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How to Find the Best Positioning When Singing in a Quartet
The lead and bass should stand side-by-side, but you may switch sides if needed. Duet both
ways and select the one that 'locks' your sound. Then add tenor and then baritone, checking each via the
sound of duet with the lead for best placement. Each part should be able to hear the other parts and to hold their part
easily, with a full sound. If not, try dueting with other parts as well. Remember to stand approximately as a
half moon and sing to a focal point in the middle of the area in front of the quartet. The lead may need to step forward
slightly or another part may need to 'cheat' in front or behind another for optimal sound.
General Notes on Specific Songs
"Fit as a Fiddle" all parts, work on pick ups and entrances. Keep energy going
and remember to be animated to maintain your focus on the song.
For "World on a String," practice the key change!
In general...don't reset after every breath and try to take your breaths seamlessly, i.e., so
that the audience doesn't notice them. Sing vertically, not horizontally!
In "It's a Pleasure," the leads need to remember that after the sections where we slow
down for emphasis, we have the pick up, "It's a," then the other parts come in. The pick up is in tempo, not
slowed down. This happens three times in this song. Also, we are ALL rushing this song, when performing,
watch the director from the beginning for the tempo; you can tap a foot or tap a finger to keep in time
as you sing.
In "World on a String" the leads need to focus on keeping the melody elongated and flowing, while
staying in rhythm with the bass line.
When we have a key change, like in "Fit as a Fiddle' where we go a half step up to E, think of
the music as a template. You simply move the template up a half step and sing as before. This especially applies
to the leads, who have the melody.
Give Me a Barbershop Song
The pitch will be blown differently on this song. It will continue to be blown while all
the parts are taking the song's pitch. Then, at the pitches for individual parts, the pitch blower will stop
and take her pitch too. This is to facilitate the basses in finding their part.
To keep the music moving and the rhythm on beat, change all words ending in -ing to -in', like
hummin' and singin' and, well, you get the idea.
The wonderful thing about barbershop music is that ALL the parts are important for different
reasons. The leads have the melody most of the time, the bari's are the harmony, basses are often the rhythm and tenors
are the sparkle, the frosting on the cake!
List of Current Songs and Keys
2009 Repetoire
Are You Lonesome Tonight.........................................G
Follow Your Heart..........................................................G
Happy Birthday..............................................................F
Harmony Collage..........................................................F
Heart of My Heart ( A/K/A The Story of the Rose).....F
Give Me a Barbershop Song.......................................G
I'd Give the World to be in My Hometown..................Eb
Irish Blessing................................................................D
Let Me Call You Sweetheart........................................F
Love Song....................................................................C
San Francisco Bay Blues...............................................Eb
Shine On Me...................................................................F
Singing From Our Hearts...............................................Eb
Siyahamba......................................................................F
Star Spangled Banner....................................................F
This is My Country...(legalization in progress)..............A
This Little Light of Mine.................................................Eb
Under the Boardwalk.....................................................Eb
Valentine Greeting.........................................................F
You're a Grand Old Flag...............................................F
Old Songs (legal)
Dream a Little Dream....................................................F
Fit as a Fiddle................................................................F
Hello Tag.......................................................................Bb
I've Got the World on a String.....................................Bb
It's a Pleasure..............................................................G
Shine on Me.................................................................F
Singing from Our Hearts.............................................Eb
Harmony Inc. Songs
Harmony Grace............................................................Eb
Two Nations..................................................................Eb
We're Harmony We're Strong.....................................Eb
List of Christmas Songs and Pitches
Angels We Have Heard on High.............................Low C
Christmas Chopstix..........................................................F
Coventry Carol.................................................................A
Dona Nobis Pachem.......................................................D
Feast of Lights.................................................................B
Feliz Navidad....................................................................A
Jingle Bells..............................................................High C
Let There be Peace on Earth.......................................Bb
Mele Kalikimaka.............................................................Eb
Midwinter.................................................................HIgh C
Shalom.............................................................................D
Silent Night.......................................................................G
While by My Sheep.........................................................G
Things to Work On
Remember to sing with a vertical, not horizontal, positioning of your mouth. If you're practicing at
home, do some of it in front of a mirror. You can also practice singing with facial animation and body language in front
of the mirror.
Minimize pronunciation of the following letters and letter combinations: ch, s, j, k, t...any hard consonants.
Sing on the vowel sounds, not the consonants. Often a good substitute sound for a hard 't' is a soft 'd.'
Keep your tongue out of the way of the words! This is especially important when the music's pace is
fast or when there are 'th' words, etc. To properly pronounce 'th' when singing, your tongue should be behind your
teeth. To feel where your tongue should be, say the letter 'd' as in the word 'did' or 'dude'. This skill can be
applied to most consonant sounds. In "Fit as a Fiddle" for example, the first word is "This." The 'th' is given
an unecessary emphasis if you sing it as you would speak it, with your tongue slightly protruding from between your lips or
teeth.
When the same consonant both ends a word and starts the next word, eliminate the one at the end of the word
and pronounce/sing it only once. A good example of this is in 'World on a String', measure 15, with the words 'got the'.
Leave off the 't' on the word 'got' to pronounce the two words more like 'gah-the'. This will help with tripping over
the words and also adding any extra unnecessary beats to the music.
Pay attention to the rhythm; sometimes gently tapping your foot or tapping a finger against your leg can help
you stay on the beat. Several of our songs are rhythm driven, for example, 'It's a Pleasure' and 'Fit as a Fiddle.'
In 'Under the Boardwalk' and 'Harmony Collage' the bass part is what drives the song. If other parts are off the beat,
it forces the basses to change to accommodate the error. Instead, listen for the basses, so you can feel where your
part fits in.
When a song is higher than comfortable for you in some sections, it helps if you stay in your head voice while
singing the lower portions of it. This also helps prevent singing the higher part flat. A good example of
this is in the intro to "Fit as a Fiddle." The leads have octave jumps throughout this part and if one continually drops
to the chest voice, it pulls the section down so that the music is flat before we ever reach the chorus.
Another good idea is to check your pitch at the end of the song you're practicing to make sure you haven't
flatted or sharped.
We have been doing a lot of warm ups using the 1, 1-2-1, 1-2-3-2-1 and the 1, 1-2,
1-3, 1-4...etc. patterns. These help us recognize intervals in songs and pitch-ups. Knowing how an interval
should sound can also help keep us in pitch!
New Old Stuff from HITS!
Singer's Posture
The reminder at HITS was just how important posture is to our singing. About 90% of the vocal problems
that arise can be helped and improved with just remembering to check our posture!
You BETCHA!
Randy and Lisa came up with this great acronym for how to remember correct singing posture:
Balance/Body alignment- Make sure your feet are
about a shoulder's width apart and your knees are loose, not locked. Body should be in balance and not shifted
to left, right, back or forward.
Eye level- Depending on your
height, you may habitually look up or down to look in the face of someone else. Your eye level should be at the same
height as someone your own height. Look straight ahead! If you can, look into the eyes of someone your height to check
yourself.
Toes- Often we lean back on our heels when we are
standing. This is a balance problem that will allow your soft palate to drop. To find the correct position lean
forward until you just feel your toes gripping to keep you balanced, ease back slightly until you just feel your toes
relax. Your body should feel more forward then you are used to normally standing.
Chest- Your chest needs to be up and positioned
for singing. Clasp your hands, then raise both arms in front of you and on up to just in front and above of your
head. Then let both arms slowly go down to your sides, so that if you completed the motion your hands would be cupped
just under the breastbone, like we often see opera singers doing. Now your chest can fill with air easily. Learn
how this feels so you will know where it should be when you are performing publicly!
Head- Is your head aligned with the plane of the
floor and your body? Or do you raise your head to hit high notes and lower it towards your chest to hit the low ones?
Both of these habits actually make it harder to hit the correct notes, so watch your head alignment! Also check to make
sure that you are not jutting your jaw forward. This is a bad habit that a lot of us have gotten into because of our
many hours on the computer, sitting badly to type and look at the screen.
Arms-Your arms, after you've checked your chest
position, should remain relaxed and to either side of your body. Don't clasp them behind you or awkwardly hold them
out in front of you. You can move them when needed for choreography or with your natural emoting during a song, but
when not in use, keep them relaxed and to the sides.
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