Teachers’s guide · three parts literally “follow her lead” in the delivery of dynamics and...
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1 TEACHERS RESOURCE Teachers’s guide Contents HARMONY......................................................................................................................................... 2 BARBERSHOP ARRANGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... 2 VOICE PARTS ..................................................................................................................................... 2 BALANCE OF SOUND ......................................................................................................................... 2 VOICE RANGES .................................................................................................................................. 3 TENOR ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 LEAD ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 BARITONE .................................................................................................................................................... 3 BASS ........................................................................................................................................................... 4 BALANCE OF VOICES .......................................................................................................................... 4 INTERPRETATION .............................................................................................................................. 5 BALLAD FLOW ............................................................................................................................................... 5 BARBERSHOP MANUSCRIPT .............................................................................................................. 6 USE OF THE PITCH PIPE ...................................................................................................................... 6 TEACHING BARBERSHOP ................................................................................................................... 7 LEARNING TRACK METHOD .............................................................................................................................. 7 REHEARSING ..................................................................................................................................... 7 VOCAL SKILLS ................................................................................................................................................ 7 POSTURE ...................................................................................................................................................... 7 BREATHING................................................................................................................................................... 7 PHONATION.................................................................................................................................................. 8 RESONATION................................................................................................................................................. 8 ARTICULATION .............................................................................................................................................. 8 VOCAL REGISTERS AND BARBERSHOP SINGING ................................................................................. 8 REHEARSAL STRATEGIES .................................................................................................................... 9 HUMMING ................................................................................................................................................... 9 SILENT SONG ................................................................................................................................................. 9 THE SINGING CIRCLE ....................................................................................................................................... 9 SOUND-OFF .................................................................................................................................................. 9 SECTIONAL REHEARSAL ................................................................................................................................... 9 TAGS ......................................................................................................................................................... 10 THE VISUAL BARBERSHOP PERFORMANCE ...................................................................................... 10 ENTRANCE AND PITCH PIPE ............................................................................................................................ 10 HOW MUCH CHOREOGRAPHY......................................................................................................................... 10 FACIAL EXPRESSION ...................................................................................................................................... 10 COSTUMES ................................................................................................................................................. 10 LEARNING A SONG USING BARBERSHOP RESOURCES ...................................................................... 11 PITCH NOTE/START NOTE .............................................................................................................................. 11 TIPS FOR LEARNING MUSIC QUICKLY AND ACCURATELY .................................................................. 11 FOR YOUR STUDENTS .................................................................................................................................... 11 SUGGESTED PROCESS FOR STUDENTS LEARNING NEW SONGS ........................................................ 12
Transcript of Teachers’s guide · three parts literally “follow her lead” in the delivery of dynamics and...
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Teachers’sguide
Contents
HARMONY.........................................................................................................................................2BARBERSHOPARRANGEMENTS.........................................................................................................2VOICEPARTS.....................................................................................................................................2BALANCEOFSOUND.........................................................................................................................2VOICERANGES..................................................................................................................................3TENOR.........................................................................................................................................................3LEAD...........................................................................................................................................................3BARITONE....................................................................................................................................................3BASS...........................................................................................................................................................4BALANCEOFVOICES..........................................................................................................................4INTERPRETATION..............................................................................................................................5BALLADFLOW...............................................................................................................................................5BARBERSHOPMANUSCRIPT..............................................................................................................6USEOFTHEPITCHPIPE......................................................................................................................6TEACHINGBARBERSHOP...................................................................................................................7LEARNINGTRACKMETHOD..............................................................................................................................7REHEARSING.....................................................................................................................................7VOCALSKILLS................................................................................................................................................7POSTURE......................................................................................................................................................7BREATHING...................................................................................................................................................7PHONATION..................................................................................................................................................8RESONATION.................................................................................................................................................8ARTICULATION..............................................................................................................................................8VOCALREGISTERSANDBARBERSHOPSINGING.................................................................................8REHEARSALSTRATEGIES....................................................................................................................9HUMMING...................................................................................................................................................9SILENTSONG.................................................................................................................................................9THESINGINGCIRCLE.......................................................................................................................................9SOUND-OFF..................................................................................................................................................9SECTIONALREHEARSAL...................................................................................................................................9TAGS.........................................................................................................................................................10THEVISUALBARBERSHOPPERFORMANCE......................................................................................10ENTRANCEANDPITCHPIPE............................................................................................................................10HOWMUCHCHOREOGRAPHY.........................................................................................................................10FACIALEXPRESSION......................................................................................................................................10COSTUMES.................................................................................................................................................10LEARNINGASONGUSINGBARBERSHOPRESOURCES......................................................................11PITCHNOTE/STARTNOTE..............................................................................................................................11TIPSFORLEARNINGMUSICQUICKLYANDACCURATELY..................................................................11FORYOURSTUDENTS....................................................................................................................................11SUGGESTEDPROCESSFORSTUDENTSLEARNINGNEWSONGS........................................................12
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HarmonyBarbershopacappellahasuniquecharacteristicsthatseparateitfromothervocalstyles.
Theconsonant4-partchordsthatverticallysupporteachmelodynoteandfrequentuseofthemajortriadandbarbershop(dominant)7thchordsgivesitauniquebeautyandrichness.Italsomakesuseofminortriadsandthedominant9thchord.
Chordssuchasthe6th,major7thandmajor9thchordsareonlyincludedwhendemandedbythemelodyandchordscontainingtheminor2ndintervalarenotused.
Inthebarbershopstylethemajorchordisoftenopenedandspreadtothe10thinterval,using“do-sol-do-mi”(1-5-8-3)ratherthantheclosedvoicingof“do-mi-sol-do”(1-3-5-8).
BarbershoparrangementsAgoodbarbershoparrangementincludes:
• Allchordtonespresentineach4-notechord• Non-chordtonesnotpresentinanyvoicepart• Frequentuseofmajortriadsanddominant7thchords• Basspartoftenvoicedontherootor5thofthechord
VoicepartsThevoicepartsinwomen’sbarbershopharmonyhavedifferentnamesandfunctionsfromotherSATBvocalstyles.
• ThetenorpartisequivalenttoSopranoIbutfunctionsasaharmonypartabovethemelody• Theleadpart(SopranoII)hasthemelodyline• Thebaritonepart(AltoI)fillsinaboveandbelowthemelody• Thebasspart(AltoII)suppliestheharmonicfoundation(rootor5th)ofthechord.
Thetenorsingsthehighestnoteinachord,thebassthelowest,theleadthemelody,andthebaritonesingstheallimportantmissingnote!
BalanceofsoundOneoftheprimarycharacteristicsofbarbershopmusicisacone-shapedsound.
Churchorgleeclubmusic(SATB)isbalancedcylindrically,withallvoicessingingwithequalweightandintensity.Progressivejazz,whensunginharmony,andmodernharmonyaresungwithinvertedconebalance-thetopvoicesingswithmoreweightandintensity,andthelowervoicessingwithlessweightandintensity.
Correctbarbershopbalanceistheopposite.
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VoicerangesTherangesdescribedherereflectthevocalcapabilitiesoftheseniorprimaryschool/highschoolsinger.Thesecanbeextendedineitherdirectionforstudentsoradults.
TenorThetenoristhehighestofthe4voicepartsandisaharmonypartsungabovethemelody.TheeffectivetenorrangeforYoungWomeninHarmonysingers,withextendedrangeinsmallnotes,is:
Thetenormustsingwithalighterproductionthanthelowervoices,withoutsacrificingclarityorbrilliance.Herqualitymustcomplementbutneverovershadowthelead.
Thetenorsingsmostlyinherupperregister(headvoice),butshemustbeabletouseherlowerregister(chestvoice)forlowernotesinherrange.
Lyricsopranosgenerallymakegoodtenors.Thecoloratura,dramaticormezzosopranomustbeabletolightenthevoicequalityandremoveexcessivevibratoforthisvoicepart.
Whenarrangementsoccasionallyneedtenorstosingbelowthelead,thetenormustbroadenherqualitytokeepthechordsinbalance.
LeadTheleadisoneofthetwomiddlevoicepartsandusuallysingsthemelody.Theeffectiveleadrange,withextendedrangeinsmallnotes,is:
Becauseshecarriesthemelody,theleadmustsingwithauthority,clarity,andwithaconsistentqualitythroughoutherrange.Theleadsingswithjustenoughvibratotoaddcolourandwarmthtothesound.It’sessentialshepossessanaccuratesenseofpitch.
Sheisresponsibleforconveyingtheinterpretation,emotionandinflectionsofthesong.Theotherthreepartsliterally“followherlead”inthedeliveryofdynamicsandtempoandsupportherinflection,artistryandfinesse.
BaritoneThebaritoneistheotherofthetwomiddlevoicepartsinbarbershopmusic—aharmonypartsungbeloworabovethemelody,dependinguponwherethemelodyissituated.
Baritonediffersfromthealtopartintraditionalchoralmusicbecausethebaritonepartfrequentlycrossesoverthemelody(lead).Thebaritoneiswritteninthebassclef,anoctavelowerthanitissung.
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Theeffectivebaritonerange,withextendedrangeinsmallnotes,is:
Thoughthebaritoneandleadsinginthesamebasicrange,thetechniquesforsingingthetwopartsaredifferent.Thebaritonemustbeconstantlyawareofherpositioninthechordandflexibleenoughtoadjusthertonewhenneeded.
Whenshe’ssingingbelowthelead,sheusesarich,fullsoundthathelpstosolidifytherelationshipbetweenleadandbass.Whenshe’sabovetheleadsheusesalighterproduction,similartothatusedbythetenor.
Thebaritonesingsarelativelystraight,well-producedtonewithaminimumofvibrato.
BassInbarbershopmusic,thebassisthelowestofthefourvoiceparts,aharmonypartsungbelowthemelody.Thebasspart,likethebaritonepart,iswritteninthebassclef,anoctavelowerthanitissung.
Theeffectivebassrange,withextendedrangeinsmallnotes,is:
Becauseoneoftheprimarycharacteristicsofbarbershopmusicisitscone-shapedsound,thebassmustsingwithafullertonequalitythantheuppervoicesandwithmorevolumethantheotherthreeparts.
Theharmonicstructureofbarbershopmusicassiststhebassinprovidingafirmfoundationforthesound.Usuallyshesingstherootor5thofeachchordbutotherchordtonesmaybesunginpassingorforspecialeffect.
Thebassandleadworkasateam,establishingastrongandaccuraterelationship,withtheleadsingingthemelodyandthebassprovidingtheharmonicfoundation.
Thebasssingsarelativelystraight,well-producedtonewithaminimumofvibrato.Therangeofthebasspartiscomparabletothatofacontraltointraditionalchoralmusic.
Occasionally,anarrangementwillgivethemelodytothebassforafewnotes,aphraseoranentirepassage.Whenthisoccurs,thebassaddssufficientcolour(vibrato)tohervoicetomakethemelodyeasilyidentifiableandtheleadsingsmorelikeabaritone.
BalanceofvoicesAnidealbalanceofsingersinabarbershopchorusisshownina4-3-2-1formula:4bass,3lead,2baritone,1tenor.
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Thisratiocanbeprojectedtoshowtheidealnumberineachsectionforanysizegroup.
Bass Lead Baritone Tenor Group
4 3 2 1
8 6 4 2 20
16 12 8 4 40
40 30 20 10 100
InterpretationWhiletraditionalsongsstillplayapartinbarbershoptoday,italsoincludesmorecurrenttitles.Mostmusiccanbearrangedinthebarbershopstyle,andtherearemanyarrangerswiththeskillstoincludethebarbershopchordstructureintheirarrangements.
Today'sbarbershopquartetsandchorusessingavarietyofmusicfromalleras-showsong,popandrockmusichasbeenarrangedforchorusesandquartets,makingthemmoreattractivetoyoungersingers.
Therearehundredsofsongsarrangedandreadytosing.Arrangementsforyoungervoicesarevoicedtosuit.
Youcanfindcomplimentarysheetmusicforgirlsandyoungwomen,atSweetAdelinesInternational:https://sweetadelines.com/education/music-educator-resources
Formixed,boysandgirlsarrangements,visittheBarbershopHarmonySociety:https://www.barbershop.org/next-gen/junior-quartets-choruses
Inrhythmicuptunesandswingtemposongsit’simportanttomaintainasteadyrhythmicpulseeventhoughthesingersaresingingunaccompaniedor‘acappella’.Aballaddemandsadifferentapproach.
BalladflowThebarbershopballadischaracterisedbyanad-libpresentationinafree,rubatostyle,interpretedandcraftedbytheconductor’sownmusicality,ratherthanadheringtotheexactnotationofthecomposerorarranger.
Thisseparatesbarbershopperformancesfromthoseinotherchoralstyles.
Barbershopinterpretivestylepermitsrelativelywidelibertiesinthetreatmentofnotevalues.Wordsofimportanceorchordsofexceptionalbeautycanbeheld,pausescanbeaddedtocreatenewmeaning,andwordflowcanbeadjustedtohelpthelyricscomealive.
Effectivechangesintempoanddynamicscanalsoenhancetheperformance.
Ifyouweretospeaktheline“Nothingseemsthesameanymore”,theword“same”wouldlikelyreceiveaddedemphasis.Therhythmicnotationis:
Whensunginstrictrhythm,thelinecanbecomeratherstilted.
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Inordertogivegreaterlyricalflow,wecouldchangetherhythmicnotationtomakethelinetoflowto“same”.
BarbershopmanuscriptAbarbershoparrangementhastheappearanceofSATBmusicbutthenotesforthebaritoneandbasspartsarenotatedinthebassclefandsungoneoctavehigherthanwritten.Thiseliminatestheneedformanyledgerlineswhicharedifficulttoread.
Themusiciseasilyreadandsingersquicklyadapttothismethodofnotation.
AlineofthesongNothingSeemstheSameAnymorearrangedinbarbershopharmonybutnotatedasSSAAmanuscriptwouldappeardifferentfromwomen’sbarbershop.
SATB Women’sbarbershop
UseofthepitchpipeToestablishpitch(tonality),thekeynote(tonic)isnormallysoundedbythepitchpipe.Theneachsectionsingsaprescribednoteofthetonicchord:
• bassesandleadssing“do”anoctaveapart• baritonessing“sol”belowthelead• andtenorssing“mi”abovethelead.Avowelsuchas“ah”or“ooh”isused.
Thismethodofpitch-takingestablishesasenseoftonalitywiththesingers.Manychoralconductorsthenhavethesingersmovetothefirstchordofthesong.
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TeachingbarbershopTeachingabarbershoparrangementissimilartoteachingotherchoralmusic.Barbershopstylemusicismemorisedandunaccompanied,soit’simportantforthestudentstolearntheirpartsthoroughly.Learningtrackscanbehelpfulintheteaching/learningprocess.
LearningtrackmethodLearningtracksareavailableformanyYoungWomeninHarmonyarrangements.Thisisaveryefficientmethodofteachingandenablesthedirectortofocusoninterpretation,balanceandperformanceskills,asthenotelearningisaccomplishedmostlyoutsideoftherehearsal.
Thetracksaredistributedtothestudentsalongwiththesheetmusicsosingerscanpracticeathome.Thelearningtracksareavailablewithall4partsbalancedaswellaswithexamplesrecordedwiththevoicepartpredominantorwiththevoicepartmissing.
Thestudenthastheopportunitytofollowalongwiththemusicwhilelistening,thencanpracticesingingalongwiththepartaloneuntilconfident.Whenshefeelsready,shecanpracticefittingherpartintotherecordingoftheotherthreeparts.
Afterpracticingwiththelearningtracksindividually,thefirstrehearsalstogethershouldincludepracticeofthesongfairlymethodicallytocheckfornoteaccuracy.Ifnecessary,individualsectionsshouldhaverepetitionworkondifficultpassages.Somevoicepartsareeasiertolearnthanothers!
Thechorusneedstolearntoidentifythesoundofbarbershopharmonyandtorecognisethesoundofawelltunedchord.Itissometimeshelpfultosingapassagechordbychorduntileachchordisaccurate.
Thebestbarbershopharmonyissungwithlisteningskillsaswellasvocalskillsandthelearningprocessisthebesttimetoemphasisethis.Repetitionisthekeytoretention.
Rehearsing
VocalskillsVocalskillsareanintegralpartofallaspectsofthebarbershopstyle.Thebasicelementsofposture,breathing,phonation,resonationandarticulationeachplayanimportantroleinthevocalpresentationofbarbershopmusic.
PostureCorrectbodyalignmentallowsoptimalbreathingandeffectiveuseofthevocalinstrument.
Atallstancewiththecrownoftheheadbeingthehighestpointisideal,weightdistributedevenlyonbothfeet,unlockedkneesandafeelingoffluidityinthebody.Shouldersarerelaxed,headlevel.Thebodyshouldbefreetomovewhensinging.
Acarelessbodystancewillinhibittheactionsofthebreathingandvocalmechanisms.
BreathingProperinspirationforsingingbeginswitharelaxedjaw,arelaxed,openthroatandanerect,expandedribcage.Theabdominalmusclesarethenallowedtorelaxdownward.Thisactionallowsamaximumamountofairintothelungsquicklyandefficiently.
Iftheribcageisnoterectandexpanded,thepotentialforbreathwillbereducedortheintakeofairwillcausethechesttoheaveupward.
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Ifthere’stensioninthejaworthroatarea,inhalationwillbenoisy,becausethethroatwillbeconstrictedandthevocalfoldspartiallyclosed,makingitimpossibletoquicklygetsufficientairintothelungs.
Properexpirationforsingingbeginswitharelaxedjaw,arelaxed,openthroat,anerectexpandedribcageandalowereddiaphragm.Whiletheribcageisinitserect,expandedposition,theabdominalmuscleslift,slowlyreleasingairfromthelungsupwardthroughthevocalfolds.
PhonationPhonationistheactionofthevocalfoldsinspeakingandsinging.Propercontrolthroughtheuseoftheabdominalandintercostalmusclesratherthantheswallowingorbearingdownmuscleswillallowoptimumairmanagementforthesinger.Singersneedacompletelyrelaxedthroatforthevocalfoldstoproduceclear,beautifultones.
ResonationResonationistheamplificationandenrichmentofthetonesproduced.Thepharynxisoneoftheprimaryresonatorsforthevocalinstrumentandisenhancedbysingingwitharelaxedjaw,anopenthroatandanelevatedsoftpalate.Whenthebreathingmechanismisfunctioningproperly,thesingerisabletousethepharynxforproperresonationofvocalsounds.
ArticulationArticulationistheprocessbywhichsoundsareshaped.Insinging,vowelsaresustainedandconsonantsprovideonlysplit-secondinterruption.Aneffectivebarbershopensembledoesnotrelyonhighlyarticulatedlyricsbut,instead,focusesonthetargetvowelsounds,especiallyintheharmonyparts.
VocalregistersandbarbershopsingingBelowmiddleC
Ingeneral,alltonesbelowmiddleCsungbyanyvoicepartareproducedbyusingthevocalcordadjustmentforthelowerregister.
OctavefromMiddleCtoCabove
Theupperregisterisgraduallymixedwiththelower,lighteningthequalityandallowingtonestoremainfreeandmusical.
TonesabovetheCabovemiddleC
Theseareproducedbyusingthevocalcordadjustmentfortheupperregister.
Theguidelinesaboveapplytotonesofmoderatevolume,properlyproduced.Anincreaseinvolumegenerallyrequiresmoreassistancefromthelowermechanismandadecreaseinvolumegenerallyrequireslessassistancefromthelowerandmorefromtheupper.
Thesingerneedstolearntoapplythecorrectvocalskills-breathing,phonation,articulationandresonation-toachieveasmoothtransitionbetweenthetwovocalregisters.Thesingerwhoisunabletomakethissmoothtransitionbecauseoffaultyproductionorlackofvocaldevelopmentgenerallyforcesupthelowerregistertoapointwherethepharyngealmusclesconstrictthethroatinanattempttoformaresonatingcavityforthedesiredtone.
Whenmusclesarefullyconstricted,thevoice“breaks”andaweakenedupperregistertakesover.
Asignificantdifferencebetweenfemalebarbershopmusicandothertypesofchoralmusicisthemannerinwhichthelower,orchest,registerisusedinsingingthethreelowervoiceparts.
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Eventhetenormayoccasionallyneedtousethechestregisterforlowertonesortoachievehighervolumelevels.However,we’recarefulnottooverextendtheyoungvoiceandencouragegradualandhealthyprogress.
RehearsalstrategiesAllthetechniquesusedinrehearsinganychoralmusicwillbeeffectiveinrehearsingabarbershopensemble.Therearealsoapproachesthatseemtoworkespeciallywellinbarbershopchoruses.Herearesomeideasthatmaybehelpful…
HummingOnesectionsingsthewordswhiletheotherthreesectionshumtheirownnotes.Thisiseffectiveinhelpingallfoursectionstobecomefamiliarwiththeirownpartswhilekeepingtheminvolvedduringthelearningprocess.
SilentsongAfternotesandwordshavebeenlearned,askthechorustotakethepitchofthesong.Asyoudirect,thesectionsthinktheirparts.Atasignal,theycontinuethemusicaudibly.Repeat“silent”and“sing”afewtimesthroughoutthesong.Thisisagoodmethodtodetermineifthechorusislosingtonalityorstrayingfromthepitch.Thisactivityalsoencouragesthesingertobeawareofherpartanditsrelationshiptotheothers.
ThesingingcircleThechorusformsacircle,facinginward(doubleortripledeepifthechorusislarge)withthedirectorinthecentre.Thepurposeistoaddvarietyandtoenablethememberstohearoneanotherfromadifferentperspective.Inadditiontorotatingwithinthecircletofacedifferentsections,thedirectormaychoosetowalkslowlyaroundthecirclelisteningtoeachvoice.Thisallowsformonitoringindividualpartsandvoiceswithoutaddingpressureorembarrassingthesinger.
Sound-offEachsectioncountsoff1,2,3,4untileverymemberhasanumberandthechorushasbeendividedintofoursmallerchoruses.Theentirechorusbeginsasongandoncueallstopsingingexceptthegroupwhosenumberiscalled.Combinenumbersforvariety.
SectionalrehearsalOccasionallyit’shelpfulforasectiontoworkaloneontroublespotsordifficultpassages.Sectionrehearsalscanincludeinterpretation,matchingtonequality,matchingvowelsandsynchronisation.Sectionrehearsalsofthetenors,baritonesandbassescanbenefitbytheadditionofafewleads.Thisallowstherelationshipofthemelodyandtheharmonytobereinforced.
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TagsTagsareanintegralpartofthebarbershopidiomandwillenhanceyourrehearsals.Theyareshort,easytolearn,quicklytaughtandeasilyrecalledandallowthesingertopracticetheblendofvoices,thebalanceofchordsandaccuratetuning.Tagsaresungfree-style,permittingthesingerstoholdeachchorduntilitmeetstheear’ssatisfactionandevenabitmore,justforfun.
Youcanfindmusicfortagsat:
Lloydsonghttp://lloydsong.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Barbershop-tags-for-women-final-portrait.pdf.GlendaLloydalsohasarangeofarrangementsonthesite.
andBarbershoptagshttps://www.barbershoptags.com/
ThevisualbarbershopperformanceThetotalbarbershopperformanceincorporatestheartofshowmanship,relyingheavilyonthevisualimpactandunityoftheensemble.
EntranceandpitchpipeInperformance,theentrancetoandexitfromthestageshouldbeexecutedwithconfidenceandplannedinadvance.
Timingforthepitchpipe,anybreaksandaudienceacknowledgementofapplauseshouldbepracticedinrehearsals.
HowmuchchoreographyEffectivechoreographyinthebarbershopstyleenhancesthemusicalproductwithoutdistractingeitherthesingerortheaudiencefromthemusic.
Manyprimaryandseniorhighschoolstudentshaveexperiencedparticipationinshowchoirsandenjoyedconsiderablechoreographyandstaging.Barbershopperformancesmayrequiresomemodificationofthewaythegroupmoves,sosoundisneversacrificedforthesakeofmovement.Thereisalsonomusicalaccompanimenttocoveranylackofbreathsupport!
Becauseofriserpositions,notallchorusmemberscandoallthechoreography.Sometimesfrontrows,backrows,asectionorsingleindividualdoesaparticularmovebuttheunitappearanceneedstobekeptintact.
FacialexpressionAbrightanimatedandexpressivefaceisnotonlyagreatwaytoshowthemessageofthesongandconnectwiththeaudience,italsoenhancesresonanceandliftinthesound.Attheveryminimumitshouldbe‘pleasant’.
Appropriatestagemakeup,especiallywhenperformingunderlights,canbehelpfulinhighlightingfacialexpression.
CostumesCostumingisimportanttothebarbershopperformanceandmaydenoteatheme,illustrateasongorreflectthepersonalityoftheperformer.
Appropriatecostumesaddtothevisualimpactofanyperformanceand,forYoungWomeninHarmony,canincreasetheperformer’ssenseofself-confidence.
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Energyistheforcethatpropelsallaspectsofthevisualpresentationofthebarbershopperformance.Itaddsthatmagicalaurathattransformsanotherwiseroutineperformanceintoanexcitingexperienceforbothaudienceandperformer.
Whenthebarbershopchoruscandisplaybothmusicalproficiencyandanenergisedvisualperformance,theendresultisanentertainmentpackagethatthrillseveryoneinvolved.
LearningasongusingbarbershopresourcesDependingonthecopyrightpermissionsyouhave,downloadallthelearningtracksforthesongsandsaveontoyourdevice.Yourstudentscandothesame.
MostbarbershoplearningtrackscomeinAll4-parts,leaddominant,bassdominant,baridominantandtenordominanttracks.Somemayalsohaveeachpartonitsownandasinglepartmissing.
Pitchnote/startnoteEachtrackstartswithanelectronicallyproducedpitchforthesong.Ifyou’renewtoacappellasinging,thisishowsingerslearnthekeyofthesongwhichtheyneedtobeawareofthroughout.Thepitchofthesongwillchangeifthere’sakeychangeinthesong.
Whenrehearsing,eachpartneedstolearnwheretheirfirstnoteisrelativetothepitchnote.Somesingersjustmemoriseit,otherscountthenumberofnotesfromthepitchpipenotetotheirstartnote.Therearemanyonlineresourceswithexamplesofsongsforeachoftheseintervalswhichsomesingersmayfinduseful.
Afterthepitchisblown,askallpartstosingitinunison,toestablishagoodtonalcentre–thebassesandsometimesthebaritonemaytaketheloweroctave–beforeeveryonemovestotheirstartnoteatyourdirection.
Hand-heldpitchpipes,eitherelectronicormechanical,aremostoftenusedbybarbershopsingers,buttherearealsoarangeofappsyoucandownloadforyourdevice.
CtoCpitchpipesarebestforfemalesingers,FtoFformales.
TipsforlearningmusicquicklyandaccuratelyIt’simportantforthemusicdirectortobeawareofthedifferentpartsandhowtheyinteractwitheachother.Somedirectorslearnall4partsofthesong,whileothersplayeachpartrepeatedlytomakethemselvesawareofanytrickyareas.
Studentsshouldbeexpectedtolearntheirpartathome.Tostartwithatchoirrehearsal,practisethesongwiththestudentsstandingtogetherwiththeirvoiceparts.You’llneedweeklyrehearsalstoproperlylearnabarbershopsong.
Foryourstudents• Repetitionandreallylisteningtotherecordingwillhelpyoulearnyournotesaccurately.• Plan15minutesatleast3or4timesaweektolearnyourmusic,awayfromdistractionsif
possible.Thelearningprocessshouldtake3-4weeks,orless,dependingonthesong.• Thelearningtracksoftendon’tmatchthesheetmusicexactlywithrespecttotimingandrhythms.
Barbershopinterpretationallowsformuchflexibility!Thedirectorcanmakenotesontheircopyofthemusicandshareitwithstudents,orrunthroughanyinterpchangeswiththegroup.Studentscanfollowalongwiththeirsheetmusicwhilelisteningtothelearningtracks–withanynotesfromyouoncorrectinterpretation,vowelsounds,timingandvocalproduction.
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Suggestedprocessforstudentslearningnewsongs• Playyourpart4-6timesinarow,listeningonly–don’tsingalong.• Playyourpartagainwhilehummingsoftly2or3times.• Singyourpartsoftywiththerecordingofyourpart3times.• Singyourpartwiththe‘AllParts’version3times.Ifyouloseconfidenceinanyparticularsection,
gobackandrelearnthatbit.• Lookatthesheetmusicandsingalongwhilefollowingyourpartinthesheetmusic.• Ifyoufindyouhavetroublewithaparticularsectionofthesong,listentothelearningtrackagain
afewtimes,thenhumthrough4times,thensingitseveraltimeswiththerecordinguntilyouhaveitright.
• Whenyoufeelyouknowit,singyourpartwitheachoftheother3parts,toheartheharmonyandhowyourpartfitswiththeothers.
• Followthesestepsfor2or3weeks.
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Wehopeyouenjoyworkinginthebarbershopstyleandwe’dbehappytohelpifyou’dlikeanyfurtherinformation.
Pleasevisitourwebsiteathttps://[email protected]
