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.

At this point, silence came upon the members. (I recommend this approach if talking within the ranks is a problem!) I told them that there needs to be two other things that they must do when they reach for that next breath.

ISM

There are three things that a singer should do when running out of air before the next passage. I call it the “ISM” approach. Those three things are:

• Inhale (an obvious and vital first step)
• Smile
• Move

Let’s look at all three elements.

Inhale

First, let me be perfectly clear on one point: I am talking about planned breath spots throughout your music, not catch breaths to extend a phrase. At these planned breath spots, the first thing that the singer has to do is get a full tank of air. While this is not a discussion on how to inhale properly, just remember to use an open throat and your diaphragm to fill up for that next phrase.

Smile

I use the phrase “smile through the breath,” meaning that each time a singer inhales, a smile should cross their face. Even in a tender ballad or sad passage, a warm smile can keep the tone bright. This takes a lot of practice and repetition. Remember, each time you inhale, you must smile.

Move

Finally, move your feet. This is also called a reset. This final step is the reason that this approach applies to planned breath spots in the music. You might not want movement occurring during a catch breath on a long phrase, for example. This movement adds a visual element and increased energy to the next phrase. Some guys get lock knees or cement feet. By inviting them to move each time there is a planned breath can get them into the feeling of the song.

So try it and let me and the blog readers know how it works for you. You might be surprised how a simple little “ISM” can make a whole lot of difference.

[Well all right, I made it up. But it might catch on. Who knows?]

What do I mean by naked notes and what is the musical significance?

I use the term naked notes to mean any series of notes that are sung by one voice alone, with no other part joining in. For example, if the lead sings in the beginning of a song: “Oh, When The Saints . . .” before the bass, baritone, and tenor joins in with their part, then the lead is singing naked notes. In other words, the lead is out there, naked to the world in a musical manner of speaking, with those first four notes of this song.

Naked notes can also refer to a spot in a song where the other three parts move to a neutral vowel sound, like “oo”, while the fourth part continues to sing the lyric. Such is the case in the arrangement of “I Believe” that I direct with my chorus. Toward the end of the song at the apex, the four parts sing together: “Then I know why . . .” At that point, the tenor, baritone, and bass immediately go to an “oo” vowel, while the lead continues to sing: “. . . I Believe!”

What if you have naked notes in your arrangement? And what should it matter? I have discovered that the average barbershop singer, in quartet or chorus, can be a bit timid when singing by themselves, especially at the beginning of a song. To overcome this tendency and to start the song off right, naked notes need to be sung with confidence and energy. The amount of energy is mandated by the lyric and mood of the song. Confidence is an internal thing. In the example above, if the lead does not sing the last two words “I Believe!” with confidence and energy, the chords fall apart.

So the next time that you have series of notes, a phrase, or even an entire line of music to sing by yourself without the benefit of being clothed by the other three parts, remember: you are singing naked notes! Now you know what to do about them.

As we get older, however, our voices can change. Perhaps we can no longer hit those high notes that we once did with ease. Maybe a warble has crept into our vocal production that wasn’t there before. We no longer can sustain a long phrase like we used to. Maybe what was once pleasurable and satisfying is no longer so.

The bad news is that it can happen to the best of us. I have noticed this in my own abilities, and those within my chapter. The good news is that it can be corrected. Dispair and frustration can be turned into hope and a better singing experience. But it takes some work.

I recently spoke with some other directors and a Barbershop Harmony Society music educator on this very topic. The KEY to solving this problem they all tell me (no real surprise) is in the breath. Proper breath support, the concept of using “warm air” to support the tone, and taking more frequent breaths within a phrase will all help this problem.

And let me add two others: Patience and Persistence! It has probably taken years for bad habits to be formed. When we were younger, maybe we could get away with a few bad singing habits. Not so as we age. It will take time (maybe not years) to reverse the trend. I know that many want to have a quick fix or instant solution to get them back into their prime singing condition, but the truth is that there is no quick fix. But there is a way, there is hope, and there are results that you can expect to hear in a relatively short time.

Bottom line, though, is that you as the singer must do the work necessary to make the change. All of the education and instruction in the world won’t do a bit of good unless you implement the needed changes.