight count steps can, for instance, be danced to “Darkness on the Delta” that can be danced to “Runnin Wild”.  **NOTE** start after the introduction, those are usually done so ad lib that this doesn’t work**   Then once you are dancing to one song, try to move to another.  This concept gives you the ability to get the legs and arms moving without complex choreography being involved and keeps you from warming up just planted on the risers.

Just Dance! –
Before or after embarking in your vocal warm-ups, (I prefer before just to get the hearts pumping) put on some fun music in a CD Player and have everyone move around.  The front row can step away from the risers to allow for riser members to step down to the floor if they would like.  Everyone needs to engage their whole body.  The idea is to get them moving individually and not doing “choreography”, but some members need a little guidance, so it is OK for the warm-up leader to continue to lead with easy, fun moves that others can emulate if they are more comfortable that way.  You can use any fun dance song whether it is disco, 50’s rock-n-roll, or country western.  You pick the beat that you think your chorus will respond to the best.

Hopefully one or all of these techniques will help you get started with a physical warm-up plan.  This is one time can say “just dance”, and it will get your rehearsal started with a fun, upbeat energy.

Good Luck!

As a choreography team member, we spend a lot of time in front of the chorus, preaching, teaching, and pushing to get people to “turn it on” and perform.  One question that I seem to get all of the time is “how can we be expected to be 100% on all of the time?”.  To this I say, “get real!”. 

Most choruses rehearse for a pretty solid three hours a week, and when it comes to coaching, contest time, and retreats, it can be far longer than that.  My advice is this…  when the pitch pipe blows, or your director is ready to proceed, then you are “on”.  When the music stops and the director or a chorus leader is speaking about what they are looking for you to accomplish, you can relax, breathe deep, take a drink of water, relax your arms, and relax your face.  Use this time to listen intently to what is being asked of you.  Then when it is time to shine, you are ready.

Yes – EVERY time you perform, do it “all out”.  It is the only way that you will be ready for it come performance time.  Too many people rely on the “I’ll be up when I’m on stage” excuse.  It just doesn’t work that way.  I have even been accused of looking tired or disinterested in between songs because people don’t know that I am just conserving my energy.  They do know, however, that when it comes time to perform the music I will be on.  Always.

***SPECIAL TIP OF THE DAY*** 
Talking to your riser neighbor takes energy.  If you start talking as soon as the singing stops and then go back to singing, you are going non-stop and will wear out sooner.
******************************
 By using those “down time” moments to relax and listen, you are not only doing your body a favor, but you are allowing your chorus leadership to their job without having to talk over you and you will be more apt to know what you are being asked to do next.

Sing/RELAX, sing/RELAX, etc., etc.

It will help you do two things….

First, you will conserve energy and allow for your best effort when it comes time to perform.  Second, when you do perform your best in rehearsal, you will perform better on stage.  I promise.

Now that you know a little bit about me, I’ll tell you why I have started this blog.  I think that there can never be too many resources for education and improvement of ourselves and the art form of barbershop.   While there are many out there that teach and share knowledge with us, there aren’t very many web resources for us to use on a continuing basis.  Barbershopstep.com can help fill in the gaps in between music schools and conventions. 

While I’ll never claim to know it all, my experience as a quartet member, a chorus member, and a coach affords me the opportunities to see where there are information gaps than can be filled and or places for improvement.

I plan to offer up articles that will provide tips and techniques for both chorus and quartet members as individuals as well as those that are team leaders and are looking for new ideas to share with their choruses. 

If you like what I have to say, then there may be opportunities for us to work together in the future. (You can contact me at sheri@barbershopstep.com)  I also have no problem with you printing and using these articles in your chorus newsletter.  All I ask is that you list barbershopstep.com and me as the source reference.  Also, I would love for you to include a link to barbershopstep.com on your chorus website where your members can visit and learn as well.

Some things that I detail here may seem elementary to you, but as a whole I may feel that they need to be shared.  Hopefully you will find the information helpful and possibly open a dialogue where we can either share ideas or I can answer your questions. 

Sometimes I may even write about whatever hot topics are floating around the barbershop community or give you a personal update on my chorus and quartet just for fun.

Overall, I hope to become one of your barbershop education resources, so stay tuned.

Up next…..  100% On All of the Time?… Get Real!

Welcome to my new barbershop blog.  My name is Sheri and I have been performing barbershop for 12 years. 
I consider it as much a part of me as the fact that I have brown hair.
You’ll notice that I said that I “perform” barbershop as opposed to saying that I “sing” barbershop.  This is because while I, of course, value the singing and amazing sounds of 4-part ringing chords, the focus of this blog is going to be the art of performance.

My “expertise”, if you can call it that, is more attuned to what the men call Presentation and the women call Showmanship and Expression.
Don’t get me wrong, singing is always #1.  I have been singing since I was 5 years old, and I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Music-Voice Performance from The University of Kansas.
I know that no choreography will make it across the footlights if the singing is not done well.

For the purpose of basic introduction, I will tell you that I sing in an International Medalist Chorus in the Sweet Adelines International organization where I am on the front row, the choreography team, and serve as one of the two front row captains.  I am a past Regional Quartet Champion lead, and I am starting a new quartet venture as we speak.  I currently coach choruses in the Sweet Adelines organization and the Barbershop Harmony Society.

I love barbershop; listening to it, watching it, performing it, and coaching it.  If you do too, the I hope you will stay tuned and visit often.

Next up… Part Two - Why am I Here, and Why Should You Care?