CHECKLIST FOR MUSIC SELECTION (Bailey, Diamond, Gooch, McNeill, Barrows, Breidart) Tori Postma Rate the following from 1-5 with 1 being weak and 5 being strong. Song Title: Interesting melody line? Each voice part performing in her optimal range most of the time? Lead Bass Bari Tenor Smooth, singable partline for Lead Bass Bari Tenor Strong musical climax? Ballad lyrics create tension for emotional impact leading to a strong musical climax? Strong intro that sets up the story line? Strong Tag that reinforces the ending? Good potential for dynamics? Effective tempo possibilities? Potential for effective choreography/characterization? Few or simple key changes? Clear message/tells an interesting story? Message appropriate to the performing group? Physical energy demands match the group s abilities? Rhythmic and dynamic patterns match the words? Rise and fall of the melody fits the lyrics? Embellishments add interest, but do not hinder the performance? Challenges in the voice parts match strengths of the group? Chord voicings strong? Strong barbershop flavor? Use in Repertoire: Contest Ballad Contest Uptune Show Opener Show Theme related Show finale Swing ballad Comedy/novelty Heavy Ballad Driving Uptune Choreography showcase Solo Eight part Signature song
DIFFICULTY FACTORS in WOMEN s ARRANGEMENTS 1. Range for each voice part-be sure it falls into the comfort zone Lead: Bb below middle C to Bb above middle C Bass: Eb below middle C to F/G above middle C Bari: Bb below middle C to Bb above middle C Tenor: E above middle C to F above C prime. 2. Smoothness of the melody line. Avoid wide interval jumps in the lead part, particularly in fast passages. We expect the Bass to jump around, but too much will cause difficulty. Wide interval jumps make tuning, tempo and synch errors probable. 3. Spread Voicings (two octave type chords) They are beautiful, and occasionally are great for variety and balance, but they are hard to balance and sing with strength. 4. Check the baritone in relationship to the lead line. You don t want to see the baritone consistently above the lead throughout. For best balance (cone) they should be below the lead or a mixture of above and below. 5. Breathing places. Be sure there are some! 6. Voice Leading. Sing through each part separately. Each should flow smoothly and be reasonable easy for the singer to hear and execute. Baritones are more used to illogical intervals than the other parts, and can handle them. 7. Energy Requirements. Be sure stamina of the ensemble can handle the arrangement.uptune medleys can tax strength.
8. The key of the song. Some keys are just more difficult. Anything in C for example.most easily sung keys for our singers voices: Ab, Bb, Eb, and F 9. Key Changes. Can be exciting, but they present challenges. 10. Accidentals. The more sharps or flats that occur outside of the key signature, the more difficult the music. 11. Lyrics. Look for singable consonants. M N L NG..Some sound stopper consonants T CH K and S can cause difficulty in fast moving passages. Look for open vowel sounds on on chords that will be held. EE and OO are difficult to sing with quality on high voiced chords. Tori Postma Music Selection Credit to Vicki Uhr
Tori Postma TLC 2016 Traps in the arrangement TRAPSHOOTING AND MUSIC SELECTION 1. Anchoring Anchors are notes that help the singer to tune successive chords in a progression. Anchors can be: The melody, repeated notes in any part, 4 th and 5 th intervals in the bass part. Lack of anchors in a phrase often leads to difficulty tuning. 2. Lead line intervals A rangy lead line affects the ability of the average lead singer to perform well. Often this issue can produce interval problems in the other parts as well, causing errors in Tempo, tuning and synchronization. 3. Tessitura of the song If part lines place the singer consistently at the top or bottom of her range it will cause difficulty. If the arrangement is voiced too low, the result will be a muddy sound, and too high will produce a shallow, or soprano type sound, inappropriate for Barbershop. 4. Spread Voicings While spread voicings (beyond the 10 th ) are beautiful, they should be used appropriately and in combination with closed voicings. The average female barbershop singer cannot sustain the kind of vocal output called for, when spread voicings are used throughout a song. This is why men s arrangements transposed for women s voices seldom work. 5. Baritone above the Lead Arrangements which place the bari consistently above the lead interfere with the natural structure of the CONE, resulting in a lack of depth of sound. When we see this kind of problem, it is usually due to one of two things: The structure of the song being arranged is such that it is not a good candidate for women s barbershop, or it has been arranged in the wrong key. 6. Divorced Voicings Chord voicings which give any two adjacent parts an interval of more than one octave, are generally unattractive to listen to, producing an empty sound, and more often than not, cause balance problems within the cone. 7. Poor Voice leading/illogical intervals Any given part line should flow smoothly. Avoid large interval jumps, and be reasonably easy for the singer to hear. The bass part includes intervals of a 4 th or 5 th, so these are not the intervals to which we refer. Illogical intervals are most often found in the baritone part; a good baritone has the ability to hear awkward intervals. Tenors typically have difficulty with wide interval jumps. A good arrangement keeps the use of illogical intervals to a minimum. 8. Too much harmonic change (over arranging) Particulary in uptunes, this will cause sync and tempo problems.
9. Harmonic Anticipation Changing the chord before it is logically called for in a song. Harmonic change most often occurs at a pulse point, such as on the first beat of a measure. The most common anticipation error makes the change one chord too soon, just before the bar line. NOT always avoidable, but singers will stub their toes on these. 10. No place to breathe! A good arrangement should have the breaths as rests in the music. This way the singer knows the length of the breath and it avoids synch errors, or lack of stamina. 11. Prosody The inappropriate accent of a syllable as it relates to the pulse of the song. Example: having to sing harmony rather than HARmony 12. Lyric/harmonic incongruity This happens when the harmonic plan of the song does not match the interpretive plan. Example: The use of closely-voiced chords high in the singers ranges would call for volume. Using those chords for a phrase expressing tenderness or intimacy would be counter-productive. Stair-step spreads by the bass/tenor, or bari/tenor lines call for dynamic growth, and the singer will fight having to rein in on such a passage. 13. Vowel singability Mismatched vowels and voicings make it difficult for a given part to sustain a tone with quality. Example: A long eee vowel on a high G hanger for tenors, or peak of the song not featuring a singable open vowel. Parts sustaining differing vowels through echos or embellishments can also cause dissonances. 14. Parallel motion All parts moving in the same direction from one chord to the next. This causes tuning problems and often a lock is never attained. At least one part should stay on the same tone as in the previous chord, or move in a contrary direction from the other parts. Not always avoidable. One exception to the rules of parallel motion: A barbershop 7 th chord, tightly voiced, moving chromatically up/down a half step, is generally easily heard and handled by the singer. 15. Cross relationships Use of a chromatically altered tone in a part, where in the previous chord that tone un-altered was sung by another voice part. Confusing!! Example: If the Lead sings A flat in one chord, it will be difficult for the Baritone to sing A natural in the next. 16. Pythagorean tuning. If the melody or the bass line are consistently on the 3 rd, 6 th or 7 th scale step, or have a plethora of accidentals throughout, the arrangement will be difficult to keep in tune and in key. Credit and thanks to Vicki Uhr Barb Mc Neill