The Beat. Inew opportunities. Let s see what 2005 is likely to hold in. Circle City Sound. Is It New Year s Already? Jerry Troxel SPEBSQSA

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1 Circle City Sound is a publication of the Greater Indianapolis, IN Chapter of the Cardinal District of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. SPEBSQSA Volume 36, Issue 1 January 2005 Is It New Year s Already? Calendar of Events t seems like 2004 just started, and now it s history. So we find ourselves once again at the beginning of a new year. A new year with new challenges and Inew opportunities. Let s see what 2005 is likely to hold in store for the Greater Indianapolis Chapter. From The President Jerry Troxel During this year, our chapter and the Society will be in transition. At the Society level, many of the changes identified in the Harris Poll and Clarke Communications studies will be put into effect. A new logo will be introduced, new marketing programs will be put into place, and new resources will be made available for use at the District and chapter levels. Changes in contests and conventions will make their appearance. For those who like change, it will be an exciting time; for the rest, my advice is, Hold on! Within our chapter, we have new leaders who are committed to leading us to the next level. I am excited about their ideas and their enthusiasm for helping our chapter to be all it can be. Here are just a few of the changes you will see in We will have a different approach to Singing Valentines, designed to maximize sales and profits, and streamlined to operate via the Internet. We will also be gearing up for hosting International 2006, an event which will ultimately involve all of us as the core of an army of volunteers. Our music program will focus on individual responsibility and increased use of Sectional rehearsals which teach us how to be better singers. The biggest changes in 2005 are likely to come as a result of your input to our 2004 survey. You were invited to comment on many aspects of our chapter and chorus life. As I write this, the results are being tabulated and ana- lyzed, and a preliminary read-out will be given at the chapter meeting on Monday, January 3. Throughout the coming months, the officers and Board of this chapter will be formulating plans based upon your input via this survey. Thanks for your input! Stay tuned! As we begin this new year, your officers will be attending Chapter Officer Training School, to get ideas to run our chapter better. We hope to learn from the instructors and from the officers of other District chapters how to be more efficient and more effective. We already January 8-9, 2005 COTS Columbus, IN January 23-30, 2005 Mid-winter Convention Jacksonville, FL Simging Valentines February 12, 13, 14 April 1-3, 2005 District Spring Convention South Bend, IN Annual Show June 10, 11 Warren Performing Arts Center July 3-10, 2005 International Convention Salt Lake City, UT know three of our greatest needs for the coming year: the need to maximize income from ad sales, ticket sales and Singing Valentines, in order to put us on a firm financial foundation; the need to fill the very critical vacancy in PR/ Marketing; and the need to increase involvement of the chapter membership, both on and off the risers. We, as a chapter leadership team, will be doing all we can to focus the chapter s energies on these three critical areas, and other areas as identified in the chapter survey. Are you ready to help? I hope so; with all of us working together, we can make great strides has been a great year for us, and I am excited to see that things are already in the works to make 2005 even better. Happy New Year!

2 Page 2 Barbershopper of the Year Simply stated, Barbershopper of the Year (BOTY) is recognition of a member for his continued dedication, support, and contribution to our chapter and hobby; and for those of us who have been in the chapter for a few years, our BOTY event can seem almost like a magical evening. Of all the things we do, BOTY night is without a doubt the highlight of our year. So what makes it so special? First of all unlike other chapters, ours is a one-time award, it can never be repeated. It s held in an incredibly wonderful setting at the Indiana Historical Society and Vince Early makes sure that Thomas Catering serves a meal that s second to none. There is entertainment by chapter quartets, officer installation, and recognition of this year s Barbershoppers of the Month, the Most Improved Chorus Member Award, and finally the BOTY Award. For those of you who are old enough to remember This Is Your Life, which was a popular television show many many years ago, it s a similar format, only not televised. A life history of our new BOTY is presented along with his barbershop accomplishments. In the end, he is presented with a trophy, plaque, the official BOTY sweater, and a special BOTY photo album. All in all, it s quite an event. As you can see, it s a special time for all of us as we honor those who have made our chapter s progress possible. Mark your calendar for Friday, January 21, 2005 because you don t want to miss it. Bring your spouse, girl friend, or someone you have been attempting to get interested in our wonderful hobby. It s a time to socialize with friends and your opportunity to support and congratulate our 2004 Greater Indianapolis Chapter Barbershopper of the Year. From The Director Bryan Hughes hat is in a resolution? The word resolve. But what is in the word resolve? Probably more than you know. The following is what I resolve to do this year in chorus, and what it means to me and Wwhat it can mean for you. Relax - Emote - Sing - Own it! - Laugh - Visit - Enjoy First of all, Relax. One of the things that I tend to forget about chorus especially when it s busy is that it is supposed to be fun. I resolve to relax and enjoy myself more at chorus this year. Emote. Emotion in the face is what separates the good singers from the GREAT entertainers. I resolve to continue to improve my ability to emote on stage this year. Sing. This seems pretty obvious, but this one goes beyond the apparent. I resolve to become a better singer is the year of the improved singer who will not have to be told the same things. I will sing better every time I step on to the risers. Singing well will become part of my chorus dialogue and practice always. Own it! It becomes very easy for me to say, It s not my problem, it belongs to someone else. I resolve to make the success of the chorus MY responsibility. What about you? Laugh. A child laughs an average of 150 times per day. The average adult? SIX! This one refers back to the first point RELAX! I resolve to laugh more in chorus this year because it just feels good. Visit. It s a little bit funny, this feeling inside (but I digress). But it really is funny. The best memories that I take from chorus usually don t have anything to do with singing. My favorite memories come from talks with my friends. I tell people often how lucky I am to have the friends I have in this chorus. I resolve to visit more this year. Enjoy. Again another no-brainer. My mother listened to a song often when I was a kid. You better stop and smell the roses. You better stop and smell the roses along the way I resolve to enjoy everything that I am given the opportunity to experience this year in chorus. Dear friends, thank you for a great year. We really got a lot accomplished, and I look forward to what we will be able to accomplish together in the next. You are all wonderful men. The music you create is amazing, but it is nothing compared to the love and support you provide to one another and to me. I am very fortunate to have crossed paths with each and every person on the risers even people like Duane Henry! (really? WOW! Ed.) This year I resolve to make more friends just like all of you.

3 Page 3 Where Are We Going From Here? ost Season Greetings one and all! Welcome back and welcome to a new exciting and Pfun-filled year with Circle City Sound! I am truly honored to now be serving as the Music and Performance Vice President. I want to say Thank You to all who have been supportive of me in obtaining this position with the chapter. Right now I am trying to finish this article for Duane, but my attention keeps being pulled towards the television. I am watching Sister Act 2 with Whoopi Goldberg. In this movie, Whoopi is asked to come back with the nuns to help teach in a rather rough school. She ends up teaching music and develops her class into a choir. Now I know this is television, but there are some really good lessons in this movie. She worked with the choir on having respect for each other. She worked with the choir on proper singing techniques. She also worked with them on singing together as one entity as a TEAM. It s kinda funny how this parallels with what we are doing. So, with all that said, where do we go from here? Working hard goes without saying. But we must be more efficient with how we spend our time. Bryan has told us that the work we have done in one rehearsal needs to be the starting point in the next rehearsal. In other words, what was yesterday s record breaker is now today s standard (This concept is not new). Qualifying on notes and words was yesterday s record breaker and has now become today s standard. Our emphasis is not going to be on notes and words. Each chorus member is expected to have these down cold. We are going to be focusing on the following three items: Singing, singing and of course singing. Sectionals are a great tool to help us in the singing category. I believe they are under-utilized. I mentioned above that yesterday s record breaker of learning notes and words is now today s standard. That means we have to learn the notes and words I know this is television, but there are some really good lessons in this movie. OUTSIDE of rehearsal. In the movie, there was a scene where one of the choir members was walking around her bedroom listening to her learning tape/cd on her walkman and following along with her music. What an AMAZING (thanks Jerry) example. Sectionals need to be used work on proper individual singing and group singing. Sectionals need to be used work the nuances of your section. Sectionals need to be used to work on a unit sound for your section. These sectionals are for everyone because this is not an individual sport. This is a team effort and the only way to get better as a team, is to practice as a From The Music VP David Bjork team. We need to support each other. We need to trust each other. We need to be considerate of each other. And we need to come prepared. Don t be the weak link by coming to rehearsal not already knowing your notes and words. I have heard many people tell me that much of the fun of this group is taken away when we focus on two songs for several weeks and nothing else. I understand and am sympathetic to these feelings. As a chorus member, let s do our part. Let s come to rehearsal prepared so that we can focus on those things that will help us get closer to our goal of International. This will help create more time for a greater amount of variety in our weekly rehearsals and more fun for everyone. I wish I could have every page of this newsletter to talk about things. Surprisingly enough, I have a lot I want to talk about. There is a lot that the leadership can do to help the chorus improve. We will be addressing many of those items this year. Stay focused. Keep learning those notes and words. Keep passing on ideas and suggestions. This is an amazing group. We have come so far together and I truly believe our best days are ahead. We can do this. We are going to do this. Let s do it together As a TEAM!!

4 Page 4 Playing By The Rules lthough Barbershoppers often engage in competitions, few ever read the rules of the Agame or even know where the rules are! Hopefully this article will help take the mystery out of the subject. Actually, the rules that govern the game of Barbershop contests are contained within several different documents, all of which combine to affect how a contestant scores in competition. These documents are authored by different entities within the Contest and Judging System, so before getting into the actual rules, one needs to know a little about how the Society s Contest and Judging System is organized. The Barbershop Society s Board of Directors ( SBOD ) has several major committees that report to it. One of the key committees is the Society Contest and Judging Committee ( SCJC ). This committee is comprised of the four Category Specialists, one each from the Music, Singing, Presentation, and Contest Administrator categories, plus a chairman and immediate past chairman. (I serve on the SCJC as the Presentation Category Specialist.) Each of the judging Categories is headed by a Category Specialist who, with the assistance of his three-member Board of Review (BOR) provides leadership, training and administration. Each Category has an absolute limit of 45 certified judges, plus there may be some candidate judges in training. The Category Specialist communicates, educates, trains, and selects his judges through several venues: (a) Category Training School (once every three years, the last one was held in 2004), (b) New Directions (an official quarterly judges publication), (c) each Category has an official JudgeNet (an newsgroup like Yahoo groups, only better), and (d), to individual or groups of judges regarding specific issues that arise. All of these venues influence how judges interpret and apply the rules of the game and affect contestants scores. What are the rules of the game? With the above as background, the following comprise the key documents or Rules in the Society s Contest and Judging (C&J) System. As an analogy, these documents are compared with the laws of our country, which also are found on various levels. The legal equivalent is in parentheses: The Official Rules of the Contest (the U.S. Constitution ). Ultimate Authority: Society Board of Directors Usually drafted by the All of these venues influence how judges interpret and apply the rules of the game... SCJC (Society Contest and Judging Committee). Category Descriptions ( Laws, Legislation, and administrative law ). Ultimate Authority: Society Contest and Judging Committee (SCJC). Usually drafted by the Individual Category Specialists (Music, Singing, Presentation and Contest Administrator). Position Papers ( Legal Opinions and case law on specific issues). Ultimate Authority: Category Specialist. Usually drafted by the Board of Review or Category Specialist of each Category. New Directions (a legal professional publication but probably with more weight). Ultimate Authority: Category Specialist. Drafted by the Category Specialist or a designated judge in that Category, often a From The Coach s Corner Richard Trep Treptow Board of Review member. The above written documents are interpreted, if not drafted by each Category Specialist, under the overview of the SCJC and with the assistance of his Board of Review. These interpretations of law or rules are communicated to all judges within a category at Category Schools, JudgeNets, and New Directions. Each judge is responsible for scoring according to these rules and communicating to contestants according to the category consensus on each issue. A judge s personal biases are never to be the basis for scoring. If you are interested in an in-depth review of the rules, go to and click on Doc Center at the top of the page. Then, scroll down to Contest and Judging System Documents. Below that you will find the Contest and Judging Handbook. And Them s the Rules of the Game! Happy reading.

5 Page 5 ooking back at the year 2004, each member of the Greater Indianapolis Chapter could no doubt identify events, issues, and circumstances that Lhave individually and collectively evolved our organization into what it is today. Every organization has its good and not so good qualities that make some swear by it, some swear about it and some, I suppose, just swear. My tenure as Chapter Secretary now consists of a single year and just a small glimpse of what makes us tick and what motivates us as members of a very diverse group of barbershop singers. As a means of communicating what 2004 was for us as an organization, I would like to share some information with you that focuses on Chapter member PARTICIPATION. A group or organization with poor participation soon becomes less viable and more vulnerable to terminal events. Fortunately for those of us with a passion for singing barbershop-style music, the numbers associated with our Chapter are not all bad. For the sake of discussion, I will provide a few numbers and some food for thought in three areas: (1) Rehearsal Attendance; (2) Participation in Shows; and (3) Involvement in Special Events. Are you aware that total Chapter membership as of December 31, 2004 stood at 110 members? Did you know that in 2004 we formally met for a total of fifty-one (51) rehearsals (including one pre-contest retreat )? How many shows did we do in 2004? If you guessed that we performed officially nine (9) times, you would be correct. And what about special events? Well, we had one each quarter last year, for a total of four (4). And what would a snapshot of our Chapter, covering all of 2004, look like in terms of participation? Let s take a glimpse of the moment in time and see how well (or how poorly) we fared. While it is a fact that 110 names appear on our official roster, the numbers tell us that only 60 of these men (54.5%) attended rehearsal more than 50% of the time. Fifteen members never made it to a rehearsal in Clearly this does not tell the whole story, as we have members who have legitimate health limitations that don t allow them to participate actively. We benefit, however, from their support of the Chapter and the Society and appreciate their loyalty. Realistically what these numbers indicate is that we have an active membership of around 60 men, and a very committed core of about men who are reliably on the risers most of the time. Those making The List for rehearsal attendance are the following seventeen men who attended at least 90% of all rehearsals: Chisler (100%), Rosenau (98%), Troxel, Sauder and Boehmer (96%), Pritchard, Patterson and Landau (94%), B. McAlexander, Kendall, and Henry (92%), and Turner, Swenson, Schlosser, P. McAlexander, Korty, and Klein (90%) Thank you all for your great attendance and participation. Show participation generates another list of honorably mentionable gentlemen who worked hard, qualified for, and sang in many or all of the nine shows we did in What nine shows, you ask? Well here s the list: Jan 21 for the Rotary, June 11 & 12 Annual Shows, July 4 at the Historical Society, July 5 at Carmelfest, October 2 Fall Contest, and Christmas Shows on December 4, 11 and 22 at Christal DeHaan, Artsgarden and AUL respectively. A total of 46 members made 55% of the shows or more. I ll list the elite ten who made all nine events: Bjork, Chisler, Foster, Landau, Landers, Pritchard, Rosenau, Swenson, Troxel, and Walker. Very well done, gentlemen! We also had one opportunity each quarter to attend what I have called special events. Those include the BOTY Banquet on February 9, the SPEBSQSA Road Show on April 27, the Blast on the Bay July 22, and of course the Chapter Christmas Party on December 20. A group of fifty made it to at least half of these events, and thirteen of those went 4 for 4. So, the Special Events List award winners are: Anthony, Bjork, Boehmer, Bradley, Henry, Houk, Korty, McQuistion, Patterson, Pritchard, Rosenau, Sauder, and Troxel. Again, G R E A T participation. [FYI Anyone is welcome to look at all the numbers. Just ask me some Monday evening to see The Lists. Putting all the pieces of the participation package together (rehearsal attendance, show participation, and special events involvement) we had a respectable total of 58 members whose overall participation percentage was 50% or more. Listed below are my picks for the Participants of the Year list for Each of the 26 members listed below demonstrated their dedication to the Chapter and to Barbershopping through 80% or more overall participation: Percentage Names From The Secretary Jim Rosenau Is Your Name On The List? 96.92% Bill Chisler, Jim Rosenau 95.38% Jerry Troxel

6 Page % Bob Boehmer, Dan Pritchard 92.31% Steve Landau 90.77% Jim Patterson 89.23% Duane Henry, Vic Kendall 87.69% Howard Foster, Allen Korty, Brad McAlexander, Kermit Swenson 86.15% George Houk, Larry Klein, Gene Newcombe 84.62% Tom Bradley, Jim Landers, Patrick McAlexander, Jim Sauder, Don Walker 83.08% Steve Cline, Dave Coleman, Morrie Turner 80.00% Adrian Oleck, Bill Schlosser Most of us can make The List with just a little more effort and some much needed participation by more and more individuals. Add to that the need to match our members with the many things that need to be done and we have a challenging year ahead. Don t be listless (pardon the pun) make the effort and make the list it s exciting and fun, and it IS worth the effort. The last but certainly not least of my lists for this month is the JANUARY BIRTHDAY LIST, which includes the following ageless barbershoppers: Steve Landau (01/12), Randy Freeman (01/07), Don Harbin (01/10), Rich Treptow (01/12), David Hiner (01/27), and Phil Fletcher (01/30).!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! The Greater Indianapolis Chapter Board Meeting Summary December, 2004 SECRETARY: Minutes of the November 17, 2004 meeting were reviewed and approved as amended. An Application for Membership was received from Monti Cowen. The Board approved the application pending the successful completion of his voice audition. TREASURER: The Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Statement were discussed and approved for audit. Supplemental financial reports prepared by President Troxel were also reviewed. MEMBERSHIP: Prospective new members are appearing from many sources. Two college students who had been considering membership to qualify for quartet competition and who attended the Christel DeHaan show returned as guests the following Monday night. Roger Rutter, a recent guest, may be transferring his membership from Memphis as he completes his transfer to the Indianapolis area. MUSIC/PERFORMANCE: Contest songs have been selected for the Fall 2005 International Preliminaries. One song from our current repertoire will be modified and prepared for the October event along with one new song. Plans remain in place to roll out Sweet Georgia Brown in early The Music Team has determined that two electronic pitch pipes will be routinely used during chorus performances. PROGRAM: The Chorus Christmas party will be held on December 20. Two mini-choruses will first visit two local extended care facilities to sing to residents. Wives/significant others are invited to participate in the Christmas Party following the caroling. PR/MARKETING: The Chapter s share of the ticket sales revenue from the Christel DeHaan show will be $965. This is the amount chorus members generated in ticket sales. The University of Indianapolis sold tickets in the amount of $890 and offered to let CCS keep the larger amount as our share of this event. The chorus has been invited back in 2005 for another combined show. STANDING COMMITTEES: Plans for the 2005 Annual Show and 2006 International Convention in Indianapolis are developing on schedule. The 2005 Singing Valentines Program is approaching rapidly, and several important changes are being put in motion. Look for flexible pricing promotions, web-based customer-entered sign-ups, and quartet information available on the website. As one of the chapter s major annual fund raisers, all members should be involved in some manner in the program. Both singing and non-singing support is needed. The Singing Valentines Committee will next meet on Monday, January 3, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. at the Cathedral. Plans are being finalized for the BOTY Banquet scheduled for Friday, January 21, This will again be an event no member will want to miss. OLD BUSINESS: The critical position of PR and Marketing Vice President still needs to be filled. Gene Newcombe will be stepping down as soon as a replacement can be found. Website modifications continue. Keep watching for new and exciting aspects of the website to evolve. Eight individuals will be representing the Greater Indianapolis Chapter at the COTS seminars on January 8 and 9, NEW BUSINESS: Chapter Development Vice President-elect Rich Treptow presented the Board with an aggressive, 21-step membership plan for Many key elements of the plan have Board support already, and others will be developed under the guidance of the new Board starting in January. GOOD OF THE CHAPTER: The Barbershopper of the Month for November 2004 was selected. Howard Doc Blackburn has recently renewed his membership and becomes our latest Fifty- Year Member. Congratulations to Doc Blackburn. Don t forget BOTY Night and installation of officers January 21. It s an evening you will not want to miss!

7 Page 7 New Membership VP Announces Suppers Eight Program One of the first changes coming as a result of the Chapter Member Survey is a new program to enhance social opportunities for members. Under the coordination of the new Membership VP, we are starting a fun, new, voluntary program to give all chapter members (both chorus and non-chorus members) the opportunity to socialize and help get to know our fellow Barbershoppers. One of the best things about it is that it can include our better halves! It s called Suppers Eight, a very successful fellowship program borrowed from the many church groups who use it. Participants who sign up, including wives & significant others, will be randomly assigned to groups of 7-8 individuals (couples or singles) in each group. The main idea is for each couple (or single person) to host the group in their home, or elsewhere, one time in a four-month period. The host will provide the main course while the other participants bring the accompanying dishes. Conversation and friendships are the main benefit of this fellowship dinner. Flexibility in this program is encouraged. You don t have to use your home, cook, or even eat! For example, your group could decide to go out to a restaurant for some or all of the dinners rather than using a home. Or you could decide to meet just for coffee & dessert, play a table game, go bowling, or just gather to chat over some snacks & soda. Each group or person decides what works best in terms of dates and activities. It is self-organized. One person in your group will be designated to make the initial calls to establish the first meeting. (When you meet, you ll find it convenient for everyone to bring his calendar, to facilitate setting the date of the next meeting.) After signing up (by January 24) for the first series, Suppers Eight groups will be posted at the guest table on January 31, in Sound Bytes, and, with the first Supper to follow as soon as the group finds a convenient date. At the end of 4 months, it starts over again with new groups drawn from those who sign up for the next series. Assignments will be random, but may be loosely clustered based on geographic location. E.g., we won t put Muncie and Martinsville in the same group, unless you designate unrestricted on the sign up sheet. Suppers Eight is voluntary, but it is so much fun you won t want to miss out on this opportunity to make new friends within the Chapter. As someone once said, We came for the music, but we stayed for the camaraderie. Over the course of time, you will get to know many of your fellow Barbershoppers much better, and we will find ourselves achieving one of the goals of our Mission Statement to be the FRIENDLIEST chapter in the Society. As a benefit, the wives and significant others will get to know the guys you sing with, as well as meeting one another. You may even find them pushing you out the door on Monday nights! Sign up soon, but definitely by January 24! If you can t make it to a chapter meeting to sign up in person, you may the new Membership VP at RTreptow@aol.com, or use his snail mail address: 1043 Carter s Grove, Indianapolis, IN Happy socializing! And The Winners Are... Howard Foster, Scott Hutchison Jonathan Presti, Phil Miller Steve Landau, Dustin Hall Larry Anthony, John Weiss John McQuistion, Brad McAlexander Jim Rosenau, Tom Davis Duane Henry, Jim Patterson Dan Pritchard, Jim Landers Patrick McAlexander, Allen Korty Bill Chisler, Bob Boehmer During a recent chapter meeting, a number of men who typically do not sing in a quartet, stepped forward with a few veteran quartet men to participate in the Christmas Song Quartet Contest. The volunteer quartets members were assembled at random and told by Bryan to select a Christmas song to sing in the contest. After a brief rehearsal, they presented their song before the chapter members and a panel of nonparticipating judges whose only qualifications were that they were awake and breathing. At the conclusion, trophies (candy canes) were awarded to all. It was a great experience, and one that everyone hopes will be repeated soon.

8 Page 8 Music Basics Part 2 Explained by Tom Wheatley, editor Dundalk Md. Charivari, June The last time, this column addressed one of the functions of those markings on sheet music called notes. Specifically, we covered the length of time a note is to be held. There is a second major function that notes fulfill. This involves how high or low the note sounds. In effect, it fleshes out the melody and harmony parts. However, the flesh needs a skeleton to cling to. That skeleton is called a staff. I know that you ve seen some of these. Looking at a sheet of music, you will spot a set of five parallel lines above the lyrics. There s another one below the lyrics. In barbershop music, there are too many things going on at one time to put them all on one staff, so we use the top one (treble staff) for the leads and tenors, and the bottom one (bass staff) for the basses and baritones. They are almost the same, but the differences are enough to drive the beginner absolutely bonkers. For that reason, we ll start by tackling just one, the treble staff. Ignore the funny symbols at the beginning of each staff, and also ignore the vertical lines you see scattered throughout. We will get to them some other time. For the time being, just look at the five lines. Between them you will see four spaces. The spaces are necessary. Without the spaces, the five lines would look just like one big thick line. As it stands, we wind up with nine lines and spaces. Once in a great while, common sense and reality meet. That s the case here. The lowest line represents the lowest sounding note of the staff, while the highest line indicates the highest sounding note. As you might guess, those lines and spaces in between have notes that lie between the low and high ends. For the present, ignore any note that lies beyond these limits. If you look at a piano, you will see a bunch of white keys. There are also black keys, but like so many other things, they come later. Right now, we are dealing with the simplest model. The lines and spaces you see on the music have a direct correspondence to the white keys. The lowest line represents the note E. Anybody with a grain of common sense knows that alphabetic things start with A. Music notation and common sense don t meet here. The first space you see represents the note F, with a G being the note of the second line up. Now at this critical junction, we must forget what our mommies taught us about our ABC s. The next note is an A, not an H. Don t argue about it; just take it on faith. Continuing upwards we encounter B, C, D, and then another E and F. The second E and F are higher sounding versions of the ones we encountered at the bottom of the staff. Don t be confused by having different notes that carry the same name. For the fully technical, there is more to each note than just the simple letter given here. However, in barbershop, we do try to keep it simple. Just consider that we are using familiar first names here. As a parallel example, in the chapter, we may encounter two different guys named Jim. Most of us have little trouble telling the two Jims apart. Same thing with note names. Many folks say that remembering that the spaces spell FACE provides the key to keeping track of the notes on this staff. Let s jump back to those note symbols for a moment. Remember that beautiful oval we referred to last month? The center part of the oval must lie on the space or line to represent that particular note. Now we ll touch upon the bass staff for just a moment. It operates the same as the treble staff, except that the bottom note is G, followed by A, B, C, D, E, F, G and A. You may have noticed that the spaces on this staff spell, ACEG. While you may be able to pronounce this, it doesn t mean anything. However, people who have associated the letters with the phrase, All Cows Eat Grass, say that it helps. Next time, we ll be looking into most of those silly looking symbols you see at the beginning of the staff. Some may also appear throughout the music, but, as you ve already heard a few times, That comes later. Meanwhile, you have a while to fix the lines and spaces of each staff in your head. Regardless of your voice part, try to learn both staffs. Chinese scientists may have found the key to long life - singing. A study in Bama Country, in south China s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has found that singing a tune which expresses your feelings is conducive to longevity. Bama County has a population of 220,000 including 74 centenarians. Back in 1960, there were 18.6 centenarians in every 100,000 residents of Bama. It was listed by the International Society of Natural Medicine as the world s fifth longest living population in November Out of 135 influential amateur singers in Bama, two are centenarians, and 44 are over the age of 71. Chen Jincho, a member of the International Society of Natural Medicine and head of maize porridge, a plate of bean curd and a cup of maize liquor garnished with a song every day was their menu for longevity. Yum! Yum! Reprinted from the Oct/Nov/Dec 2004 Rebel Rouser

9 Page 9 t s two weeks before Christmas at the time of this writing and I am being filled with the spirit of the ISeason. Perhaps that spirit is most embodied in the love which is given to me by my nuclear family. I also receive it from one of my families of choice, you, my barbershop brothers. The man whose story I am privileged to tell this month is with us solely through the same blessings - family, and love of singing four-part harmony. Like all of us, his is a unique journey. John Weiss was born August 18, 1938 in Angola, Indiana, the third child of Carl and Lois. Dad owned a small machine shop business and mom was a musician and school teacher who made sure her kids spoke proper English and had music in the home. John s older siblings are Marilynn and Suzanne. He was educated in the Angola school system through high school. One of the life-affecting things that took place during this time was that he discovered the game of golf when he was 12 years old. And, oh yes! he also met his future wife, Elaine when he was a senior and she a freshman at Angola High School. He proceeded on to Purdue where he earned his degree in math-statistics. Perhaps just as importantly, he kept up his relationship with Elaine who was pursuing her degree in Music Education at Illinois Wesleyan. John found employment in Chicago with General Telephone, working as a manufacturing engineer and supervisor involved in the production of telephone circuit equipment. He experienced the technological evolution which changed electro-mechanical equipment to electronics. He also experienced the movement of the printed circuit industry to Japan. John and Elaine were married in 1963 and bought a home in the west suburbs of Chicago. They have been blessed with three children, Doug (a thriving jazz musician), Shelley (who teaches viola and violin), and Caroline. They have four grandchildren, two of which are Caroline s in Greenwood. As the years went by in the business world, John and Elaine became increasingly aware that the economics of the electronics world was making his job very insecure. It was 1984, and they made, what I think, was a very unique and brave decision. They decided to sell their home in Chicago and move to Milford, Indiana where they purchased a GOLF COURSE! It was an Executive 9-holer in need of a LOT of work. And that s what they did, as a couple. They inherited a membership of 8 at the time of purchase and over the next 14 1/2 years, increased that number to about 80. As John approached retirement age, he and Elaine decided they d done their thing with the golf course. So in 1999, they sold it and moved to Indianapolis. A primary drawing card was their daughter Caroline and the two grandchildren. Very shortly thereafter, John found his way to our chapter where he has supported the baritone section in the chorus ever since. Aside from singing, John s passion is golf. It s been his life s pursuit. (It just might be that I have found a partner!) At any rate, we had a great time comparing notes on the beauty and difficulty of #17 at Smock golf course. His travel highlights include the barbershoppers tour to Russia in 2000 (along with Tom Davis, Ed Vargo The Sound Corner by: Bob Boehmer and Duane Henry). He also visited Paris and Belgium, attending a jazz festival that son Doug was playing in. John found our hobby not long after moving to the Chicago area. Elaine had a friend whose husband was the president of the Lombard chapter. He gave John tickets to the West Town s annual show. That was all John needed. He signed up shortly afterward. West Towns was singing with men at that time. They finished 8th in their District contest in In 1981 Greg Lyne was induced to become the director and proceeded to lead the chorus to a 1st place finish that year! John has 4th, 3rd and 2nd place International medals to show for his efforts. The silver came in 1984 when West Towns was nosed out by the Thoroughbreds by a scant 8 points. After moving back to northcentral Indiana, John also sang with South Bend/Mishawaka from time to time. He competed in district contests in 1988 and 89. He also commuted to Louisville and sang with the Thoroughbreds at International in Kansas City in John has always sung baritone. He says he can also sing tenor, but no quartet in which he has sung that part has ever asked him to do it again! He likes our Chapter, enjoys singing for Bryan and thinks the camaraderie is great. There are two things he d like to see happen: 1) increase the numbers on the risers (which means a better plan for recruitment and retention); and 2) have more fun! Learn something new each week and vary the program to keep things fresh. Winning medals is not necessary for him. He d just like to hear a little more sparkle in our sound. Glad you re with us, John!

10 Circle City Sound R. Duane Henry, Editor 723 N. East Street Indianapolis, IN Greater Indianapolis Chapter SPEBSQSA 2005 President: Jerry Troxel PR & Marketing VP: Gene Newcombe Membership VP: Richard Treptow Music & Performance VP: David Bjork Program VP: Don Brown Secretary: Jim Rosenau Treasurer: Jeff Whiteley Immediate Past President: Larry Anthony Board Members At Large: David Bloomer Adrian Oleck Brad McAlexander Director: Bryan Hughes Assistant Director: Drew Stainbrook Kurt Vogel Quartet Activities Chairman John McQuistion Costume Chairman: Steve Cline Music Librarian: Dan Pritchard The Barbershop Harmony Society Chapter meetings Monday 7:00 p.m. Scottish Rite Cathedral 650 N. Meridian Street, Indianapolis (parking on West side of building)