Author: Chip Gallent

You may know him as Music Publications Editor Adam Scott, but 'round the shop we call him Chief Porridge Officer. He serves many diners with many tasty arrangements: hard charts suitable for huge voices, easy charts suitable for beginners and range-limited singers. And something else, the specialty of the house: "Goldilocks charts" that are complex enough to hold interest of the sophisticated ense...
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This week we look back on great songs written by Barbershoppers for Barbershoppers. "Each Time I Fall in Love" by S.K. Grundy, has fueled many a late night tag session with it haunting "foolish over you" tiddly. (Get the learning track so you can lock in the tag!) Paul Olguin's "I Was Born 70 Years Too Late" (also withlearning tracks) describes both the composer and his audience. This bouncing, T...
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You would have had to have been hiding in a mineshaft deep on the far side of the Moon to have escaped the hype around this summer's Guardians of the Galaxy blockbuster movie. Among its virtues, though, is the incessantly catchy hit "Hooked On A Feeling," a 1968 B.J. Thomas hit that became locked in our minds by the Blue Swede version with the "ooga chakas." Our new arrangement comes from Jon Nich...
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In the ongoing race toward relevance, there's nothing better for audience development than reaching out and singing with other musical groups. Our featured song this week is perfect for performing with men's quartets plus women's quartets. "If There's Anybody Here From Out of Town" bounces across the USA, cataloging locales and scenes in toe-tapping fashion. Dave Briner's arrangement for men's qu...
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Songwriter Randy Newman has had a great pop career of singable, witty songs, but his wider fame has come in later years as a composer of film scores. Up for this week is his quintessential buddy song from the hit movie Toy Story: "You've Got a Friend in Me." All singers (even the baritone!) get to have the melody in this quick-learner from arranger Dan Wessler and a track from Tim Buetel (do you ...
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Pharrell Williams' "Happy" was a big hit at the Las Vegas convention when the young singers in the Next Generation Chorus sang it on the Saturday Night Spectacular. Our post last month announcing its release generated plenty of interest. BUT... we somehow neglected to mention that we also have an arrangement of "Happy" for women's voices. Catchy beat with handclaps!, cheery lyrics, fun patter, an...
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"Quick, we need an opener that's quick, easy, and really barbershoppy!" A classic chart by the late, great Walter Latzko, "Hi Neighbor" can be done quickly, is an easy song to pick up (especially with a Tim Waurick learning track), and starts a set off right. (Listen to The Bluegrass Student Union's Legacy album for a sense of the fun it promises.) It's one of those arrangements that needs to be ...
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Hallelujah It's not a sacred song, although it's rife with Biblical references. It's not a love song, although it mentions what love is not. It might be the only song that describes its own chord progressions ("the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift.") You've heard it covered by John Cale, k.d. lang, My Chemical Romance, and it has appeared in countless TV shows and films, includ...
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