Posted by editor on Mar 29 2007 | Category: Performance, Technique
My chapter recently concluded its annual show. By most accounts it was one of our best shows ever, or at least in a while. The audiences for both shows were responsive and appreciative. The guys sang well. We received two standing ovations, and one curtain call. Yet listening to the music that was produced makes it all too clear to me where we need to go from here.
Posted by editor on Mar 14 2007 | Category: Discussion
I wrote the title, but then I stopped. For the longest time, I just stared at a blank page, the cursor blinking at me impatiently. What should I say? Where should I start? To paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi, there’s a disturbance in the Force. It is an end of an era for me.
Posted by editor on Mar 12 2007 | Category: Motivation, Performance, Rehearsal
That statement is a crazy thing for me as a director to hear. But as our annual show approaches, I am reminded of some advice that I received from Dr. Paul Drummond, one of the faculty at Harmony University last year. [Harmony University is an annual music school presented by the Barbershop Harmony Society.] Dr. Drummond told the directors to get out of the way.
Posted by editor on Feb 24 2007 | Category: Music, Performance, Technique
Like our highways and roads, most of the songs that we sing are sprinkled with potholes. These musical pitfalls, unless you know how to avoid them, can cause bumps in your performance. What exactly are musical potholes, and how can we cover them over to make our performances as smooth as possible for our audiences? Continue reading: Avoiding musical potholes »
Posted by editor on Feb 18 2007 | Category: Discussion, Music
I recently heard an article from NPR’s Robert Krulwich on the significane of B flat. It got me thinking. Further research turned up another article, this time from BBC News, that corroborates the NPR story. Scientists are only now discovering the universal appeal of a frequency we take for granted.
Continue reading: Science discovers what barbershop singers know »
