The Orange Spiel Page 1 July 2019
Volume 39 Issue 7 July 2019 We meet at 7:00 most Thursdays at Shepherd of the Woods Lutheran, 7860 Southside Blvd, Jacksonville, FL Guests always welcome Call 355-SING No Experience Necessary
WHAT'S INSIDE BHS INTERNATIONAL CONTEST
Title Page EXPENSION DRAFT PROPOSAL BHS International Contest Expansion 1, 3 from barbershop.org Editorial 2 Essential Apps For The Organized 4 Project Vision: Simplicity in Implementation and Equality Chapter Eternal 5 in Competition Row Your Boat 6 How To Stop The Throat Clearing 7 Origins & Timeline 33 Most Effective Singing Tips 7 SPPBSQSUS 8 10 August 2018 Are Coffee Naps Legit? 10 12 Events Team tasked with developing the EiH Contest Chapter Quartets 12 Expansion Proposal Free Your Voice 13 Free Singing Tips 13 August / September 2018 Magic Choral Trick #383 14 Consultation with Harmony Hall program area teams to How Blowing Into A Straw Can Save 14 develop first draft Quartet Corner 15 Chapter Member Stats 15 September 2018 Board Minute Summary 16 First Draft of the Proposal presented to the Harmony Upcoming Schedules 17 Hall Executive Team Birthdays / Guests / New Members 17 Directing Team / Other Leaders 18 October–December 2018 Chapter Officers / Music Team 19 Collaboration with SCJC to develop specific language and rule changes required
Jan March 2019 Events Team consulted with various stakeholders to get feedback and further refine the proposal. This group in cludes: Society Contest & Judging Committee, BHS Im pact Alignment Team, BHS Women’s Advisory Group, Harmony Hall program managers, Harmony Hall Execu tive Team, BHS Convention Team, BHS Production Team
April 2019 Version 7.1 of the proposal prepared from the stake holder feedback and presented to the Harmony Hall Ex ecutive Team
May 2019 Version 8.2 of the proposal prepared for review by Soci (Continued on page 3) The Orange Spiel Page 2 July 2019
2019 Board of Directors Committees EDITORIAL President: Show Chairman: Terry Ezell Jason Dearing It’s an exciting time to be a Big O. Contests, gigs, community involvement, and more. Come one, Immediate Past Pres: Webmaster: come all. Bring friends, bring acquaintances, bring Brian Kerr Frank Nosalek enemies (you can’t be hostile when you’re singing). Share the fun, don’t keep it all to yourself. More Executive VP: Chorus Manager: men means more sound, less work for each man to Jason Dearing Jason Dearing do to keep the engine running, and more buddies to hang out with (yeah, I know, ending a sentence with VP Music & Performance: Uniform Manager: a preposition). Let’s keep growing! John Alexander Dave Walker Don’t forget to sing, at least a little, each and every VP Membership: 2019 Music Team day. It keeps the mechanism working smoothly. It Daniel Proctor helps you keep the music fresh in your mind. And Music Director: it’s fun! VP Marketing & PR: Jay Giallombardo Robert Reeves Bigger and better. There are worse goals. Associate Director: Secretary: George Gipp Mike Sobolewski Music VP: Treasurer: John Alexander Gregg Flowers Section Leaders: Finance Chairman: Brian Kerr Tenor Rick Morin Steve Mullens Lead Daniel Pesante Lead Music Director: George Gipp Bari
Jay Giallombardo Timothy Keatley Bari Daniel Proctor Bass Big O Bucks Alex Burney Bass
Coordinator: Presentation Team: Mike Sobolewski George Gipp Mike Sobolewski Bookkeeper: Bob Stump Rick Morin
The Orange Spiel is published monthly and is the official publication of the Jacksonville Big O Chapter of the Sunshine District of the Barbershop Harmony Society, the home of the Big Orange Chorus. The chapter and chorus meet most Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm at the Shepherd of the Woods, 7860 South side Blvd. For more information visit our website, http://www.bigorangechorus.com. Articles, pictures and address corrections may be sent to the editor.
John Alexander, Editor For more detailed, 2429 Southern Links Dr timely information Fleming Island FL 32003 see my weekly [email protected] publication: 904 278 3987 Orange Zest The Orange Spiel Page 3 July 2019
BHS INTERNATIONAL CONTEST 2019 (continued) Districts will welcome women’s quartets/choruses and mixed harmony quartets/choruses to be participants at (Continued from page 1) their events. All participants will be scored and evalu ety Board of Directors and Strategic Planning ated. Note: Some districts are already planning or Committee; advance copy shared with district holding official contests for these added classifica leadership tions.
June 2019 2020 Draft proposal shared with membership and gen District and local events will include mixed harmony eral public quartets, mixed harmony choruses, women’s quartets, and women’s choruses as official contests. For dis BHS International Convention Goals tricts with divisions, the qualification criteria will be the THE must attend event for people interested in same as previously determined for the men’s contests. barbershop. One giant event, education, contests, During the fall district or local events, qualification for spectacular showcases. The highest level of BHS the 2021 International competition will take place for competition for: choruses (men/women/mixed harmony). Districts that ● Men’s Quartets and Choruses qualify quartets in the fall (currently ILL, MAD, RMD ) ● Women’s Quartets and Choruses would include women’s and mixed harmony quartets ● Mixed Harmony Quartets and Choruses as well.
BHS Midwinter Convention Goals 2021 Preserve a more relaxed convention experience. District and local events will qualify quartets for the In Focus on growing Seniors and NextGen Junior ternational Competition in 2021 in Cleveland, OH. The events for quartets & choruses. Continue adding qualification criteria will be the same for all competitors women’s and mixed harmony content to the show men/women/mixed harmony). cases & education events. No additional contests At the International Convention held in Cleveland, OH, added to Midwinter. awards will be given in the following categories: Men’s quartet District, Division, and local events. Increased par Men’s chorus ticipation at district and local events due to addi Women’s quartet tion of women’s and mixed harmony classifica Women’s chorus tions. Simplicity and Equality: Women’s and mixed Mixed quartet harmony choruses and quartets will qualify for the Mixed chorus International convention using the same method determined for men. Preliminary Contest Details and Considerations In an effort to achieve Everyone in Harmony, we will Process to qualify for International remove all geographic barriers in terms of qualifica Step 1: Register your quartet or chorus with BHS. tion. The competitor will be allowed to enter any avail Step 2: Enter any available prelims contest. able preliminary contest to qualify for International re Step 3: Achieve a score of 78%+ for quartets or gardless of district affiliation. The competitor will be 81%+ for choruses. * ** allowed a second try to achieve the qualifying score by *Wildcards may also be available. competing in multiple local events (pending availability **These are the recommended qualification scores and cut off dates). A 2nd attempt will erase the 1st for Cleveland 2021. This number could be attempt score in terms of possible wild card qualifica changed on an annual basis by the BHS Executive tion. The 2021 International quartet minimum qualifica Director in an effort to achieve the desired number tion score will be set to 78%. The 2021 International of competitors. chorus minimum qualification score will be set at 81%.
This process represents the vision of simplicity & The rule that guarantees a representative from each equity. The qualification terms are the same re district will be eliminated to open up a new level play gardless of the classification (men/ women/mixed ing field without borders. To achieve true simplicity harmony). and equality, we will qualify any competitor that achieves the desired score regardless of their district Projected Timeline affiliation, geographic location, or gender classification. The Orange Spiel Page 4 July 2019
Notability ESSENTIAL APPS FOR THE ORGANIZED QUARETET I was at chorus rehearsal a few years ago, and on the risers in front of me was a very smart elementary by Melissa Bomben school teacher reading her sheet music on her iPad. from Harmonizer No big deal, right? But then she used her finger like a pencil to start marking her music. She circled a diffi elissa Bomben outlines five cult measure, added dynamics, and many of the different apps and the ways in other crazy doodles we singers like to make when which technology can help we’re learning a new song. I was blown away! M your quartet get and stay or ganized. The ability to quickly mark up music has been a hold back for me switching from paper sheet music to digi Google Calender tal. Now, I won’t go back! A fingertip works just fine, but add a stylus or Apple Pencil, and you’re invinci It’s hard enough to coordinate four schedules, so ble. having an easy to access, current record is critical! Rehearsals, coaching, district events and gigs are This app is so versatile. You can draw and add text, obvious things to include. The real power of a com cut and paste (new intro? no problem!), drop and add mon calendar is in the details. Update the title of a pages…just like paper. Create folders and dividers to recurring rehearsal to “trio rehearsal—Bari away” on organize everything. Quickly upload or download to that date when your baritone is traveling on busi your shared cloud storage (...didn’t I mention above ness. Pad the time on the calendar to ensure arri the Google Drive would come in handy?). Buh bye val, prep and call times are included for upcoming music binder! gigs, and include those details in the notes field. When the status of an event is expected to change, Voice Record Pro add “potential” to save the date, and update to “confirmed” when it’s locked in. This is a big deal Very user friendly app that has all of the basic tools when booking coaches and performances. you need to record, edit, and share audio recordings. Worth the small fee to upgrade to the Pro version to Every quartet member can add outside commit drop the ads and unlock additional capabilities and ments that will render them unavailable (“tenor on features, including sound level meter. Quick interface vacation,” “exam week for lead”), which really helps to upload directly to all cloud storage (Drive, Dropbox, when you’re looking to find one of those precious OneDrive, etc), text, email or instantly share re dates that everyone has in common with your favor cordings to another device via Bluetooth. A baritone ite coach. lifesaver when it’s time to share recordings with the rest of the quartet. Google Drive Splitwise A cloud based filing system seems an obvious tool for quartet efficiency. If you’re not convinced you Who paid for dinner last week? What do I owe you for need to make the small investment of time to set it the learning tracks you purchased? How much did we up, then consider this: quartets build repertoire, ac get for that gig? Divide by 4, and it’s suddenly a quire sheet music, use learning tracks, get coached, mess. Splitwise to the rescue! One app to record and perform on shows, spend money on things, get pho keep track of all quartet spending and who owes what tographed and videoed, etc. All of these “things” can to whom. be stored and shared privately across the quartet in Google Drive. Splitting bills has never been easier with the ability to adjust allocations by $ or %. Splitwise calculates Instead of everyone creating their own repository multi way credits and payments due for everyone in (that’s four times the work!), centralize it and make it the group. When it comes time to settle up, you can available anytime, anywhere. Besides, once you record cash payments in the app, or link directly to have this in place, the next two apps on this list be Venmo. Done! come exponentially more powerful.
The Orange Spiel Page 5 July 2019
If you wanted it done, and done right, he was your guy. I will miss him CHAPTER ETERNAL He always went that extra mile with a smile. God needed a special voice for His Barber Shop angel chorus. God chooses well. While Dan will be missed here immensely.....he is now organizing heavenly quartets. He is in good hands. We will see Dan again in the Greatest Afterglow
Oh no! So very sorry to hear this! He was truly a barbershopper's barbershopper. He will be incredi bly missed. Thoughts and prayers to his family.
I, and our quartet, are shocked and saddened by
the loss of our brother, friend and fellow barber
shopper. For the chorus and for the quartet Daniel
was a virtual machine of energy, ideas, passion for
singing, seeking of self improvement... and yes,
antics! We will miss him more than we can say, as DANIEL PROCTOR our thoughts and prayer now move to his family, in particular Danielle Elaine Cleary. The Big Orange Chorus mourns the recent loss of our long time friend and singer, Daniel Proctor. What a huge loss this is for all of us. Daniel was a very unique and special man, gone much too Daniel served the Big Orange Chorus and the Sun soon. So much energy, so positive. He's the only shine District in many capacities as a singer, Board guy I enjoyed being "insulted" by, because I al member, chapter officer, sound engineer, and dear ways knew it came from a place of friendship and friend and comrade in song. He was actively in love. It was a privilege to know him and sing with volved in a featured performing quartet Slice! him. Sincere condolence to Daniel's family, and to all my Big O brothers. Daniel's sudden and unexpected passing at a young age has left us with a sense of loss which cannot be My mentor, now singing with the angels. Sending put into words. We have lost a close and dear friend. prayers for the family, and the Big O. Daniel was talented in many more ways than just Some people contribute time. Some people con singing. His love for barbershop, and his endless tribute talent. Some people contribute money. Dan passion, was an inspiration to many. His contribu contributed them all and in a big way because he tions reached deep into the core of our barbershop loved the Big Orange Chorus, the Sunshine Dis community and deep into our hearts. Daniel embod trict and the Barbershop Harmony Society so ied many things which supported, inspired, and con greatly. tributed to the success of his fellow singers and to the success of the Big Orange Chorus.
Rest in peace, dear friend, as you take your place in the Chapter Eternal.
While talking through tears last night about our brother Daniel, it was said, “Daniel’s answer was al ways ‘yes’. No matter what the chorus needed, you could always count on Daniel to say yes.”
We, as a chorus, have a debt for which we can never repay to him, and a hole that we can never fill. The Orange Spiel Page 6 July 2019
how to get there. That's why you need the captain. ROW YOUR BOAT He or she has been there once and it was so amaz by Adam Christie ing, they spend the rest of their life taking other peo from choirbites.com ple there. Remember that when you're tired of rowing and start complaining about a place you've yet to e need to look at this choir like a rowing visit: It must be worth it if this person would devote boat. You can talk and still row (within their whole life, giving up money, opportunities, com Wreason). You can laugh and still row. But fortable living, and an easier life. If they would devote if you’re looking at your phone, you their whole life, then I would be willing to row for an aren’t rowing. If you’re laying down, you aren’t row hour a day to see what was so special. ing. If you don’t wanna be on the risers or aren't in your spot, you may be rowing but it doesn’t help We need to adopt a philosophy. Everyone rows with much because we aren’t rowing together. If you’re maximum effort. eating, you can’t be rowing. If you’re singing but nobody can hear you, that’s like dipping your oar in Eventually, you realize that the destination was in the water but not actually helping the boat move credible, but that's not what the best part was. The through the water. best part was in the rowing and in the people you were rowing with and the obstacles you overcame Sometimes a boat needs one side to row forward together. Then you decide you wanna get on the boat and the other side to row backwards to make a turn again and visit that special place. Not only to see the to avoid trouble. But if all you’re doing is talking and destination, that's a byproduct, but because being you don’t hear the captain say something is chang apart of that crew gave your life purpose and eased ing in the rowing, you actually end up working the pain of loneliness. against what the boat is trying to do. Everyone rows with maximum effort and in order to You’re in the boat. That’s this class. That’s this row with maximum effort, we need everyone. Every. group. That’s this ensemble. One. Now put your phone away.
Now what could happen if people don’t row?
It makes it harder for those that are rowing because they have to pick up the slack. It’s easier to row when everyone is rowing. If people don’t row, we don’t get to where we are going very fast. We may not even get to our destination.
Let’s say Maria's rowing and the rest of her section isn’t. Maria just may give up because it’s too hard or she thinks we’ll never make it. Then the boat sits there. And how fun is a boat that’s not moving in the middle of the deep water? People get cranky. Then people don’t talk to each other or they say hurtful things. Maybe people try to jump overboard. And some make it to other shores but most don't. It’s amazing that people are willing to swim on their own to reach somewhere, which is much more la bor intensive, than row with everyone in a boat.
So how's your personal effort in rowing? And what are you doing that's stopping you from rowing? What could you do to make you a better member of the crew?
And remember that people in the boat have been to where you're going. But they don't quite remember The Orange Spiel Page 7 July 2019
HOW TO STOP THE 33 MOST EFFECTIVE THROAT CLEARING HABIT SINGING TIPS by Kristie Knickerbocker from how2improvesinging.com from voicecouncil.com #24 by Lucinda Allen oiceCouncil Magazine asked noted Find Your Natural Instrument Speach Language Pathologist Kristie V Knickerbocker to help solve a com mon dilemma for many singers:
Vocal performers, whether singing or public speaking, have rituals that they swear by. Some don’t even know they run through these “habits” just before beginning their performance. “When coaching a beginner I find the most impor tant focus has to be making the singing voice feel familiar and accessible to the student. For me this begins with the primitive voice, connecting safe, organic sounds in a way that feel ‘natural’ to the student. The most useful piece of advice I feel my students respond to, is the fact that the ‘singing’ voice could be considered to be more ‘natural’ than the speaking voice. Everyday we respond to emotive triggers by crying, whimpering, calling out, these are safe sounds we make from the day we Throat clearing itself is identified in 2 instances: follow are born. Singing should be an extension of these ing a sickness, like a cold or upper respiratory infec sounds and unfortunately can often be negatively tion, or a response to sensations in the larynx. affected by the stresses and expectations of the world we live in today. As a singing teacher my We refer to these sensations as “globus sensations”: key aim is to unpack and reveal a reliable, free it’s the feeling that something is “there” in your throat. and emotive instrument.”
They can occur from reflux or vocal cord pathologies, #25 by Dileesa Hunter and become exacerbated because the person experi encing the sensations becomes hypersensitive. Stay Engaged And “In” Your Body
The harm that throat clearing can cause includes hy perfunction from phonotrauma, where the vocal cords collide too violently.
Clearing Yourself of Throat Clearing
So, how can you stop from giving in to this potentially “I think the biggest help for a beginner is to under harmful vocal habit if it is part of your pre vocalizing stand the power of the breath, not just breathing in routine? correctly but learning to engage their diaphragm so that the air is given direction. Air is ALWAYS Try a forceful swallow, a sniff and swallow, or a force moving, either into your body or out, and when we ful dog pant with abdomen movement. sing or do breathing exercises we always need to give the air somewhere to go, and it needs to These behaviors can be used to replace and eventu travel fast. Never stop to hold your breath between ally desensitize you from the habit. phrases, you’ll lose momentum, and good place ment. Always feel like you are singing even when A Speech Language Pathologist can help with this you’re not. Stay engaged and ‘in’ your body.” training as well. The Orange Spiel Page 8 July 2019
tually showed up for the gathering. The next week THE SOCIETY FOR THE there were 70 and 150 the following week. News PRESERVATION AND about the new club spread everywhere. Soon barber shop groups were forming in major cities and small PROPAGATION OF towns all over the U. S. and Canada.
BARBERSHOP QUARTET Of course, a society formed and grew to over 38,000 SINGING IN THE members. However, time, cultural changes and events have quieted the fervor that once existed. Men have UNITED STATES found many other recreational pursuits and have be come more invested in their work and their families. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE- Society membership has declined to half of what it -AND OTHER STUFF was in the halcyon days of yore.
from sppbsqsus.org The spirit of competition has swept over the barber shop landscape. In its path, fellowship and fun have en of good character have a love of taken back seats. The loss, or perceived loss, of these song in their hearts. They yearn for the two vital elements, has caused many men to find other ringing tones of four voices tenderly leisure time activities. Mharmonizing a well tuned barbershop seventh chord. Yet, in the hearts of many men, the fire still burns. They long for the fellowship and camaraderie of other In years gone by, they found fulfillment in being men in the songs of bygone days. They have called for part of groups, both large and small, that cher someone else, something else to bring back the spirit ished those seventh chords and the pure, down of those bygone days. right ecstasy brought upon their whole being when they happened to achieve just the right intonation A copy of the original letter by Hall and Cash is repro and just the right balance. Cheers and lots of duced below. In his original draft, they called the nas backslapping arose from those wonderful experi cent organization “The Society for the Preservation ences. and Propagation of BarberShop Quartet Singing in the United States.” “Propagation” was quickly changed to As the years have flown by, the joys have faded, "Encouragement" and “the United States” became the sounds have changed, and the music has "America". drifted. The roots have been pulled out of the solid ground that they have rested in for many years. As we begin this monumental endeavor, we wish to More than one old codger has been heard to say, both remember and honor “Rupe” and “O. C.” “It ain’t like it used to be.” Truth be told, it ain’t! Hearts long for the good old days to find their Therefore, be it known that: roots once again and to be swept away in close harmony with three other guys. The Society for the Preservation and Propagation of Barbershop Quartet Singing in the United States is es It all began with two Tulsa OK businessmen on a tablished to ensure that the wholly American institution business trip to Kansas City meeting at the of Male barbershop quartet singing is preserved in the Muehlebach Hotel in 1938. They shared their love form and manner in which it was birthed by utilizing of music, particularly the old time 4 part sweet har songs typifying those composed during the years be monies of the Tin Pan Alley era, including the tween 1890 to 1929. The hallmarks of particularly ap memories and traditions involved in singing them. propriate stylistic songs were recognized and codified They resolved that, on their return to Tulsa, they by a meeting of barbershop song arrangers who met would do something to revive that “old barbershop in Racine, Wisconsin in 1970. Such songs have easily style." discernible internal harmonies, which enable the singer to quickly and appropriately harmonize with the So, upon their return, O. C. Cash and Rupert Hall, melody of the song, as well as 46 other discernible a tax lawyer and an investor, composed a letter hallmarks. All records of the 1970 meeting have been inviting 14 friends to join them in an evening of lost. But the real old barbershopper will assure you singing, food, and fellowship. Twenty six men ac (Continued on page 9) The Orange Spiel Page 9 July 2019
SPPBSQSUS After that, General Membership will be available. (continued) Members of SPPBSQSUS may feel free to continue (Continued from page 8) their enjoyment of barbershopping as members of that your ear is the best guide. any other organization. Becoming a member of this organization comes with no strings attached. There is It is the noble and honorable mission of this organi no requirement to renounce previous memberships. zation to preserve and propagate this art form dur We are not and do not desire to be in competition ing the lifetime of every member and to pass it on with any other organization. Rather, we would desire intact, undiluted and unevolved to succeeding gen to be in Harmony with all of our brothers who love the erations of male singers. In doing so, one the pri purity of men singing in the barbershop style. mary aims of this organization is to have fun fun in singing, fun in fellowship and fun in living a good It is the intention of this society, upon its inception, to life. be as unorganized as possible and to remain that way until the federal government threatens prosecu In this regard, therefore, one of the major out tion. A steering committee will begin the process of reaches of this organization will be to encourage the formation of the organization as well as initial recruit participation of young adult men that they may learn ment. Then they will gracefully retire unless they the art form in their formative years and carry the are daring enough to suggest themselves for election torch onward to succeeding generations. as the first board members.
Another major outreach will be a requirement that After the organization is complete and functioning, every viable group assists their community with con but somewhere around 1 January 2019, with offices certs and performances free of charge, as much established, officers will be elected to fill them, as as is possible. Society auditors will not notice free much as possible by an open vote of all of the mem meals and/or refreshments. bers. Officers may serve for two years, without com pensation of any kind and then retire to the ranks. If Finally, on the subject of outreach, it is the intention they attempt to run for any office, ever again in their of the steering committee to find a charitable project lifetime, they will be dismissed for cause. By accla that all individual members and groups will be asked mation, the members may decide to very carefully, to support. It may well be an organization that uses re elect an occasional board member. music to heal. If groups desire to compete among themselves, they The organization itself consists of individual mem are certainly welcome to do so. They may feel free to bers who are encouraged to form quartets and affili establish their own rules, select their own judges and ate with other members and quartets for the pur invite whomever they wish. The society itself will not, pose of robust and boisterous singing, fellowship at this time, endorse any such undertaking. However, and fun. Although group (or gang) singing is a natu it does interpose the following caveat: Any such com ral outgrowth of such affiliations, singing in quartets petition, that suggests an affiliation with this organiza is the favored activity. Although many folks will need tion, must require that all participants use only en actual printed music to sing their part, ear singing tirely stylistic music for their performances. Any de (woodshedding) is a delight and highly encouraged. viation from this requirement must be heavily penal Learning tracks is a forbidden term and should ized and, if severe enough, result in disqualification. never be used in polite company. Judges are warned that they serve at their own peril. The society will be held harmless for any audience Membership is open to any male of good will and retribution. good character who is in concert with the mission of this organization. The first one hundred members, Initial membership will be conferred upon payment of upon payment of a significant, yet fully affordable, $20 to fund start up expenses. The initial board of di initiation fee, will forever be known as FOUNDERS. rectors will decide if there is to be an annual levy and Their names shall appear on all founding docu how much it is to be. However, they are warned that ments. They will still be responsible if and when a they will be impeached if that levy ever exceeds $20 levy is instituted by the board of directors. The first per annum and gets to be a habit. 400 members, upon payment of a nominal initiation fee, will forever be known as CHARTER members. (Continued on page 10) The Orange Spiel Page 10 July 2019
SPPBSQSUS And more importantly, is that really a thing? Like, is (continued) there any evidence to suggest that a nap (which is awesome) and coffee (which my wife tells me is awe (Continued from page 9) some) are even better together than on their own? If it is discovered that any extra talented member is charging more than expenses and a very small What’s a coffee nap? stipend for his special skills and the extra time he spends away from home and family, he shall be In case this is the first you’re hearing about it, a coffee warned to suspend such activities. If he continues nap is where you guzzle down a cup of coffee, and to pursue such ignominy, he shall be disbarred, then follow that up with a short 15 to 20 min nap. censured, tarred and feathered and "run out of town on a rail." This society will have no truck with The rationale being, because it takes about 30 min professional barbershoppers. utes for the caffeine to kick in, combining coffee with a nap means you’ll wake up from your nap, not only re If there is any subject that has not been covered freshed, but with an additional boost from the hit of by this mission statement, there are several rea caffeine too. sons: But does it really work this way? • First, it is because the writers are unable to think of any other contingencies that need dis A driving study cussion. Well, a 1997 study (Horne & Reyner) looked at the dif • Secondly, the less said about things the bet ference between a coffee nap and caffeine alone on ter. measures of alertness and driving performance among 12 slightly sleep deprived graduate students. If you discover or feel that there is more to be dis cussed, run for office. After a night of just 5 hours of sleep, the participants came to the lab, and around 2 pm, began a “dull, and In the meantime, blow a B flat and let's get on with tedious” drive on a driving simulator for 30 minutes. it. Then, they got a 30 min break (though they had to stay behind the wheel), before finishing up with a 2 hr ARE COFFEE NAPS LEGIT? drive.
by Dr Noa Kageyama During the break, one group of participants (coffee from bulletproofmusician.com nap) got to take a coffee nap. Specifically, 200ml of coffee with 150mg of caffeine (equivalent of ~2 cups of ven if you’ve had a good coffee), followed by a nap of up to 15 min. night’s sleep, there’s some E thing about that post lunch pe A second group (caffeine) received 200ml of coffee, riod in the afternoon that can with 200mg of caffeine (equivalent of ~3 cups of cof be rough to get through, whether you’re fee). in rehearsal, a class, or perhaps just trying to prac tice. While a third group (placebo) received 200ml of decaf.
So while I’m not a coffee drinker myself, I’ve been Stay in your lane! intrigued by the rumblings in various corners of the internet (and even my classroom) about this thing The 2 hr drive on the simulator was designed to be known as a “coffee nap.” “dull, and monotonous.” And the only thing they had to do was stay in their lane. If they ever drifted out of Which, aside from being the best oxymoron ever, their lane, they were flagged for an ”incident.” sounds pretty darn intriguing, no? And about once every hour, a slow moving car ap But first off, what the heck is a coffee nap? peared unexpectedly, to facilitate a potential accident, (Continued on page 11) The Orange Spiel Page 11 July 2019
ARE COFFEE NAPS LEGIT? bright lights for 1 min after waking up from their nap). (continued) And which condition was most effective? which they were to avoid. What worked best? What worked best? Well, as you can probably imagine, the no nap condi Though all three groups performed about the tion was the worst. Without a nap, participants made same during the first 30 min of driving, the coffee more errors, and took longer to provide the correct an nap group had significantly fewer incidents during swer. Plus, they were more sleepy. the 2 hour post break driving segment, and also reported being more alert than either the caffeine And though there were slight differences between and placebo groups. each of the other four nap conditions, they all led to better performance than not napping. Although, once Of course, if your mid afternoon practice session again, the coffee nap was the most effective of the feels boring and dull, like driving on an empty various conditions, leading to better performance than road, this probably points to a bigger issue about a nap alone, or following a nap with light or face wash your practice, that a coffee nap isn’t going to fix! ing.
But yes, it does seem that a coffee nap is more Hmm…but would happen if you took a coffee nap, and effective than caffeine alone. But what about just a after waking up, washed your face with cold water, nap? Or other stuff like splashing water on your and went outside for a blast of sunlight? face? Or exposure to light? Ha. The researchers do surmise that this might lead to A computer based task an even greater effect – but can’t say for sure since it’s not something they specifically looked at. A 2003 Japanese study (Hayashi, Masuda, & Hori), took a look at how various nap and nap Caveats combinations might affect performance on a mem ory intensive computer task. So not being a coffee or caffeine person, and caffeine being a drug after all, I can’t say that I feel comfortable They recruited 10 university students, and had endorsing or recommending coffee naps… them go through 5 different scenarios over the course of a couple weeks. For one, the research seems to be geared most practi cally towards staying awake for safety reasons, or get On each of these days, the participants started out ting by during a crazy time as opposed to thriving in a with 15 minutes on the computer task, right after viable, sustainable long term way. lunch. Plus, given the potential negative effects of caffeine on Then, they either drank 100ml of coffee with the day of an audition or performance, I worry about 200mg of caffeine (the equivalent of ~3 cups of the consequences of this sort of thing becoming too coffee), or 100ml of decaf, depending on what much of a habit. condition they were in that day. But, if you were wondering about coffee naps’ effec And then they either napped or rested quietly with tiveness relative to coffee or naps alone, the bit of re a newspaper (again, depending on what condition search out there does seem to suggest that coffee they were in), before engaging in the same com naps are better than either alone. puter task for an hour. What does caffeine actually do anyway? What were the 5 conditions exactly? Well, there was a no nap condition, a nap condition, a coffee I didn’t know this, but apparently caffeine doesn’t actu nap condition, a nap+face washing condition (i.e. ally give you energy per se, but instead, keeps you they splashed water on their faces right after wak from getting sleepy. Which is a different thing. ing up from the nap), and a nap+bright light condi tion (i.e. where they were blasted by an array of (Continued on page 12) The Orange Spiel Page 12 July 2019
ARE COFFEE NAPS LEGIT? Step 3: Sprinkle the package over the ice cream, and (continued) stir until mixed. You’re welcome. =)
(Continued from page 11) It’s actually kind of interesting how caffeine works in the brain. Which you can learn a bit more about here (you’ll also learn how much caffeine it’d take to kill you):
Your Brain on Coffee (https://www.youtube.com/ w a t c h ? v=4YOwEqGykDM&rel=false&width=640&height= 360)
There’s an app!
This exploration of caffeine all came about when I read about a military developed algorithm (?!) for determining the optimal dosage and timing of caf feine for maximum alertness with the least amount CHAPTER QUARTETS of caffeine.
It’s a free online web app – and is fun to play around with…but unfortunately it’s not very intui tive or user friendly and took me a little while to figure out how to use. Nevertheless, if you know you’re going to have to pull an all nighter, yet have to stay alert the following day, you can plug in your Facts Only sleep info, when you need to be at peak alertness, and the tool will tell you exactly when you ought to Brian Kerr, tenor be taking your coffee breaks: Mark Graham, lead Mark Roblez, bari 2B Alert (https://2b alert web.bhsai.org/2b alert John Alexander, bass web/login.xhtml
On Point A coffee ice cream hack Dillon Tidwell, tenor I may not enjoy coffee in its regular liquid form, but Daniel Pesante, lead I do like the occasional bowl of coffee ice cream. Timothy Keatley, bari And if you’re lucky enough to have access to a Alex Burney, bass cafeteria with a vanilla soft serve ice cream ma chine, here’s an awesome cafeteria hack a friend showed me back in college: Slice!
Terry Ezell, tenor Step 1: Get yourself a good sized bowl, and fill it Eric Grimes, lead up with some vanilla soft serve. Make sure there’s Jason Dearing, bari some room in the bowl (you’ll see why in a sec Daniel Proctor, bass ond).
Step 2: Find a single serve package of Sanka No Name Yet (powdered instant decaf coffee) that’s probably lying around somewhere in the cafeteria (and yes, ? tenor I know that there’s still a bit of caffeine in decaf, ? lead but I think that much is probably ok). ? bari ? bass The Orange Spiel Page 13 July 2019
FREE YOUR VOICE FREE SINGING TIPS by John Newell, Lead, Realtime by Yvonne DeBandi from Let It Out ©2013 Used by permission from a2z-singing-tips.com
The natural voice resonates with a P = Prepare your instrument before sing great deal of frontal resonance. Think ing. Singers are very much like ath of an infant’s cry the baby has no letes. Take care of your body/instrument by learned muscular control, yet the stretching out the vocal muscles and reliev sound has carry and a piercing power, ing the body of unnecessary tension before singing. and the child can do it for long periods of time without becoming hoarse. As a child grows older, many factors influence vocal habits, such as lan FREE SINGING TIPS guage, accent, family speech patterns, environ by Nicole LeGault ment, diet, and health. Many of these factors can from a2z-singing-tips.com change a person’s vocal production to become more guttural, or ‘throaty’, or tight, or forced, or pressed, or nasal, or ‘growly, etc. In essence, dur P is for Projection. Projection is the art of ing growth, maturation and early socialization, the pushing the sound (via the air) up, and for human voice is sometimes molded away from its ward, and away from you. Singers, actors, natural resonant qualities. For example, my Aus and public speakers do it. “Reach for the tralian accent may seem natural to me, but it de back row”. Remember that even when your veloped through learning the language, and imita voice is going down in pitch and in volume, the pro tion the speech patters of people around me. It is jection always moves up and forward and away – be different from other accents and indeed from vocal cause it is your directly related to your airflow. sounds made in other languages. Every different accent or language in the world requires different muscular actions to produce the resonant qualities FREE SINGING TIPS and pronunciations. Some have more frontal by Mick Walsh resonance while others have more guttural quali from a2z-singing-tips.com ties. When receiving vocal instruction, many sing ers are taught about back resonance without con P. Preparation is very important. Like an Ath sideration for their spoken habits and before they lete always make sure you are properly have (re)explored the more natural and effortless warmed up and prepared both mentally and resonance they had as small children. More new physically before you begin any singing re students I encounter have excessive muscular gime. If you were to run a hundred yards straight off tension in the rear of their tongues and mouths the bat without warming up, you would probably pull a that cause a ‘covered’, ‘muffled’, ‘dark’, and muscle. Same with singing. Gently, warm up your strained sound. These singers often have diffi voice and think positive thoughts before you begin. culty developing and trusting their frontal reso nance. In my experience, starting with the natural frontal resonance provides a simpler pathway, pro FREE SINGING TIPS vides greater vocal flexibility and adaptability, and offers greater likelihood of long term vocal health. by Teri Danz from a2z-singing-tips.com
P Placement Knowing (not guessing) where pitches are placed is critical to being in control as a singer. You can actually have "We are what we repeatedly do, your body help you in remembering where excellence then is not an act, pitches are placed. If you are on stage and can't hear/ but a habit." have no monitors etc..., knowing placement will allow -Aristotle you to stay on pitch no matter what happens around you. The Orange Spiel Page 14 July 2019
MAGIC CHORAL TRICK #383 Another squishiness challenging sound is ‘Y’. Say KEEPING IT SQUISHY ‘you’ normally and feel it tighten – then try a fast ‘ih’ – opening immediately to an ‘oo’ (‘ih oo’) and by Janet Kidd note how it stays more relaxed. This formation of from betterchoirs.wordpress.com the word ‘you’ has the added benefit of preventing singers from using the ‘y’ to slide up into the note. ant to increase your group’s resonance instantly? It’s a great idea to create a warm up that incorpo W(Although you’ll still have to rates many opportunities for Squishiness Checks – keep reminding them about so that singing without tongue tension becomes this for months) normal.
One of the biggest barriers to gorgeous resonant sound is tension in the tongue. And while we direc HOW BLOWING INTO tors may talk about this non stop, many of our singers really don’t understand the specifics of what we’re A STRAW CAN SAVE asking for. YOUR VOICE
This is when the squishiness meter becomes a very by Julia Belluz useful tool. from vox.com
With a bit of pressure, press the thumb up into the To learn more, I called Diana Orbelo, a speech squishy underside of the chin – behind the V of the language pathologist at the Mayo Clinic who helps jaw bone. Swallow and feel that big hunk of meat, people with voice problems. that is your tongue, tighten. Over the phone, she almost immediately diagnosed Say ‘ee’ normally and feel, with your thumb, the mus me as a voice loser. "Usually the throaty, chesty, cle (tongue) tighten. Sing that version of ‘ee’. It’ll deeper voices are the ones that tend to get more probably sound edgy and not at all resonant. into trouble," she said.
Say ‘ee’ with the tip of the tongue relaxing on the Assuming I have a healthy larynx, when I lose my lower lip (yes – this looks really, really dumb) and the voice it means I've strained my vocal cords from back of the tongue being allowed to float up to gently too much use, causing them to swell up so they meet the upper molars. Sing ‘ee’ in this position. Ex can't vibrate as easily to get out sound. (Think of periment until you feel no tongue tension with your this as a repetitive motion injury.) thumb. But there was good news: The unlucky lottery of Now instead of resting the tip of the tongue on the lip, birth didn't mean I was stuck with a weak voice. bring the tip behind the lower front teeth to the gum "Through training, people can learn to have a for line, and let it relax there. Maintain the relaxation in ward resonance, which tends to project well," she the back of the tongue so that it still floats up to ca said. ress the upper molars. Sing ‘ee’ again and check for under the chin squishiness. People who talk from deep in their chests (like me) tend to put more strain on their vocal cords than Do this with as many vowels as you can think up. ‘ee’ people who talk from higher up, closer to the front ‘ay’ ‘ah’ ‘oh’ ‘oo’ ‘eu’ ‘ih’ ‘a’ ‘eh’ ‘aw’ ‘uh’ of the face. It's possible to train yourself to become more of the latter. Some consonants need to tighten the tongue – but when you’re singing a word, these should be re Orbelo suggested the "straw technique" — leased to the succeeding vowel as quickly as possi strengthening your vocal cords by humming ble – ‘D’ ‘the hard G’ and ‘T’. through a straw or blowing into one with a liquid ("like when you're a kid and you blow bubbles in ‘L’ – with conscious relaxation and the use of only the chocolate milk"). https://youtu.be/asDg7T WT 0 tip of the tongue to form the ‘L’, can remain relaxed. The Orange Spiel Page 15 July 2019
CHAPTER MEMBER STATS
he following are our current membership statistics:
T type active lapsed Lifetime 50 Year 1 0 Lifetime Regular 0 0 Regular 29 2 Senior 50 Year 4 0 Senior Legacy 2 0 QUARTET CORNER Senior 15 0 Youth 1st year 2 1 Facts Only continues to be idle with a member out Youth 7 1 of town on business. On Point is preparing for In ternational competition. Slice just lost a member to Total Membership 60 4 an untimely death. PAST DUE MEMBERS What is YOUR quartet doing? Don’t have one? Find three other guys and start one! Can’t find a match? Drop me a line and I’ll run a list of guys he following members are listed separately looking to quartet up here in the bulletin. It’s one of on the BHS website as past due or within those really fun things that you don’t fully under two weeks of due. They will automatically T be removed from the society roll at 180 stand until you’ve done it. days overdue. It’s never too early to be thinking about Singing Val entines. Quartets are always needed, officially Gavin Andrews formed or pickup. It’s only a few easy songs. Wyatt Ledford Learning more than one voice part to these songs Frank Nosalek can help make you easier to fit into a quartet. Jeff Packer
Men who have indicated interest in forming quartets (entertain, compete, or both) include:
Don Hartsfield and Ken Moyer COMING DUE MEMBERS
...and hopefully he following members are coming due in more who the next 60 days. haven’t T John Banks contacted me yet. Sean Barry Brian Kerr The Orange Spiel Page 16 July 2019
BOARD MINUTE SUMMARY
The Membership Committee met in June to discuss Daniel Proctor’s plans for future events. Meetings are scheduled as required. Here’s a simple way to financially support the Big Orange Chorus, at no cost to you! If you ARTICLE shop on amazon.com you can sign up for the Amazon Smile program, and designate the Big by Somebody O as your charity of choice. Then anytime you make a purchase on Amazon (Smile), they e can continue to borrow most of our con make a donation to us! No cost to you, and a tent from other bulletins and the internet, donation to us: win win! Wor we can actually have news from OUR OWN CHAPTER. This, however, requires To sign up, visit smile.amazon.com/ch/59 input from you, the membership. 1981228 and sign in to your Amazon account.
Become immortalized with your name on the by line From then on, any Amazon (smile) purchase and an article filled with your own words. There’s no you make will help the Big O. limit on what you can say (within the bounds of good taste). It can be a short piece on something you Thanks in advance!! have done or know about. It can be a long piece on something you are passionate about (like your take on our movement on “changing the culture”). It can be an installment on a series of articles. It can even be a regular column. Here’s a simple way to financially support the What is your quartet doing? What is your opinion on Big Orange Chorus, at no cost to you! If you the new chapter meeting program? What do you shop at any of the more than 400 merchants or think the chapter is doing well? What do you think like to purchase eGift Cards, FlipGive will give the chapter could do better? Do you have some pic us back from 1% to 20%, depending on the mer tures of us doing something? Are you having fun? chant. Do you have a funny story? What do you think a prospective member would like to see? To sign up, visit https://www.flipgive.com/ f/570688 and start shopping. It’s YOUR chapter and YOUR bulletin. I’m only the editor... Thanks in advance!! The Orange Spiel Page 17 July 2019
REHEARSAL SCHEDULE BIRTHDAYS
Wed 03 Jul Salt Lake City UT Jim Ford 09 Jul Thu 04 Jul Salt Lake City UT Jeff Packer 26 Jul Fri 05 Jul Salt Lake City UT Bob Stump 29 Jul Thu 11 Jul Pool Party Eric Grimes 30 Jul Thu 18 Jul Shepherd of the Woods Thu 25 Jul Shepherd of the Woods
Thu 01 Aug Clay County Library Thu 08 Aug Jumbo Shrimp Thu 15 Aug Shepherd of the Woods Thu 22 Aug Shepherd of the Woods Thu 29 Aug Shepherd of the Woods RECENT GUESTS
Bob Ice Charlie Young PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE Barry Flynn Pat Eimers Juan Stegmann Grant Gladden Fri 05 Jul International Contest Ted Louckos Shamus McIver Thu 01 Aug Clay County Library Matt Watts Jake Stonecypher Thu 08 Aug Jumbo Shrimp Josh Sanders Matt Setor ??? ?? Oct Icemen Opening Night David Pesante Pat Glenn Sat 26 Oct Sunshine District Contest Dale Pratt Cary Quick Sat 14 Dec Christmas Show John Kerr Bruce Allison Jeff Verhoot Juan Stegman Mike Pruitt William Watts James Matti Paul Williams { Big O Buck$ } James Langford Steve Woodbeck Joe Plumlee Keyton Rentz Erik Petroni Jerald Carter BIG O BUCKS SCHEDULE Steve Moody Winkie DeLoach Wyatt Ledford Robert Hall Sat 06 Jul Rob Thomas Wayne Futon Rodney Herlong Tue 09 Jul Train and Goo Goo Dolls Tom Rooney Mike Markowski Sat 13 Jul Fight For The Fallen Chuck Cashin Jim Akers Sun 14 Jul Mary J Blige Ian Le Thu 18 Jul Dierks Bentley Fri 19 Jul Rolling Stones Sat 20 Jul Anuel AA Fri 02 Aug Why Don’t We Sun 04 Aug Dirty Heads WELCOME Wed 07 Aug Moe & The Blues Traveller Thu 15 Aug Jags v Eagles (pre season) Fri 16 Aug Brad Paisley Sun 18 Aug Bush & Live NEWEST MEMBERS Sat 24 Aug Pentatonix Thu 29 Aug Jags v Falcons (pre season) Hunter Stanford May Sat 31 Aug Florida State v Boise State Tom Frutchey Apr Wed 04 Sep Peter Frampton Dillon Tidwell Apr Sun 08 Sep Jags v Chiefs David Scott Feb Thu 12 Sep Chris Young Seth Brewer Jan Thu 19 Sep Jags v Titans Collin Clark Nov Fri 27 Sep Brantley Gilbert Cyrus Dillinger Aug Thu 03 Oct Zac Brown Band Wyatt Ledford Jun The Orange Spiel Page 18 July 2019
2019 DIRECTING TEAM
Jay Giallombardo George Gipp Chuck Griffith Front Line Associate Director Director Director Emeritus 2019 OTHER CHAPTER LEADERS
Dave Walker Jason Dearing John Alexander Uniform Chorus Bulletin Manager Manager Editor
Frank Nosalek Mike Sobolewski Rick Morin Webmaster Big O Bucks Big O Bucks Technology Coordinator Bookkeeper
EDITOR’S NOTE Print off two copies
Article and column submissions are solicited. of this newsletter Help make this a better bulletin. Send me stuff! The deadline for August is 26 July. to share - one with Items without a byline are from the Editor. your family and The Orange Spiel John Alexander, Editor one with someone 2429 Southern Links Dr Fleming Island FL 32003 you are bringing to a chapter meeting. Back issues are available online at: www.bigorangechorus.com/newsarchive.htm Let them know they More specific and timely performance information is in my weekly sheet, Orange Zest. belong here! The Orange Spiel Page 19 July 2019
2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Terry Jason Dearing John Mike Gregg Flowers Ezell Executive Alexander Sobolewski Chapter President VP VP Music Secretary Treasurer
Daniel Brian Kerr Robert Rick Morin Jay Proctor Immediate Reeves Finance Giallombardo VP Membership Past President VP Marketing/PR Chairman Director
2019 MUSIC TEAM
John Brian Kerr Steve Mullens Daniel Pesante George Gipp Tim Keatley Alexander Tenor Lead Lead Bari Bari VP Music Sec Ldr Sec Ldr Asst Sec Ldr Sec Ldr Asst Sec Ldr
Daniel Proctor Alex Burney Jay Giallombardo George Gipp Mike Sobolewski Daniel Proctor Bass Bass Front Line Associate Presentation Learning Materials Sec Ldr Asst Sec Ldr Director Director Coordinator Coordinator
Imagine 80 men on the risers Be a singer-bringer
John Alexander, Editor 2429 Southern Links Dr Orange Park FL 32003
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