The Old Songs

Singing barbershop has often been referred to as a hobby. Very few – hired Society staff, for example – can actually say that they earn a wage from barbershop. For the rest of us, we participate because we like it. We see it (hopefully) as a fun, relaxing, and enjoyable experience.

But any hobby, if it is to be sustained, takes work, effort, and a desire to improve. Barbershop singing is no different.

Here are two great definitions of the word hobby:

• An activity or interest pursued outside one’s regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure.
• A diversion that occupies one’s time and thoughts, usually pleasantly.

There is, however, no pleasure for either participant (the singer) or recipient (the audience) in bad singing. So obviously, this hobby needs the conscious effort of the singer to make it enjoyable for all.

Inconsistency

The bane of most, if not all, directors is inconsistency. Inconsistency in singing can take many forms. Here are just three.

• Lazy or unconscious singing
• Improper breath support
• Forgotten song elements

Let’s look at each one in more depth.

Lazy or unconscious singing

Here, the singer makes very little or no effort to focus on what he or she is doing. The word “autopilot” comes to mind. There is a blank stare, no energy in the voice, no attempt to shape the vowels properly. In short, there is no effort to change what they’re doing or always have done.

I very fortunately had a great mentor in Paul Graham, the baritone of the 1968 International Quartet Champion “The Western Continentals.” Unknown to him, I modeled my singing and performance style after him. From Paul, I learned how to properly sing my baritone part in relation to the other parts. I learned how to enunciate difficult words so that the audience doesn’t have to figure out what is being sung. To this day, I still articulate the word “I’ll” as “aisle.” It’s deeply embedded in my brain.

Every time you sing, whether on a contest stage, in a show, in a pickup quartet, or woodshedding on a bus, your brain and your energy must be engaged. Always sing that “e” vowel properly and the same way. Make every effort to blend your voice with others instead of plowing through a song with no regard for your fellow singers.

Improper breath support

Diaphragmatic breathing has been taught for a very long time. We run through exercises during warm-up sessions to focus on proper breathing. We see it demonstrated. We try it ourselves. But then in rehearsal or on a performance, we don’t think about it at all.

The only time you don’t have to think about how you are breathing is when you have truly mastered the technique. For most of us, that is next to never.

When our voices crack or we can’t hold that note as long as we used to, look to the breath. Focus (there’s that word again) on your posture and your breathing. If you are sitting, sit up straight with your back away from the chair back. Keep both feet on the floor. Be attentive. Your power comes from your breath and your center.

Forgotten song elements

When your director has to stop a song in mid-stream, it’s usually because something did not go as planned. Here are some examples:

• The chorus wasn’t ready to start when the director gave the downbeat.
• The director didn’t hear the proper pickup, or the execution was sloppy.
• The chorus took a breath at a spot where they were instructed not to breathe.
• An instruction has to be voiced over and over and over again.

All of these things, and more, indicate again that the brain is not engaged in the process. Getting the brain engaged takes work. It takes effort. It takes consciousness. But this awareness is essential if you are going to grow in your hobby and enjoy it for a lifetime.

It really is up to you.

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