The Pitch Pipe - October 2008 - (Page 12) Being productive while being positive, personable and primed for challenge. By Ida Bilodeau, Valley Forge Chorus, Region 19 You just returned from contest. Did fairly well. The chorus sets the goal of returning next year, reaching for even higher scores. Wow! Another challenge? Attendance may drop off some. Ever hear, “After all, we do have another life?” How do you get over this hurdle and rev up again? Just step back and take a deep breath. Think about when you first discovered the barbershop experience. What a joy to be singing with other women, feeling the chords being rung, experiencing the joy of performing, communicating with an audience and receiving the applause. That joy is still there. All you need to do is recapture that excitement — individually and as a unified chorus. As chorus/quartet members, we strive to be the perfect unit of individuals working towards a total blend in sound, vowels, visual, emotional delivery and costumes. Yes, it’s the entire package that is summarized on each and every scoresheet. What a challenge. We remember the agreement at the goal setting session. Now the question is how do we reach these goals without sacrificing the individuals who make up the unit? We know we must become a unit (team). Team building is an important factor within this challenge. All musical leaders, administrators and directors are responsible for finding activities that will build this team in order to meet the chorus’ and individual’s goals. “Members need to get to know each other, the challenges and joys in their lives. It’s bonding at that level which creates the love and compassion that is so necessary to support the chorus as a whole in the intense atmosphere that will envelop everyone as they prepare for competition,” a former member of Valley Forge suggests. Create a few minutes at rehearsals with specific instructions for members to get to know each other. One week a lead pairs with a baritone, a new member with an older, a blonde with a brunette. Give specific assignments and specific times for them to share — favorite event, birthplace and other hobbies. Let your imagination run wild. This doesn’t need to be more than 10 minutes, including moving out and into spots. This is not a break; this is whatever you wish to call it, but we know the goal is bonding towards a unit, and should be part of the process that’s fun in the journey. Retreats, also, provide an excellent time for bonding, hard work and laughter. Let’s approach each rehearsal as steps. Let your imagination run free. Can you hear the song in the film, “An American In Paris,” The Stairway To Paradise? Climb each step upwards. The first step is PREPARATION — learning to become the best tenor, lead, baritone and bass. It goes without saying that in your individual prep, you practice your craft: notes, breathing, diphthongs, dynamics, lyrics, the physical aspects, etc. This huge step of preparation is the foundation for all the rest of the steps and can make each repetition the joy in the journey. However, there is more to the preparation step. The SUNY (State University of New York) motto is, “Let each become all he/she is capable of being.” How many times have you heard that in Sweet Adelines International? As we practice and improve our skills on that first step, we’re doing that. Let’s investigate the other steps on the upward journey to paradise. 12 October 2008
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