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Essentials in
Chapter business
Chapter Management Guide 2004
The magnum opus on all facets of chapter operations.
Updated: 11/11/2003 3:43:00 PM
4 Quartet Singing
A recent marketing report indicates that more than 60 percent of Barbershoppers surveyed want to spend more time on quartet singing in chapter meetings. Given this response, your chapter should vigorously promote quartet activities.
Obtain a copy of the Society publication An Information Manual for Barbershop Quartets ( stock no. 4093 and on-line). Sections in this publication include:
- Placing your quartet in context: A brief history of quartet singing
- Rules, regulations, definition, purposes
- Forming a quartet
- Creating music as a quartet
- Rehearsals
- Doing business as a quartet
- Copyright
- The definition of barbershop harmony, and what we are trying to preserve
- Quartet registration form
- Information request for chapter show appearance
- Information sheet from quartet to contractor
- Show data sheet and packing list
- Expense report
- Sample quartet Partnership Agreement
4.1 Quartet Singing—Basic Level Activities
- Find three other reasonably compatible fellows who would like to sing in a quartet, so you have four voice parts.
- Sing!
4.2 Quartet Singing—Intermediate Level Activities
- Build “quartet time” into each chapter meeting through quartet activities.
- Establish a quartet teaching team.
- Include and package quartet performances in your chapter's annual show.
- Provide referral or in-house quartet coaching.
- Establish a novice contest or jamboree.
- Hold quartet development nights.
4.3 Quartet Singing—Advanced Level Activities
- Plan and package quartet shows.
- Provide high-level coaching to chapter quartets.
RESOURCES
- Music Leadership Team Manual ( stock no. 4042)
- Chapter Marketing Ideas ( stock no. 4083 and on-line)
- Successful Singing Valentines ( stock no. 4058 and on-line)
- Barberpole Cat Song Book and Program ( stock no. 6053)
- Information Manual for Barbershop Quartets ( stock no. 4093 and on-line)
How does a chapter provide its members with a satisfying chorus singing program? To begin, your chapter must evaluate its resources. The number of members, quality of your singers, unique goals of your chapter and the nature of your human and financial resources will affect the quality of your chorus singing program.
Regardless if your chapter is at a basic, intermediate or advanced level, you must continuously evaluate the goals/objectives and subsequent results of your chorus’s singing programs.
5.1 Chorus Singing—Basic Level Activities
The Music Leadership Team Manual ( stock no. 4042) is an outstanding resource.
- Establish a chorus director selection/search committee.
- Select a chorus director.
- Draft a chorus director contract.
- Create a music team budget
- Plan and organize chapter meetings around the Eight Points to Fun.
- Arrange auditions and voice placements for new members and guests.
5.1.1 Introduce Basic Singing Skills
RESOURCES
- Improving Vocal Techniques Through The Warm Up ( stock no. 4068)
5.1.2 Develop a repertoire
RESOURCES
- Music Leadership Team Manual ( stock no. 4042) 3.4 Selecting the Repertoire
- Successful Performance for the Quartet and Chorus ( stock no. 4055)
- SPEBSQSA Music Catalog (on-line)
- Music Premiere Program
- Free 'N Easy music (www.spebsqsa.org > Sing & Perform > Get Music)
- Legal/Unpublished Arrangements
- “Teach the Children to Sing” music ( stock no. 8529)
5.1.3 Include gang singing at chapter meetings
The objective of gang singing is to allow the men in the chorus to experience the fun of singing through music without stopping to correct notes or singing skills. Include gang singing in your chorus program.
Make sure to:
- Explain to the chorus the purpose of the activity
- Provide simple materials. Music from the song books listed above or easy arrangements from the chorus repertoire is good.
- Ignore wrong notes; this is not a rehearsal
- Let chapter members select the songs they want to sing
- Allow members other than the director or music team the opportunity to direct
- Set aside five minutes or so of the chapter meeting for this activity, approximately two songs.
RESOURCES
- Barberpole Cat song book ( stock no. 6053)
- Just Plain Barbershop ( stock no.6022)
- Strictly Barbershop ( stock no. 6049)
- Pocketful of Tags No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 (stock nos. 6024, 6025 & 6 026)
- Learning cassettes for each song book.
5.1.4 Make chorus and stock learning tapes available
A learning tape is a quick way for a singer to accurately learn his part. A member can play the tape at home or in his car, singing along with his particular voice part. It is especially helpful for a singer who does not read music. Singers who learn quickly are not penalized by having to sit through long, tedious rehearsal learning sessions.
Learning tapes are available from several sources.
- You can purchase Society-produced learning tapes from the SPEBSQSA Music Catalog (on-line). Most published barbershop arrangements, many song books and some Harmony College shows, have companion learning tapes available for a nominal price.
- Several individual Barbershoppers produce learning tapes for choruses and quartets for a fee. The Society office may help you locate some of these men in your district. Chapters should make sure all proper copyright/licensing fees have been paid.
- Many chapters purchase high quality recording equipment and make their own learning tapes. This provides the singer with his chorus’s interpretation of the music being learned. Note that it is a violation of copyright law to make master tapes and provide copies without obtaining a mechanical license. Specific guidelines for making learning tapes are as shown in the Music Leadership Team Manual ( stock no. 4042).
RESOURCES
- Music Leadership Team Manual ( stock no. 4042), 9.3 Learning tapes
- Learning cassettes for each song book
- Old Songs Library at Harmony Hall 800-876-SING
- SPEBSQSA Music Catalog (on-line)
5.1.5 Participate in SPEBSQSA educational opportunities
Directors College
This school occurs annually during the last week of July or the first week of August at Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, Mo. It is a weeklong school, open to chorus directors of all levels of ability and experience. Outstanding Society directors, teachers and coaches teach the courses.
Classes include:
- Directing Techniques I-IV
- Sound Management I-III
- Theory & Ear Training I-IV
- How To Teach What You Know
- On to Rehearsal
- Performance
- Leadership
Qualified music staff, test directors prior to Directors College to ensure they are taking classes suited to their level of ability. All students take courses in Directing Techniques, Sound Management, Theory & Ear Training, Performance and Leadership.
District Directors Schools & Seminars
Some Society districts hold these events annually—some in conjunction with district mini-HEP (Harmony Education Program) schools. Most schools are held over a weekend, usually in the summer months. Courses vary from Chorus Directing, which last the entire weekend, to various classes of two to eight hours in length, aimed at the beginning, intermediate or advanced level director. Valuable classes in vocal techniques, conducting, creative presentation and theory may also be available for the students.
Harmony College
Harmony College is held every year during the last week of July or the first week of August on the campus of Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, Mo. It is a weeklong school, open to all Society Barbershoppers.
The faculty includes the best teachers, coaches and arrangers the Society has to offer. Approximately 700 men attend the school each year, taking a variety of courses that enhance the enjoyment of our hobby. The climax of the week is a Saturday night show that features an international champion quartet. The show is created and produced by the students.
Course offerings, which are likely vary from year to year, include:
- Vocal Techniques (beginning and advanced)
- Theory and Arranging (multiple levels)
- History of Barbershop
- Physics of Sound
- Creative Presentation
- How To Coach
- Stage craft - Script Writing - Stage Lighting - Acting for Barbershoppers
- Woodshedding and Tag Singing
- Harmony College Chorus
- Programs for young Barbershoppers
- Non-member music education
District Mini-HEP Schools (Harmony Education Program)
District Mini-HEP Schools are weekend versions of the Society's Harmony College. Courses are similar to those offered at Harmony College, however, fewer classes are scheduled because of the limited time.
- Most schools offer the following classes:
- Vocal Techniques
- Chorus Directing
- Beginning Arranging
- Quartet Coaching
- Presentation and Performance courses
- Music Fundamentals
5.2 Chorus Singing—Intermediate Level Activities
Your best resource for the following is the Music Leadership Team Manual ( stock no. 4042).
- Hold breakout sessions
- Offer vocal instruction/coaching programs
- Apply the quartet teaching method
- Hold section rehearsals
- Hold row rehearsals
- Conduct tag-team coaching
- Institute a vocal instruction/coaching program
- Organize retreats
- Hold yearly music team planning sessions
5.2.1 Hold craft sessions
Craft sessions provide basic instruction so singers can enjoy this hobby more fully. While craft is taught throughout rehearsal, separate craft sessions provide an opportunity to focus on specific areas, particularly important for new members.
Schedule craft sessions:
- Dedicate a portion of the meeting to a craft session; 10-20 minutes is usually sufficient.
- Survey chapter members about their interests and needs.
- Select music team personnel or other members who have talent to teach specific areas.
- Plan craft sessions well in advance so teachers may be prepared and sessions do not interfere with normal chorus rehearsals or other events.
- Plan the chapter meeting so craft sessions occur at various times during the evening to keep programming varied.
- Keep sessions upbeat and positive with lots of interaction between instructor and chapter members.
- You can give several craft sessions at once. Have members select which one they wish to attend. If the director or music team feels that a specific area needs attention, ask all members to participate.
- You may hold some craft sessions only once, while others may continue for several weeks.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of craft sessions after you give them.
Ideas for craft sessions include:
- Music reading. Many members do not read music, but would like to. Here's a chance to offer that opportunity, perhaps on several levels.
- Society videos. A wide range of videos is available, from learning how to apply makeup to learning how to sing better to knowing the elements that make up barbershop music.
- Performance information about things that contribute to a successful performance: putting together a song package; emcee hints; entry and exit from the stage; etc.
- Theory of barbershop harmony. Why does our style sound the way it does? Most Barbershoppers can sing it but don't know the basic elements of the style.
- Judging Categories—Always a mystery to some Barbershoppers, especially new members. The more you know, the better you'll compete.
- Singing skills. Isolate specific problems and explain them more fully during a craft session. Vowels, consonants, balance and tuning are all fair game.
- History. Where and when did the Society begin? What are the various changes that have taken place?
- Young Men In Harmony (YMIH). What is going on Society-wide to attract young men to our style?
- International contest video and audio recordings. See and hear how the “big boys” do it. Much can be learned from observing what others do.
RESOURCES
- Learning cassettes for each song book
- Music Leadership Team Manual ( stock no. 4042), 8.3.8 Craft Class
- Society-produced audio- and videotapes
- Successful Performance for the Quartet and Chorus ( stock no. 4055)
- Improving Vocal Techniques Through The Warm Up ( stock no. 4068)
- The Inner Game Of Music ( stock no. 4095)
- Music Fundamentals for Barbershoppers ( stock no. 4034)
- Theory of Barbershop Harmony ( stock no. 4037)
- Music Reading 1 & 2 (stock nos. 4041 and 4045)
- Contest & Judging Handbook (on-line)
5.3 Chorus Singing—Advanced Level Activities
The chapter leadership team may want to:
- Provide advanced individual voice training and coaching.
- Hold regular retreats and intensive coaching sessions.
- Provide the chorus with more challenging material and custom arrangements.
- Establish a sequential training process to bring singers into the performing chorus.
- Create qualification and video learning tapes.
5.3.1 Arrange for new-member guest auditions and voice-placements
Note that at an advanced level, a chapter may want to use more stringent criteria for accepting new members than the basic voice placement process. Follow the recommended process for initial voice-placement and then consider some, or all, of the following steps:
- During the third week of attendance by a potential member, administer a vocal analysis (audition). Make sure to evaluate:
- Natural singing range, vocal quality throughout the range and how the “break” is handled.
- Ability to match pitch at a level commensurate with the level of the chorus
- Ability to sing a harmony part accurately
- Sight-singing ability
- Have the candidate sing his part in a quartet. Chapters with high standards may use this technique in the auditioning process. Use an octet to assist the new member with one other person on his part.
- Tape the audition. Some chapters require the new member to sing his part into a tape while the chorus is singing. This shows that he is capable of singing his part in the normal context of performance.
- Adhere to the New Member Policy Statement. This document, developed by the chapter, outlines the chapter policy for all members. It explains the steps required to become part of the performing chorus, and indicates the chapter's position on attendance, pride in performance, etc. It may also state the educational assistance the chapter is prepared to provide the new member. A sample statement may be found in the Music Leadership Team Manual.
- Show the candidate the new member flow chart. This form shows the new member the various stages he must go through for full membership. These forms provide places for various chapter officers to initial when the new member has completed tasks such as: audition, new-member orientation, membership application, dues paid, uniform issued, and music book received.
5.3.2 Rotate use of coaches
RESOURCES
- Music Leadership Team Manual ( stock no. 4042), 6.4 Rotating Coaches.
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