It’s easy to talk about what you love to do
Posted by Alan Lamson | Posted in Harmonizer, Membership growth, Run your chapter, Uncategorized | Posted on December 8, 2011, 9:01 AM
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In the last issue of The Harmonizer, my column discussed the coming Operation Harold Hill and that the only impediment for finding potential singers for your chapter among total strangers is ourselves. As Poag says, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” (Here is a copy of the column in PDF form: Lamson column 10-2011)
Many barbershoppers have told me how easy it is to simply ask someone whether he likes to sing. Nobody is ever offended by that question, and the worst anyone can say is “No.” But many of the people say yes, or they know someone who likes to sing. Many are also looking for a place to sing. The next enthusiastic member of your chapter could be standing right next to you in a grocery line.
If you wear my button, you don’t even have to bring up the subject of singing — somebody else may start the conversation for you! It has worked for me exactly like that on several occasions.
In either case, once this conversation has started, what do you say next? Many of us could go on and on about how much we love to sing barbershop harmony and about the friendship and fulfillment that comes with chapter life. But you don’t need to go on and on — you just need 10-20 seconds to get your point across. Plus, you’ll find it’s easier to talk about barbershop harmony when you already know what you will say!
That’s where this post comes in. Here’s a place to share your ideas for your 10-20 second “elevator speech” so that others can build on your ideas and you can build on theirs.
Here’s mine, for starters:
“Wow! You’ve got a great speaking voice. Do you sing too?” [Let’s see – that was exactly 3 seconds. And now you have his attention and he needs to answer you.]
And here is another one:
Stealing from Paul Ellinger of the Pioneer District who has a great program called “Supercharging your Chapter” he gives the example of greeting someone after a show and saying “Thank you for coming out tonight. So ….. Where do you like to do your singing?” It’s just that simple.
What’s your elevator speech? Share it here! And please feel free to share your real-life experiences with your barbershop elevator speeches as well.
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I wear my pitchpipe nearly everywhere I go in the holster on my belt. I sing while walking and doing other things for a few spare minutes. Last year, I went to the Denver admin building to pay my property tax. Upon entering, I was required to go through security, so I took off my cell phone, wallet, keys, change, and pitchpipe and placed them in a small tray. A young lady working the security gate looked over these items and then said “I have to ask – what is that?” as she pointed at my pitchpipe. I told her what it was, how it worked, and sang a few phrases of Danny Boy to demonstrate. She and a couple of other security guards, as well as others in the area, watched and then asked more questions about barbershop singing. The pitchpipe was a great conversation starter, and this is not the only time I have had the question asked while going through security.
What a great idea John. I am glad you shared it.
I think it would be great if Operation Harold Hill could have its own section in this blog site. It would be a good place to share ideas, successes, failures, etc.
It would keep Operation Harold Hill fresh throughout 2012.
Bob Burns
VP Marketing & Communications
Carolinas District
Barbershop will die until you as a society understand that this stupid and idiotic dance moves the choruses use is embarrassing. Those outside the culture laugh at you, not with you, at you and say, “man I would never do that” This is the emperors new cloths. Those in the society cannot see what it really looks like. Those big production numbers are silly. The song is great, but the look is absurd.
An interesting and well-balanced response, Mark. Thanks for sharing.
While I agree that simply adding stupid and idiotic dance moves would ruin almost any performance in ANY art form, you would probably agree that movement (a.k.a. “dance moves/choreography”) are a critical and supremely important part of some art forms:
Imagine Broadway where the performers merely stand in their appropriate spots and sing their parts for 2 hours. Imagine a marching band standing in place the entire time. Imagine a brilliant concert pianist strapped to a board with only the arms allowed to move. Imagine a Shakespearean production where the actors simply sit at a large round table and recite the words.
It’s my opinion that in any art form, with emotion comes movement of some kind.
I think we both agree that “Stupid and idiotic dance moves are embarrassing.” Amen to that! But what if the moves of the chorus go WITH the music? What if they make sense in the context of the piece, and add to the overall impact of the performance? What if they are done tastefully and are carefully crafted to enhance the music? To deny that this is at least a possibility is naive. (But on the flip side, to assume that all movement attached to a barbershop up tune song is inherently “good” is also naive.)
Broadway performers often do somersaults. And they often sing passionately about love lost. They rarely do both at the same time.
Yes Eddie, thanks for your kind response, and yes broadway and all your examples are valid. But even in my opinion the greatest chorus Masters of Harmony are diminished by their silly steps. Look the greatest choir winners of multiple Grammys and honored by Presidents of The United States of Americas Choir. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir does not do any of that “stuff”. Show emotion some, the music is what is great about Barbershop. I could no longer participate with my course because of the choreography they use, just to do something. I love Barbershop this is a big step to save it if the emperor will only look in the mirror.
The Masters of Harmony has also won a gold medal with no choreography on half their contest set (Love Me And The World Is Mine, 1996).
The 2009 Choir of the World winner at the Eistedfodd (perhaps the most prestigious international choral contest in the world) was none other than Westminster. And, yes, they did some choreography.
It sound to me (from your description) that your chorus wasn’t doing movement appropriate to the song, but “just to do something”. So you may have a valid point, for your chorus.
That’s especially true with choruses that struggle to maintain quality sound even when they’re not moving; adding heavy choreography just makes the sound worse. If your best performance requires minimal movement, then you should do that (while emoting the hell out the song facially).
yes that is it Alan, but you are missing my point with moves. Very, very few are need, and the face is what sells.
I love barbershop, and almost to a man barbershopers are the nicest group. I have been very happy to rehearse and not perform. I believe choreo is a big reason why Barbershop is dying because younger people and not so young are embarrassed.
Have to reply to myself instead of Mark due to reply nesting limits…
Mark, it’s clear from your reply that the real issue for you is that you like to sing for your own enjoyment and not for others: “I have been very happy to rehearse and not perform.”
There’s nothing wrong with that. You just need to find a chapter with the same goal (or start one yourself). But don’t make the mistake of applying your personal bias about how to best enjoy the art form to others.
Your belief that the choreography is somehow a cause of “barbershop dying” simply isn’t true. Look at Westminster, which is both young and does a lot of choreo in their performances.
The only problem with choreo (or singing at all, for that matter) is when people are asked to do things that they don’t have the ability to execute well. Badly executed “InsertAnythingHere” is embarrassing for everybody, performer and audience alike.
It’s an interesting topic. Yes, I’m also agreeing with you, what I love can say and share easily with anyone but it’s difficult to say what we really hate. I’m also a positive minded and advise all to think positively. Thanks
Barbershop is choral music because it can be sung in choruses but its roots are secular, from places like the Vaudeville stage. Would a vaudeville quartet from 1922 look dumb moving hats and canes?
Yeah, choruses can do dumb and trite moves (I think it peaked in the 70′s/80′s). And I agree choreo isn’t as much to practice as music (though better choreo is much more fun to practice than worse choreo), because with music the singer gets to hopefully enjoy the “ring”, whereas choreo is more for others.
But I think choreo stylistically fits with our roots.