New Dimension Chorus

We use terms and words in our chorus that may seem odd to the
uninitiated. These are some of the words and phrases that we may use
in our lessons.

Afterglow

A party after a chapter meeting, show, or rehearsal.

Barberpole cat songs

A series of 12 songs that everyone in the BHS should know. No matter
where you go, you should be able to find more singers who know the
same arragement to these same 12 songs.

Barbershop Seventh

The cornerstone of our style, the Dominant Seventh style chord. A
major chord with a minor seventh added.

Baritone

The man who sings the notes to complete the chords, sometimes above,
and sometimes below the melody. Due to the way that we tune our
chords, a note may be written as the same notes, but sound quite
differently each time. Because of this, good Baritones believe
themselves to be God's gift to music.

Bass

The man who sings the lowest voiced part. The bass line follows the
harmonic pillars of the song. These men believe themselves to be
God's gift to music.

BOTY

Barbershopper of the Year. An award presented for outstanding
efforts in the chapter.

District

One of the sixteen geographic administrative regions of the Society.

Division

One of the geographic administrative regions of the district.

Fifth-wheeling

Joining in without invitation when a quartet is singing; a breach of
manners. Wait for the quartet to finish, then ask if you can sing
along. However, visitors and guests may request to 'be
fifth-wheeled" when learning something new.

Gang Singing

Informal group singing, usually found during a break in rehearsals.

Lead

The man who sings the melody part. The lead line is the melody of a
song. Since the other parts follow the Lead's interpretation and
style, these men generally believe themselves to be God's gift to
music.

Swipe

An embellishment of two or more chords sung on a single word or
syllable; hallmark of the barbershop style.

Tag

The end of a very long song. This is usually the part of the song
with the "juiciest" and "lushest" chords. A Tag is often used as a
teaching tool for tuning and confidence.

Tenor

The man who sings the harmonies above the melody part. Men who sing
both Bass and Tenor actually are God's gift to music.

Think you can't sing? Think some people can sing, some can't, and that's it? Nandhu Radhakrishnan, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri, Columbia disagrees with you. According to his research, those who can't sing are those who don't. By simply singing, you can be turned from "I can't sing," to "I can sing."

Every Thursday evening, the New Dimension Chorus, presents "Sing in Barbershop-Style," an on-going class to turn those who don't sing into those who can sing. The lessons continue to improve vocal production and ear training for all members. The class begins at 7:00 pm; be sure to arrive early to meet regular chorus members and obtain a welcome packet.

The New Dimension Chorus is a Non-Profit 501(c)(3)
organization. Every year we strive to become active in our community
in our performance and philanthropic endeavors. Each year, we perform
in our local community; either through paid engagements, or free
"sing-outs."

Solo Warm-ups Will Improve Ensemble Sound

You may already know the immeasurable value of the group warm-up period at the beginning of a rehearsal. However, doing a personal warm up before you arrive at a rehearsal or performance can make just as much difference to you and to the group.

Barbershop harmony is a team sport, and we need to approach it much like atheletes approach their own warm-upsa. You already know that teams stretch together before games and workouts, and that singers warm up together to improve their pitch awareness, timbre match, vowels, etc. But remember that players like quarterbacks, punters and receivers add their own additional warm-ups to address their own needs. To sing your best, you also need a personal warm-up that addresses your individual needs and challenges.

The group warmp-up is mostly intended to tune singers to one another, only individual warm-ups can address the wide ranging needs of the individual singers. A maximum group sound may require one member to focus more heavily on breath support, another on tonal consitency, while another member may need to practice relaxing on the upper or lower ends of his range.

Develop your own personal warm-up

The ideal personal warm-up will address your own personal strengths and weaknesses as they pertain to the ensemble sound. Humming a couple of scales and singing "Heart of my Heart" before rehearsal won't do the job. A great range of warm-ups can be found in the resources posted on the left side of this page. For your personal warm-up, choose exercises that:

• activate your mind (fact: 80% of a vocal warm-up is mental)
• reinforce the techniques that help you improve on your most critical vocal areas
• create long-term remedies for a specific concern
• solve more than one objective
• help you improve over the long haul

Resources

"Improving Vocal Techniques Through the Warm Up" (stock #4068)

"Basic Singing Skills for Barbershoppers" video (stock #4013)

Effective Choral Warm-Ups" DVD (stock #4960)

Harmony Marketplace.com

Enhance your personal warm-up before you drive to rehearsal. Here are some possibilities:

• Do some stretching before the rehearsal on your own. Pretend that you are in a swimming pool up to your neck in the water, then raise your arms and hands up over your head and slowly bring your hands downward in front of your body and push them downward through the "water" past your waist. Do this correctly a couple of times and you'll want to lift your chest into the proper position and stand much taller. Be certain your feet are parallel with your shoulders.
• Do some humming and then on the "oo" vowel, sing 123454131 scales starting on the most comfortable pitch you sing and then move up five half steps then down to where you started. Do five 543212345 scales starting in the middle of your range and go down at least five half steps.
• Now take 10 minutes to look over any difficult passages in any of the music you expect to rehearse that night.

Prepare on the way to rehearsal

• Sit up straight in your car while you're driving, with both hands on the steering wheel—(you'll not be able to chest breath). Always remember that good breath support/management should produce warm air.
• Take slow deep breaths while you are driving with both hands on the steering wheel—(once again, I bet you won't chest breathe!). Do some humming in the easiest part of your range first, then extend your range higher and lower with good breath support.
• Do some light and easy head voice/falsetto soft singing.
• Never try to sing over road noise.
• Rotate exercises frequently to help you maintain interest. Again, see the resources to the left.

Exercise to meet your needs

Through self-examination and critique, you will be able to determine your own progress in relation to your personal goals as a singer and as part of your ensemble. Every exercise should have a:

• purpose: why are you doing this exercise?
• frequency: how many repetitions should you do at each warm-up session?
• duration: how long will you need to do this exercise until the principles that it reinforces become a habit?

The key is to accept that a personal warm-up is an important step to becoming a better singer. If you warm up before each rehearsal or performance, the improvement will come. Always know what you are trying to accomplish with each exercise. Make each warm-up exercise meaningful and there is no telling how much better an ensemble signer you will become.

—Jim DeBusman, November/December 2006, "The Harmonizer"