Photo Shoot Fun
July 26, 2011
Last April when we won the SAI Region 19 Quartet Championship, the honor was accompanied by a humongous trophy. The trophy is a traveling trophy – we owe it back to the region next spring, and in fact it is traveling around our homes during this championship year. We thought it would be fun to have photos of ourselves with the trophy in each of our homes, to sort of commemorate the year. So, recently we found ourselves in Kate’s apartment, dressed alike, and with the trophy in tow. It took us ten minutes of fussing, and many outtakes, before we got a shot we liked. For a little light-hearted fun, we thought we’d share our photo session with you!
Is this the right zoom setting?
- Wait! Where’s Jenny? and more importantly, where’s the trophy?
OK. Wow. This thing is big.
Hold it this way. Maybe that will work.
You know what? The trophy is too tall. And we need the flash on. And where's Jenny?
What the... ?????? Dang it!!!
Hello??? Is anyone in here????
- Almost good, but the trophy is still too tall. And the zoom is too close. Dang it!
Close - almost - try one more time!
Success!
The Road to Contest is about the Journey
February 21, 2011
Each year since 2005 we have signed up for the spring SAI Regional Convention and Competition. Each year we have worked hours and hours on our music and our choreography, agonized over what to wear on stage, and paid many valuable dollars for top notch coaches to help us prepare for the competition. We put ourselves through this process voluntarily. No one forces us. It costs us a lot of time, a lot of money, and causes a lot of stress.
So why do we do it? Well, I won’t speak for Lori, Lori or Kate, but I can tell you why I compete.
First, I am in this to stretch myself, creatively and developmentally. How far can I go? What am I capable of if I work hard? What creative abilities can I develop if I dig a little deeper? What will I discover about myself if I follow this path? For example, over the years I have discovered that I have mental and emotional roadblocks when it comes to “choreography”. I used to think I couldn’t do it, and I used to be afraid of what I would look like. And I still have a lot of room for improvement. But I have overcome those roadblocks a little bit, learned to relax a little, to settle into my own skin. Putting myself on stage forces me to face this roadblock head on. That has been very empowering for me!
Musically I’ve gained skills and an education in barbershop sound and style. This part of the hobby has come the most naturally to me, and it’s been really fun to explore deeper and deeper into the musical side of things. Taking the musical product on stage in a competition setting gives me the opportunity to evaluate how far I’ve come and how far I have yet to go in my barbershop education.
Surprisingly to me, and ever more important to me, has been the teamwork aspect of this hobby. I never expected that the “team” part of quartet singing would be the hardest and also the most rewarding part. Learning to give and accept feedback, learning to compromise with three other equal partners, learning to move forward toward a common goal – these have been lessons that I didn’t expect but have welcomed. Working toward contest with three like-minded, talented women is a study in high-performance teams, and I love it!
There are a lot of other reasons why I sing, but these are the reasons that I choose to sing competitively. None of these reasons have anything to do with “winning”, or achieving an end-game. It’s all about what I’m learning along the way. It’s about the journey!
Today is “Ask a Stupid Question Day”
September 28, 2009
How many singers are in your quartet? It may sound like a stupid question – which is perfect for today, National “Ask A Stupid Question” Day! We get this question pretty frequently – sometimes in jest and sometimes in all sincerity. Well, (most) everyone knows that the answer should be “four”. However, recently, Lustre had an experience which puts that answer into question!
We had the privilege of being invited to perform on a benefit concert for the quartets from Region 19 that are competing in Nashville next month. Our tenor could not be with us that day so we were just a trio. But then a good friend of ours, Sue Taylor, also found herself without the rest of her quartet. Sue is the tenor of A.K.A. – Region 15 2009 Champions. So we worked up a few songs that we could sing together for the benefit.
On the day of the event, there were two shows. When it was our stage time for the first show, three-fourths of Lustre (Lori, Lori and Jenny) came out on stage and stumbled through many unfortunate mishaps. One of us tripped over another, the pitch pipe was dropped, someone had toilet paper hanging out of the back their pants, we realized we were missing our fourth person, we forgot the words to the song, and the list goes on. Fear not, however, our “schtick” was all preplanned. As we explained to the audience, we had decided to get out of the way all the fears and worries that contestants have before going on stage… to get all that “bad mojo” out of the way for the Region 19 quartets going to Nashville. After we had our “grand entrance” mishaps, we sang a trio piece. Next, we brought out Sue to sing a couple of quartet pieces. It went off really well and we were pumped for the second show of the day.
Between shows were discussing if we should switch a song for the 2nd show and that is when we found that our baritone had all but lost her voice. Well, that just set us up for the next show even more. Second show – trio comes out – all the mishaps – we make the announcement about getting the bad mojo out of the way – brought out Sue and then announced that our baritone had one more problem that some contestants fear – the loss of her voice. So we asked for a volunteer from the audience to sing the baritone part. Since there were no volunteers we decided to let Lori pick her own replacement. We pulled Rick Taylor (director of Chorus of the Chesapeake (BHS) and Upper Chesapeake Chorus (SAI), famed quartet singer, husband to Sue, and our gracious plant) to join us. Instead of replacing Lori – Rick found himself standing behind her and singing thru her. Lori lip-synched most of the song. For the end, Lori stepped to the side and Rick joined the foursome to make us five. So, to answer the question, “How many are in your quartet?” – well I guess it just depends on the circumstances!
Birds on the Wires
September 10, 2009
So while it may not be barbershop – it is a beautiful piece. For music lovers everywhere…take a couple minutes and enjoy the following. It really is amazing where you can find music!
Music – the Language of My Life
September 6, 2009
Tonight at the dinner table, somehow my kids and I got onto the topic of musical notation. We all agreed that none of us could remember a time when we couldn’t read music. I’m pretty sure I learned to read music before I learned to read words. If not, it sure seems that way. I spent hours and hours as a kid, playing the piano, playing band instruments, and singing. My kids are teenagers now, but they learned how to read music when they were very young in elementary school. Both are active now in high school and college instrumental music programs, and both are avid lovers of music of all styles. My husband would say the same thing, having played trumpet his whole life. Music, and in particular reading music, has been part of all of our lives “forever”.
It was a bit disconcerting this evening, then, when my daughter tried to teach me how to play a song on her ukulele. Yep, she plays ukulele. Quite well, actually. (She also plays electric and acoustic guitar, clarinet, bass clarinet, piano, and has in the past played flute and violin. I’m so jealous! Oh, and she’s saving up to buy a drum kit. Heaven help us!)
Anyhoo, I had a notion to learn to play the ukulele. Willing and eager to teach me, she wrote out a short song using a new (to me) kind of notation – the “chord chart”. This is a pictorial representation of the frets of the ukulele, with lines to represent strings and dots to represent where your fingers go on the strings. I tell you, it was one of the most frustrating experiences, to not be able to quickly read that notation and make my fingers do what the notation said! I knew the song, I knew the chords I was supposed to be playing, I could even hear them in my head! But to turn those charts into music by way of my brain telling my fingers what to do – it just wasn’t happening!
To even further complicate matters, she showed me “tablature” notation. This is a character-based representation of the strings and the frets – very difficult to describe actually – and even more difficult to decode. All of a sudden, in the middle of my short ukulele lesson, and for the first time that I can ever remember, I felt like music was out of reach for me. I just couldn’t crack the code. It was so frustrating!
But there was my daughter, easily moving back and forth between “regular” notation, chord charts, and tablature. She can look at any of the three and instantly know what she’s seeing, and more importantly, make her fingers do the right thing on the instrument that she’s playing at that moment. It is truly amazing.
After walking away from the experience and giving myself a little space, I realize that it’s all a matter of practice and repetition. I am fluent in regular musical notation because I spent thousands of hours in my lifetime reading music for various reasons. If I were to put the time in with the chord charts and the tablature notation, I think I might be able to learn them too.
But I also think there is one more ingredient that is necessary – and that is the spark of desire. My daughter taught herself to read these notation styles because she wanted more than anything to play the guitar and the uke. She has put a lot of time into each instrument, and has the calloused fingertips to show it. And because she was driven and interested, she is now fluent in all three notational languages.
What’s the message of this story? Maybe it’s that I’m not meant to play the ukulele. Maybe it’s that I’m in awe of my daughter and her gifts. Maybe I’m just rambling (ok, yes, that’s true!). No, it’s that I realize I’m blessed to be living a musical life, and that I’m thankful for the tools which have allowed me to do that. I’m glad that music has been the language of my life.
Barbershop Quartets – Then and Now
August 28, 2009
If you were to ask any man or woman on the street what a “barbershop quartet” is, you’d very likely get a description that goes something like this: “Well, there are four guys singing together in harmony. They don’t have any instruments to sing along with. They usually wear a striped coat and white pants and white shoes, sometimes with a straw hat. They sing really old-fashioned songs about their mothers, their buddies, or their sweet gal.”
Is that what you imagine too? I’m not surprised. After all, it is the image portrayed so frequently in the movies and television. This image represents a specific slice of Americana, a truly unique American art form that began nearly 100 years ago.
But all things change, and so has the barbershop quartet. First of all, it’s not just for men anymore. Both men and women enjoy singing in barbershop quartets. Usually a quartet will have either all men or all women, just because it’s easier that way to make their voices match and blend in good harmony.
Today’s barbershop quartet enjoys a wider breadth of music to sing than did our predecessors back at the turn of the 20th century. After all, time passes, new music is written, and the catalog of available songs grows and grows.
Quartets today have moved past pinstripes suits, too. You’ll now see all styles of contemporary performance apparel, or “costumes” as we say. Quartets are in tune with their audiences, and we are very careful to tailor our costumes appropriately to match the dress code of the event.
The image of four straight-laced guys singing about dear old mom has loosened up a little. We maintain our professionalism, of course, but we also have a lot of fun singing songs that engage and entertain today’s audience. We love having a good laugh between songs, and just being ourselves during our performances. The connection between the audience and the performer is palpable as we eliminate any barrier that might be introduced by that old-fashioned prim and proper image.
While all these changes bring barbershop quartets up to date, we are still true to the art form. We still follow the structural rules for barbershop music (yes, there are rules! Learn more about that in an upcoming article). We still sing about our former, current and prospective loves. And the singing itself is now better than ever, in terms of vocal technique, emotional connection, and showmanship.
Maybe the best change of all from 100 years ago is that barbershop music is now more popular and more accessible than ever before. All across America there are local chapters of the Barbershop Harmony Society (for men) and Sweet Adelines International (for women). There are other organizations as well, including Harmony, Inc. in the US, and an impressive list of organizations in the United Kingdom and around the world. (A quick google search will yield a lot of options.) This wealth of opportunity means that anyone who likes to sing can very easily find a barbershop chorus or quartet to sing with, and a prospective audience can very easily find an entertainer to hire!
We’d love to hear from you about your impressions of barbershop music. Was it what you expected?
You might also like:
A Very Basic Intro to Barbershop
So Much Music, So Little Time
July 29, 2009
Within a quartet, building a repertoire is more challenging than one might think. After some study, we conclude that finding music parallels dating in surprising ways. Consider the following points:
- You might get ahold of a song that would be perfect if you just make a few tiny adjustments. No date, nor song, is just right on first meeting but with time and coaxing a more ideal situation can be achieved!
- There are many qualities you are looking for in a song, just like the perfect date. Of course this list is organized in must-haves, nice-to-haves, etc. There’s an equally important list of should-not-haves, too!
- Like being set up on a date, your singing friends “suggest” music to you. You may even ask them if they know any songs that might just work for you. “Fixups” happen in the music world almost as often as in the dating world!
- You may spend months on a song, and it is just not working out, and you just have to call it “quits”. As in many relationships, when it’s not working, it’s just not working.
- There is so much music to choose from, and so little time to get to know it all!
I am sure there are many many more. Share with us the parallels you see!
Singin’ Low
July 13, 2009
Having a low range women’s voice can be frustrating at times. Try singing along with the radio, for example. Most popular female radio singers’ voices fall naturally into the higher registers – Lead or Tenor in barbershop, Soprano or Mezzo Soprano in choral music. When I tune in to my local country radio station, I can’t sing along with Martina or Faith – I can’t hit those high notes. Even Keith Urban and the guys in Rascal Flatts can sing higher than me! Turning over to the adult contemporary station doesn’t help, Celine is way out of my range. How frustrating it is to want to croon along with those songs as I drive along to and from work every day, only to find that I have to sing an octave lower than the artist I’m trying to emulate. While I can sometimes hit those high notes by belting it out REALLY LOUD, I’ve learned that the drivers beside me at the stop light don’t really appreciate the quality (or lack thereof) that results from that method.
That’s why I was so thrilled to discover the beautiful and talented Diana Krall! For those unfamiliar, she is an incredible jazz pianist and singer – and she has a women’s Bass voice! Her voice is as low as mine, and has a wonderful smokey quality that is perfect for the style of music she plays.
I suppose Diana has been on the music scene for a number of years, but she is a recent discovery of mine. In the year or two since I’ve found her, I’ve collected nearly all of her recordings. On some of the records, she plays her piano backed only by a drummer and an upright bass. On others, she has a full, lush orchestra. Each of her albums has a distinct flavor and feel.
My husband and I recently had the pleasure of seeing Diana Krall live in concert at the Meyerhoff Hall here in Baltimore. We had seventh row seats, on the left side of the auditorium. Our view was of her back as she sat at the piano facing the right of the room. But I think we got the best view – we got to watch her right hand float over the piano keys all night long. It was amazing!
So, for all the women out there who have low singing voices, don’t despair. Pick up some Diana Krall music and you’ll be right at home!
Here’s a video that highlights some of the best of her abilities:
Sousa-capella
June 30, 2009
Sometime long before I joined the band, I became enamored with patriotic marches. I am pretty sure somewhere around the fourth grade, I did a report on John Phillip Sousa. I was the only one in my class that knew the difference between a tuba and a sousaphone.
Much later in life, after piano lessons and band, singing became a passion, and acappella singing especially! About the time I was getting involved in Sweet Adelines, a men’s quartet came on the scene called Acoustix. I was just beginning to learn of all the potential the human voice had. It was around this time that someone played a recording of Acoustix doing “Stars and Stripes Forever”. I was amazed, astounded, and an immediate fan of this quartet!
In honor of this Independence Day, have a listen to this rousing rendition of that great Sousa march:
Happy Fourth of July!