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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
6 Young Men In Harmony (YMIH)
The Society vision statement, “The Society is to be an ever-growing fraternity of barbershop-style singers, leading the cause of encouraging vocal music in our schools and communities,” includes the responsibility of a chapter to promote barbershop harmony to the younger members of their community.
While young people represent the future of barbershop harmony, chapter members must recognize that school administrators, music educators and others have an agenda of their own and a role to play in these young lives. For these reasons, a chapter's YMIH activities must support and supplement those existing agendas not interfere with or contradict them.
An effective way to introduce young people to the barbershop style of singing is through a performance. Nothing quite compares with an in-person barbershop experience. However, if your chapter does not have strong performance abilities it may have strengths in other areas such as public relations. Get involved, be creative and appoint a YMIH chairman.
6.1 YMIH—Basic Level Activities
6.1.1 Assess the school system and various other choral programs in your area
Research the local school system and choral programs in your area:
- Go to school concerts and musicals.
- Talk with principals, teachers and music leaders about their programs to find out if there is a place for barbershop music.
- Determine the school board's attitude toward arts programs, as this body is the deciding force for the allocation of funds.
6.1.2 Explore other community singing outlets such as:
- Community center activities
- Youth groups (e.g. Boy Scouts)
- Service Organizations (e.g. Kiwanis, Elks or Rotary.) Your involvement may be as simple as providing song books.
RESOURCES
- Young Men in Harmony Resource Guide ( stock no. 4074 and on-line)
- Sing Along Songs ( stock no. 6044)
- Get America Singing…Again, Volume 1 singer's edition: ( stock no. 6030); piano edition, ( stock no. 6032)
- Get America Singing…Again, Volume 2 singer’s edition: ( stock no. 6075)
6.1.3 Offer financial support for local music programs
Financial resources affect the ability of a school or community youth organization to participate in a musical activity. Participation requires money for everything from uniforms and music to transportation and accommodations. A chapter, regardless of its singing ability, can make a difference by donating money to support young people’s musical endeavors.
6.1.4 Provide music groups with SPEBSQSA or chapter barbershop materials
A chapter can lend support in a variety of ways. Consider providing a local music group with:
- Music and/or learning tapes of music
- A subscription to the Music Premiere series ( stock no. 2021)
- A subscription to The Harmonizer, the Society’s magazine
- A legal recording of the National Anthem or CDs of quality barbershop music
- Tickets to your chapter shows
- Music Educator Packet ( stock no. 4271)
6.1.5 Sponsor students or teachers to participate in SPEBSQSA music programs
The Society wants to keep music programs alive in our schools and introduce the simple pleasures of harmony to a new generation of singers. Your chapter can help.
- Promote Harmony Explosion TM (HX) Camps to teachers and students or provide scholarships for them to attend. Harmony Explosion Camp is a four-day seminar/workshop for male high school students and their teachers. Separate curricula for teachers and students include classes, rehearsals, sectionals and quartet performances. The event culminates in a Saturday evening concert.
HX Camps are a good way for chapters to support music education, as well as raise public awareness of the quality of the SPEBSQSA music program. Contact the Society office for more information.
- Contributions to Harmony Foundation at the Society office support students and teachers attending the HX Camps.
- Promote Harmony College/Directors College to teachers, as it includes a special curriculum for music teachers (voice parts, balance, intonation, history, interpretation, performance practice, coaching, and conducting techniques.)
- Promote the MBNA America Collegiate Barbershop Quartet Contest. Inaugurated in 1992, this annual event attracts dozens of quartets that compete for the international championship. Preliminary rounds are held during the spring. The finals occur in conjunction with the SPEBSQSA international convention.
RESOURCES
- Young Men in Harmony Resource Guide ( stock no. 4074 and on-line)
- Music Educators Packet ( stock no. 4271)
- Barbershop Harmony: A Tool For Musical Excellence video ( stock no. 4023)
- Contact the YMIH coordinator at the Society office for more information.
6.1.6 Invite teachers or students to barbershop events by top performers
There's nothing like the power of a polished performance. It speaks for and sells itself. If an exceptional quartet or chorus is going to perform in your area, let teachers and students know and invite them to attend. If the chapter has the financial resources, offer to buy tickets, or go along and join them for the experience.
6.1.7 Provide manpower for festivals, contests and other community events
A chapter can reach out to a community in many ways. Make your chapter visible. Ask chapter members to volunteer for a community festival, contest or other community event. Have barbershop materials on hand and be prepared to talk about the hobby.
6.2 YMIH—Intermediate Level Activities
6.2.1 Invite young singers to chapter meetings
Arrange a special youth guest night or open house. Talk a little, sing a lot and, and most important, get your guests involved.
6.2.2 Arrange for a quartet to perform at a local school
Studies indicate that by third grade, children form opinions as to whether singing is a “cool” thing to do. Plant the seed early and expose elementary school-age students to harmony singing. Young children are easily entertained and relate particularly well to senior quartets (grandfather figures).
RESOURCES
- Young Men in Harmony Resource Guide ( stock no. 4074 and on-line)
- Introduction to Barbershop Singing for Youth song book ( stock no. G.D.-104)
- Music Educators Packet ( stock no. 4271)
- Barbershop Harmony: A Tool For Musical Excellence video ( stock no. 4023)
6.3 YMIH—Advanced Level Activities
6.3.1 Get involved with local music coalition groups
Across North America, budgets for the arts, particularly music, are being threatened and cut, due to inflation and demands for higher basic education standards. In the United States, organizations such as MENC: The National Association for Music Education and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) have formed a national coalition for music in the schools. Contact the Society office for more information on ways to become involved in these coalition efforts.
6.3.2 Organize a festival or clinic
Promote a festival or school concert featuring student singers. Sponsorship of this activity requires a strong, musically expert chapter, able to interest music educators in such events. Contact the Society office for more information.
6.3.3 Conduct high school and college choral workshops
Choral workshops are an excellent way to introduce barbershop harmony to singers and faculty without interfering with normal classroom time. Usually held over a weekend, these are major undertakings that require significant preparation.
If a chapter has competent vocal coaches, invite these men, or other qualified clinicians to participate in the workshop. Consider planning your workshop to coincide with a Society staff visit and arrange for certified Society faculty to conduct the event.
6.3.4 Sponsor a quartet to participate in a high school adjudication
Sponsoring a youth quartet contest featuring music in the barbershop style is especially effective in getting youngsters interested in singing or expanding their singing horizons. Such events take a considerable amount of planning. Ask for help. You might enlist parental groups to provide administrative support.
RESOURCES
- Contact the Society office or your district YMIH VP.
- Young Men in Harmony Resource Guide ( stock no. 4074 and on-line)
6.3.5 Offer music teacher education
Arrange for teach-the-teacher sessions. The barbershop style is not part of traditional music teacher curriculum. Offer a high-caliber, professional, educational experience for participants to teach them about the barbershop style or how to teach it to their students.
- MENC and ACDA conventions—MENC: The National Association for Music Education and American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) require music teachers to attend continuing education classes, including workshops and clinics, to maintain certification. MENC and ACDA offer state, regional and national conventions that attract thousands of teachers for classes, clinics, concerts and workshops. The Society frequently exhibits at these events using top quartets or choruses to demonstrate the barbershop style.
- School district conferences, seminars and meetings—Individual school districts and their music departments often hold regular conferences, seminars and meetings where issues such as budgets and new materials are discussed. Make positive contact with principals and superintendents to introduce barbershop harmony into their school systems.
- Presentations by Society staff to schools during district visits—Arrange for a visit by a Society staff member who is prepared to share rehearsal techniques and educational program ideas with teachers.
RESOURCES
- Contact the Society office or your district YMIH VP.
- Young Men in Harmony Resource Guide ( stock no. 4074 and on-line)
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