http://TheOldSongs.com/2007/03/29/vulnerability/ Barbershop music, craft, & community from a director's viewpoint Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:10:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 http://TheOldSongs.com/2007/03/29/vulnerability/#comment-12 twhitfield Fri, 30 Mar 2007 22:42:21 +0000 http://TheOldSongs.com/2007/03/29/vulnerability/#comment-12 Since cavemen (and cavewomen!) sat around the campfire, singing has been used to tell and preserve a story. Since barbershop quartet and chorus singing began, telling the story with harmony, clarity and emotion have been used to create "entertainment value" (EV) in the minds of the audience. If the audience cannot hear the harmony, or understand the words, or see the emotion involved in the singing, part of the story impact is lost, and the EV suffers accordingly. As singers, we have to realize that if we are flat, slur our words, are deadpan or inappropriate in our emotional content, we create "dissonance" in our story, and risk "losing" our audience (in more ways than one!). John is absolutely right, not only do we have to sing well, we have to know the "story" and be able to express the appropriate emotions using face, and yes our entire body! To do that we must first desire to create the maximum EV for our audience. Yes, openness to the meaning of the song, and vulnerability in expressing it in the singing are essential to getting it's "story" across to the audience. Sorry guys, if we want that entertainment meter to go up, we’re going to have to learn the language! Since cavemen (and cavewomen!) sat around the campfire, singing has been used to tell and preserve a story. Since barbershop quartet and chorus singing began, telling the story with harmony, clarity and emotion have been used to create “entertainment value” (EV) in the minds of the audience. If the audience cannot hear the harmony, or understand the words, or see the emotion involved in the singing, part of the story impact is lost, and the EV suffers accordingly. As singers, we have to realize that if we are flat, slur our words, are deadpan or inappropriate in our emotional content, we create “dissonance” in our story, and risk “losing” our audience (in more ways than one!). John is absolutely right, not only do we have to sing well, we have to know the “story” and be able to express the appropriate emotions using face, and yes our entire body! To do that we must first desire to create the maximum EV for our audience. Yes, openness to the meaning of the song, and vulnerability in expressing it in the singing are essential to getting it’s “story” across to the audience. Sorry guys, if we want that entertainment meter to go up, we’re going to have to learn the language!

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