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singing Lead is just the start
Mar. 18th, 2024 03:24 pmToday's prompt: Something you love which is not a fannish occupation
I discovered barbershop singing in 2015, not very long after moving to Norwich. After 25 years in a musical theatre group which had its own little theatre and was therefore privileged beyond the dreams of most such amateur groups, I wanted to do something different. A choir which did not say, Everyone Can Sing, Come Along And Join Us, because I am a bit of a snob about these things. I don't believe *everyone* can sing, and I wanted to be in a choir that had a somewhat higher standard than that, but without venturing into high classical music, which is lovely but not what I want as a hobby.
So, one websearch and a phone call later, I turned up at a rehearsal one Thursday evening, and was enchanted both by the warm sound of a women's barbershop chorus and by the friendliness of the people there.
It did take me a while to commit fully to the idea of barbershop. After so many years of either (a) being on stage and moving as part of the action of the show or (b) standing with a book of music to sing in concert, the requirement to move, to express myself physically as well as sing while standing as a chorus, was surprisingly hard to manage. And I noped out of quite a lot of my first convention, hiding instead in my room for some much needed Introvert Time. Which meant I missed seeing Lemon Squeezy perform, which is a shame. But I then got captured by barbershop on the internet—I knew just about enough to appreciate Instant Classic singing You Gotta Change Parts, and started watching performances by great quartets and choruses. Time to be hooked.
It's kind of a cult, but of a benevolent kind where you sing together and get a shot of joy thereby. You're even allowed to escape into other musical genres sometimes! During Lockdown, our chorus managed to survive and even learn new music (although a lot of members did decide it was time to retire from the chorus, when faced with regular Zoom meetings), but it was hard work and only happened because our MD was tenacious and enough of us were committed to keeping going. Singing on Zoom was definitely a downer, even with the efforts we went to to liven things up. Our Happy Birthday tradition involved singing with the mutes off, which meant a splendid cacophony. It was a relief to move on to singing in people's gardens, and I was very happy to have one of the very first 'proper' Happy Birthdays sung to me that summer.
But singing without Covid restrictions, singing normally, is uplifting. Hearing those harmonies, you know? There are many Thursdays when I sigh at the thought of dragging myself down to rehearsal, but I always emerge happier at the end of the evening. Singing together is one of the most effective ways of making friends, too, did you know that? We're even going on a Retreat next month, which annoys me a bit in prospect but which will no doubt turn out to be a lot of fun. My fellow chorus members are good people.
Barbershoppers are so eager to share their knowledge with one another and to help each other improve their craft. There was a national organisation for amateur musical theatre groups, but it provided nothing like the level of coaching that the national barbershop organisations make available. I've been to Harmony College a few times—yes, it requires money, but it's remarkably solid value. And there are special Days for working on the Singing, Music and Performance aspects of the art. People who direct their own chorus will coach a different chorus for the pleasure of seeing them improve (and a fee, to be fair), but we never had that kind of interplay between ourselves and other local amdram groups, except that the most coveted players (men who could actually act and sing) would be enabled to participate in multiple productions at the same time.
Now, of course, I am a member of two choruses, one for women, one mixed. The experiences are different as they operate in quite different ways, but both bring me great enjoyment. And, my Beast also took up barbershop singing, and it brings him joy and friendship too.
I discovered barbershop singing in 2015, not very long after moving to Norwich. After 25 years in a musical theatre group which had its own little theatre and was therefore privileged beyond the dreams of most such amateur groups, I wanted to do something different. A choir which did not say, Everyone Can Sing, Come Along And Join Us, because I am a bit of a snob about these things. I don't believe *everyone* can sing, and I wanted to be in a choir that had a somewhat higher standard than that, but without venturing into high classical music, which is lovely but not what I want as a hobby.
So, one websearch and a phone call later, I turned up at a rehearsal one Thursday evening, and was enchanted both by the warm sound of a women's barbershop chorus and by the friendliness of the people there.
It did take me a while to commit fully to the idea of barbershop. After so many years of either (a) being on stage and moving as part of the action of the show or (b) standing with a book of music to sing in concert, the requirement to move, to express myself physically as well as sing while standing as a chorus, was surprisingly hard to manage. And I noped out of quite a lot of my first convention, hiding instead in my room for some much needed Introvert Time. Which meant I missed seeing Lemon Squeezy perform, which is a shame. But I then got captured by barbershop on the internet—I knew just about enough to appreciate Instant Classic singing You Gotta Change Parts, and started watching performances by great quartets and choruses. Time to be hooked.
It's kind of a cult, but of a benevolent kind where you sing together and get a shot of joy thereby. You're even allowed to escape into other musical genres sometimes! During Lockdown, our chorus managed to survive and even learn new music (although a lot of members did decide it was time to retire from the chorus, when faced with regular Zoom meetings), but it was hard work and only happened because our MD was tenacious and enough of us were committed to keeping going. Singing on Zoom was definitely a downer, even with the efforts we went to to liven things up. Our Happy Birthday tradition involved singing with the mutes off, which meant a splendid cacophony. It was a relief to move on to singing in people's gardens, and I was very happy to have one of the very first 'proper' Happy Birthdays sung to me that summer.
But singing without Covid restrictions, singing normally, is uplifting. Hearing those harmonies, you know? There are many Thursdays when I sigh at the thought of dragging myself down to rehearsal, but I always emerge happier at the end of the evening. Singing together is one of the most effective ways of making friends, too, did you know that? We're even going on a Retreat next month, which annoys me a bit in prospect but which will no doubt turn out to be a lot of fun. My fellow chorus members are good people.
Barbershoppers are so eager to share their knowledge with one another and to help each other improve their craft. There was a national organisation for amateur musical theatre groups, but it provided nothing like the level of coaching that the national barbershop organisations make available. I've been to Harmony College a few times—yes, it requires money, but it's remarkably solid value. And there are special Days for working on the Singing, Music and Performance aspects of the art. People who direct their own chorus will coach a different chorus for the pleasure of seeing them improve (and a fee, to be fair), but we never had that kind of interplay between ourselves and other local amdram groups, except that the most coveted players (men who could actually act and sing) would be enabled to participate in multiple productions at the same time.
Now, of course, I am a member of two choruses, one for women, one mixed. The experiences are different as they operate in quite different ways, but both bring me great enjoyment. And, my Beast also took up barbershop singing, and it brings him joy and friendship too.
