Sunday, 2nd November

When we registered we signed up for some seminars. Deborah has summarised her notes (errors and omissions are hers alone).

Cindy Hansen - Entertainment, a New Approach
Cindy said we needed to think about what sort of chorus or quartet we were, as there are different types.
A. Precision Drills - eg Westminster, Vocal Majority, North Metro, Masters of Harmony - effect comes from everybody doing exactly the same thing at the same time.
B. Theatrical - eg Greendale, High Fidelity, Metropolis, Real Time, Toronto Northern Lights - doesn't matter if the move isn't perfect; we're telling a story
C. Musical Concept - moves match the musicality of the song but don't necessarily mean anything on their own eg Westminster, OC Times.

Top ranked quartets can do all of these.

Which style suits our chorus? Consider Acoustics vs Rural Route 4 - two quartets with very distinct personalities. Acoustics is cocky, arrogant, precision, powerful; RR4 is down home, comfortable, approachable.

Imitating someone else is never as good as being yourself. Cindy asked her audience how they wanted to be described:
- you'd rather win an audience than a contest
- entertain first, worry about the scores second
- touch people's hearts - make 'em laugh, make 'em cry.

It's good to be flexible - can't sustain intensity for a whole show package.

Cindy says "I coach choruses where the average age is 'deceased'".

Where do you fiind ideas for choreo and themes?
- dance competitions on TV, eg Randy Jackson's Dance Crew
- children's dance recitals
- high school musicals
- music videos
- Broadway musicals
- cultural heritage, eg Maori
- observing everyday life
- old movies
- cheerleading competitions
- children's videos and cartoons
- magic acts, hypnosis
- strip tease, sumo wrestlers, hula dancers
- Cirque du Soleil
- animals

Comedy routines:
You need to bring the audience with you; they have to 'get' the joke. There are different ways of doing this:
- Metropolis - like a cartoon, with exaggerated moves
- Higher Buffoons - do skits, with characters
- 3 + 1 - an odd man out who doesn't 'get' it, eg Freestyle
- parodies (make fun of yourself, or your environment, eg High Fidelity and jokes about the judges)
- waiting for the next shoe to fall
- using real or imaginary props, eg Freestyle have Lifeguard set, Swan set

Using other senses to make it real:
- smells of manure, hay, popcorn, coconut, flowers
- taking singing off the stage and into the audience
- touch - streamers, candles passing along audience, delivering telegrams to audience members, giving audience instruments to use during the show
- sound effects
- projected visuals, scrim, lighting effects, eg spotlight routine of Music Appreciation101.

Live TV shows engage the audience because of the imperfections - not knowing what will happen next - being there when the unexpected happens.

What stops us?
- time and effort involved
- getting people to do it.

In summary, keep your eyes open for ideas, and think about the personality of your chorus or quartet - who are you?

Next seminar, also Cindy Hansen, "I'm Not Dead, I'm Singing"

How do we get people out of their shell?

Telling people to smile and getting a fake smile is not enough; the judges and the audiences can tell the difference. Instead give them something to smile about.

It's too hard to remember what emotion should go with what part of the song; instead, help them figure out a story that means something to them individually. eg Powerplay performing 'Let Me Call You Sweetheart': initially asked quartet each to write a story about their wives next to the lyrics to personalise the song (don't have to share). Also drawing on personal experiences - 9/11, where were you, how did you feel. With repetition this loses freshness and immediacy, so they reworked the song in a new context, children instead of wives. There's nothing wrong with crying, audiences don't care if it's perfect as long as its real.

eg Brother Can You Spare a Dime - chorus members had to go out and beg for money.

It's easier to remember a story than a series of moves and emotions. If people can't handle their own story, then someone else's story, or an experience they wouldn't normally have, eg get wives up on risers and sing to them

Emotions affect sound - when chorus is being happy, sound is brighter. Expressing real emotions adds resonance, life, fun.

What about the others?

If they're all dead, then do a Dead set. Examples:
- coral reef with crustaceans
- scarecrows
- ghouls and ghosts
- clowns
- frankenstein
- toys
- pirates
- halloween
- klingons
- trees
- Xmas gift boxes
- puppets
- doing Xmas carols in mall with a live juke box (singers in box, heads pop up when a carol is requested)
- San Diego did life and times of a person: Boy (more active chorus members), Man (wearing suit), Old Age (with canes) and chorus members placed according to ability to move and express.
- make problems an asset
- don't assume older guys can't move

Techniques:
- double circle, with people watching each other perform and moving on after each phrase: what did you see, what did you learn, using what you saw in your own performance
- microphones - stand on the floor, not risers; use water bottles as microphones; perform like a famous singer eg Sinatra, Elvis
- think of your favorite chorus, and let's be them for a minute - so why wouldn't you do that all the time, if you can do it once?
- singing with eyes closed
- sing to a particular person in the audience
- sing to mirror
- sing to different imaginary characters (child wife mother)
- tell story to eight year old
- bring wives and kids into rehearsal and ask them to judge who had the best face in the quartet, did they get the jokes
- stand very close together on the risers
- rotate the rows so everyone has a change to perform as a front row person

"If we never change where they're at, they'll never change what they do" - we have to give them reasons to change.

- feedback from within chorus, eg splitting chorus and getting one half to watch the other half; asking the six best performers (self-selected) to perform the song and then asking them to choose six others from the chorus
- get people on risers to interact with each other
- practice in small groups, eg chorus wedges
- working with people who need it the most will give a big boost to the whole chorus
- find ways to let people who don't participate make a contribution and be successful (but don't single them out at the beginning, give them the opportunity to do the same as others initially)
- use videotape as feedback to self
- eveyone wants to be better than they are.

Cindy finished this session by inviting SAI quartet, Invoice, from Detroit, Michigan to perform.

After the morning seminars there was an award presentation where plaques and medals were presented to the quartets and choruses. Double Shot were presented with their medal for first place, Mixed Harmony Quartet.




Ron Black: Ring Chords like No Other
Ron did a great session on ringing chords. It wasn't anything we hadn't heard already from Vicki, our Director, but he had two hours in which to go into more depth and demonstrate with several examples.

Ron says we should allow the chord to ring rather than make it ring.

First exercise was breathing: throw our hands up in the air and then out and down. We naturally breathe in as our hands go up. Then repeat, and slide from high note to low note on Yaaaah as we breathe out - notice there's no break in our voice.

Next exercise was bubbling. Purpose is to relax lips and throat. For people who can't bubble, try puffing cheeks, then move fingers at cones of mouth. Add throwing hands up in air (previous exercise0 and then bubbling. Add phonation later, after the bubbling has started.

Breath in should be fast and silent and larynx should stay down. Eyes should shine when you breathe in, like surprise. Breath out should be warm, lots of air - to fog a mirror. Ron calls this 'breathe in suspended mode'. Purpose is to use air with no tension or pressure.

Exercise - sing Ngah Ngah, two notes, descending. Ron talks about feeling the 'duck' (the quack) in this sound, he says "inflate the duck" and refers to an ad for Afflack". Then sing Ngah Ngoh in unison and listen for overtones.

Harmonics were discovered by Pythagorus, experimenting with the sound when a string is struck.

"The barbershop 7th chord is present in the overtones of every vibrating body in the universe" - how cool is that?


Basses sing note. Leads join in, singing octave above into basses' overtone.

Bass job is to provide the foundation for the chord by creating overtones for other parts to find and enhance. It is my job to sing the overtones.

Then tenors find higher overtone created by basses and sing it (an octave below what they hear).

Notice that baris need to sing higher than they are used to to to match the overtone.

The basses have to be there first with the overtones before the others can make the chord ring, so they have to "vote quickly".

Practice makes permanent - it will take a while to unlearn bad habits.

Choose my next note better (so chord is in tune right away).

Concepts: Circle of Fifths; Pythagorean scale; Pythagorean comma (if you work your way around the circle of fifths, you don't end up precisely where you started). The smallest interval in Western music is between ti and doh (and betwen mi and fa). Instead of thinking 'we have to sing ti and doh higher' just listen to the overtones created by the basses. Barbershop harmony is about tension and release: when we sing ti it wants to resolve into doh. Sum and difference tones (overtones and undertones).

Example: Five foot two, eyes of blue. Ron has basses sing first four notes, then tenors match overtones, then baris. Leads can hear where their notes need to fit. They sing ti on 'eyes' and it has to be a lot higher than they are used to.

Example: Down our way. Basses start first note, baris sing overtone and blend into basses, tenors sing another overtone, leads sing the third. Chord rings, creates big sound without any effort. Sing smarter not lounder.

Basses keep slipping back to old habits, Ron reminds them to "inflate the duck" (sing with more air) and takes them back to singing Ngah, ngah to get the feel right. When we get it right, we get a bigger sound than if we try to sing loud. We wonder how we are going to take this back to our own choruses. You can only fix your own singing, and be a good role model for others.

After the seminar, Jo and Deborah go to dinner with Heino and Liz, and John and his sister Chris, at the Red Lobster. We've learned from experience that we can share a main course between two and still be well-fed - but we have individual desserts. The Key Lime Pie is a lime cheesecake. Jo's chocolate cake is too big for any of us to finish. Deborah has another cocktail with dinner - this is becoming a habit she plans to take home.

Sweet Adelines are starting to trickle into the hotel, but there are no formal events tomorrow. Deborah and Jo are planning to visit Pearl Harbour.