The Orange Spiel Page 1 March 2019

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Volume 39 Issue 3 March 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 SINGING VALENTINES

Title Page A GREAT SUCCESS Singing Valentines A Great Success 1,3-4 Editorial 2 his year we did fewer singing valentines that Better Vowels In An Instant 5 usual, but still performed 55 of them. We took Polluted Vowels 5 in $4485.00 and after expenses netted T $3092.65. The Wednesday quartet included Performance Elements 6 Singing Without Fear 7-8 John Alexander, Steve Mullens, Brian Kerr, and Magic Choral Trick #378 9 John Humble (with Mike Sobolewski substituting in). Chapter Quartets 9 The Thursday quartets included Terry Ezell, Eric Free Your Voice 10 Grimes, Jason Dearing, and Daniel Proctor; Brian Free Singing Tips 10 Kerr, Mark Graham, Mark Roblez, and John Alexan- Post Event Reflection 11-13 der; Brett Flowers, Gregg Flowers, Ken Mull, and Barbershop History Questions 60 13 John Humble; and Dave Walker, Steve Mullens, 33 Most Effective Singing Tips 13 George Gipp, and Mike Sobolewski. Good Singing Is Measured By Feeling 14 Quartet Corner 15 Chapter Member Stats 15 Board Minute Summary 16 Barbershop History Answers 60 16 Upcoming Schedules 17 Birthdays / Guests / New Members 17 Directing Team / Other Leaders 18 Chapter Officers / Music Team 19

(Continued on page 3) The Orange Spiel Page 2 March 2019

2019 Board of Directors Committees EDITORIAL President: Show Chairman: Terry Ezell Jason Dearing This is a busy month singing away the championship as BigO in Sunshine District and competing Immediate Past Pres: Webmaster: the following weekend as PVP in Carolinas Dis- Brian Kerr Frank Nosalek trict. Then getting ready for our annual spring show and International in Salt Lake City. There’ll Executive VP: Chorus Manager: be new music. It’ll be a great time to bring guests Jason Dearing Jason Dearing (as if there were ever a bad time).

VP Music & Performance: Uniform Manager: We’re re-learning lots of basics and learning to John Alexander Dave Walker add more artistry. Remind your friends who used to be members that now is a good time to return. VP Membership: 2019 Music Team Daniel Proctor Each and every man, improving just a little bit, Music Director: each and every day, will result in exponential im- VP Marketing & PR: Jay Giallombardo provements for the whole chorus. Robert Reeves 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 Carolinas District 2019 Bookkeeper: Bob Stump Rick Morin Spring Convention 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 March 15 - March 16 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 March 2019

SINGING VALENTINES (continued)

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(Continued on page 4) The Orange Spiel Page 4 March 2019

SINGING VALENTINES (continued)

(Continued from page 3)

The Orange Spiel Page 5 March 2019

BETTER VOWELS POLLUTED VOWELS IN AN INSTANT by Brody McDonald from choirbites.com by Brody McDonald

from choirbites.com have noticed that my choirs often sing less-than- pure vowels when the end of the syllable/word owels, vowels, vowels. Choir directors are contains a singable consonant. R's, L's, and N's all about vowels. Vowels are all about Iare especially troublesome. I call these polluted shape. The biggest problem I encounter V vowels. Vowels can also be polluted when anticipat- with vowels is that they lack height. An- ing the second half of a diphthong. other problem is that they lack structure. Here are some tips to help both problems. Imagine you have a bottle of drinking water. Now add just a bit of ink. It isn't like you dropped a dime into AW-ROO - your new best friend. AW-ROO came the bottle, where you can see it shouldn't be there but to me from Jean Barford, a champion Sweet Ade- can drink the water anyway. The ink has polluted the line barbershop singer/director. Just slowly say water throughout, turning what was once clear into a "AW-ROO." You should feel as if you are making murky grey. That's what singable consonants/ the shape of a cheerleader's megaphone, only diphthongs can do to a vowel - tainting the purity to facing backwards. The larger end (AW) is in the our ears. back of your throat. The smaller end (ROO) is in the front with your lips. The theory behind AW- My Men's Chorus is singing Laudamus, a Welsh ROO is that all vowels are inside that megaphone/ hymn, done in English. Many phrases end with the cone. Larger vowels (EH, AW, AH, OH) are in the word EVERMORE. When they hold the last note, I AW space and smaller vowels (EE, IH, OO) are can so clearly hear the R polluting the OH vowel. funneled through the ROO space. AW-ROO is tall and round - just what we want! Just saying AW- Just say the word MORE in slow motion. You'll feel ROO can remind your choir to guard against the point at which the OH has been compromised, "spreading" their vowels. Anything outside that but it comes before you are sustaining a pure R. Try cone is forbidden! the word bound, and notice the collapsed point between the AW and OOH of the diphthong. These are VOWEL BLOSSOM - This is my code for when polluted vowels, and choirs sing them all the time be- singers take an especially long time to open their cause they cling their speaking constructs of the lan- mouths from a closed consonant to a target vowel, guage. thus creating a sound like an old record player getting up to speed. Say the word "swatch" in slow Fear not-I have a solution! It's called word switching. motion and you'll feel a vowel blossom. These of- Let's try it on this MORE scenario. I had my men sing ten occur when singers are attempting a cres- and hold the chord on MORE. Polluted. I explained cendo. They increase space and volume at the the concept of polluted vowels and asked them to same time, rather than forming a firm, structured only sing a pure MOH with no R. Didn't work. Then I vowel and increasing the volume independently. asked them to sing the word MOTION, which does The first step to eliminating vowel blossoms is to not have a singable consonant following the MOH. acknowledge their existence. The next step is... "Sing MO-TION, but hold the MOH until I cue you to go on to TION." BOOM! A crystal clear OH vowel! INSTABANG - another barbershop gem, and the cure for vowel blossoms. It refers to the process of It works for diphthongs, too. Having trouble with getting quickly from the formation of a consonant BOUND? Hold the first half of BOSTON. MAKE? Try back to a large, open, pure vowel formation. MEXICO. LIGHT? Try LOBSTER. Get the pattern? BANG! Snap that vowel open in an instant: IN- STABANG, as in, "Come on, choir - instabang By changing the English word, we are using our sing- those vowels!" (Notes: this was coined before In- ers' tendencies against them. It's a simple trick that stagram, but that can't hurt for tying this concept in can be used in the short term until singing the correct with young singers. If you are afraid of any gig- pure vowel becomes a long-term habit. Listen in your gles, you could also change the word to INSTA- next rehearsal and clean up those vowels. No one POP.) likes pollution. The Orange Spiel Page 6 March 2019

PERFORMANCE ELEMENTS by Jay Giallombardo part 2 of 4

SINGING ELEMENTS OF A WORD Consonants-Voiced/Unvoiced/Singable) Vowels – Primary/Secondary/Tertiary

THESE ARE WORDS FOR SONGS YOU SING! COLOR Harmonic content of VOWEL Degree of Resonation

OO Resonator

th-EE-z Singable Consonant Voiced Consonant

OH Resonator

AH-ur Diphthong 75%-25% No Consonant The Orange Spiel Page 7 March 2019

Five Ways To Control Fear SINGING WITHOUT FEAR. THE CAUSES AND CURES Learning to recognize your fear and the causes of fear is one of the first steps in learning to control it. by Audrey Hunt from hubpages.com/entertainment 1. Your prediction about how well you think you will perform determines your failure or doom. The Four Causes of Fear That Attack Singers more you predict failure, the more fear you will experience. In the Book of Lists, Wallace, Wallechinsky, and 2. Your evaluation of the importance of the conse- Wallace ranked fear of public speaking and sing- quences of performing determines the level of fear ing as the number one phobia in America. Fear of you experience. dying is number six. Anyone can experience fear 3. Be prepared. Before my students sing or act in a or stagefright, not just shy or insecure people performance, I put them through weeks of training under various conditions. This consistent practice Let's take a look at a few main causes of fear: teaches them to focus on the business at hand and not at distractions. Know your material inside • You make predictions about every situation and out. you're about to enter. As a performer, you 4. Be passionate about your performance. Believe imagine a number of things that might go the lyrics and find the emotion, then live it. wrong. These fear-provoking thoughts come 5. Use humor. Humor is such a powerful tool for re- from your own past failures, observing others ducing anxiety. It's also a wonderful way to gain who have made mistakes or simply having an audience acceptance, and we know that a fear of active imagination. There is no truth to your audience rejection is one of the most common predictions. Stop believing them. fears leading to stagefright. • You experience anxiety as a result of your fear-provoking thoughts. Your feelings and Anyone can experience fear, depending on the situa- emotions are produced by your thoughts. If tion. I too experienced fear in the early stages of my you believe you're going to have difficulty, you career as a professional singer. Then one day I asked will become frightened. Overcome these myself this question. What is the worst possible conse- negative thoughts by proving them wrong. quence that could happen during my show? I imagined Face your fear, one-by-one, and watch them what it could be and came up with a great solution. disappear. That was the end of my fear. • Since the brain can only focus attention on one complex mental task at a time, the more An Affirmation To Help Reduce And Eliminate Fear you focus on assessing your anxiety, the more the task you are performing will be interfered with and interrupted. • The main cause of fear and stagefright is the fear of a negative evaluation. So, lift yourself up, face each fear, and little-by-little each one will fade away.

Fear Keeps Us From Being Who We Are Become As A Little Child And Play The Lyrics to The Song

When we were children we sang freely, without fear of judgment, and our voices rang with confidence. We made up our own lyrics as we went along with no concern about rhythm or rhyming. Our songs were our dreams and we wanted to share them with our friends.

We knew something the grown-ups didn't know. We (Continued on page 8) The Orange Spiel Page 8 March 2019

SINGING WITHOUT FEAR ing about love allows us to bring the dream to the (continued) present and experience those feelings stronger than ever. (Continued from page 7) knew that singing is simply dreaming out loud. No When We Sing Or Speak Vibrations fear or concern is present. We connect with our in- Occur Within Our Body ner self. Vibrations are not only heard, they are felt. These vi- You may think this is a silly thing to do. It isn't. Think brations are felt by both the singer and the listener. about how much fun it is to play with a child. Re- This is why 'goosebumps' will be felt on the skin and member the funny, child-like things you do. You be- inside the surface when you hear a beautiful singer or come the age of the small child in order to commu- are deeply touched by certain music. nicate. You don't feel silly at all. It's important to take yourself back to that time and relax when you These same feelings can occur when someone says sing, especially to others. something that really moves you. When this happens, fear does not exist. Celebrate By Singing Without Judgment Or Fear Then why do we fear? Can fear be reduced? As children, we celebrated everything with a song. Birthdays were honored with a special verse of My Final Thoughts About Reducing Fear "Happy Birthday To You." So what if we mispro- nounced a word. Who cared if we left a word out. Carolyn Sloan, author of "Finding Your Voice", feels We dreamed about our own birthday party and the that "The body, the emotions, and thoughts are all excitement of sharing our cake and special sur- one. Singing is holistic in nature. It supports our prises with friends. We dreamed of a brand new wholeness as human beings." bike that we might get this year. We sang without fear or judgment. I believe with everything that is in me that it is natural for us to sing. I know that it is unnatural for us to re- But never, were we afraid to sing. Singing was a fuse to sing and release our emotions regardless of natural form of self-expression and communication. how we sound. When we dream, even if it's a bad It still is. Don't let an opportunity to sing pass you dream we are free to express our true feelings. by. It's a gift, so open it, delight in it, and use it. Singing allows us that same freedom. We are not al- Helpful Tips To Overcome Fear ways free to speak our true feelings, but we can say exactly what is in our heart through singing. https://www.youtube.com/embed/FFkPMRSHDJY" Feelings are neither right or wrong - they just are. In Singing Reawakens What Has Been singing, let go of all judgment and especially the need Tucked Away to be right. This is negative and keeps you from being what you truly are. Why do we forget and dismiss this power as we grow older? We silence ourselves and lose touch Fear is negative. It exists only in your own mind. With with our own imagination and our own voice. practice, you will overcome the debilitating emotion that scares you. You will become fearless. We are taught to discount our inner voice and when we do that we lose touch with ourselves. How sad You truly are a unique and beautiful diamond. You this is. Is it any wonder then that we grow up hating are part of nature. You are the very source of your the sound of our own voice? own energy. Don't bury your diamond under a rock of fear and self-judgment. Let your diamond sparkle and We are missing so much by refusing to dream out shine. Sing! loud through singing. Most of all, we are missing that deep connection within ourselves because to Celebrate your own uniqueness and become fear- sing is to feel. less. Unleash the message you carry within you. Don't worry about how you sound when you sing. Dreaming about love brings a strong emotion. Sing- Just Sing! The Orange Spiel Page 9 March 2019

MAGIC CHORAL TRICK #378 CHAPTER QUARTETS ALIGNMENT by Janet Kidd from betterchoirs.wordpress.com

his is less of a trick and more of a lifestyle shift that involves checking in with your body mul- Facts Only T tiple times a day. Brian Kerr, tenor I’ve included the best Youtube video I Mark Graham, lead could find on singers’ alignment – because video Mark Roblez, bari really is much more effective than just descriptive John Alexander, bass words. On Point However, I have to add a couple of things…. Gavin Andrews, tenor A quick and effective posture check is to stand with Daniel Pesante, lead your back flat against a wall, with feet about 1 foot Timothy Keatley, bari out from the wall, for balance. I know that some Alex Burney, bass teachers recommend standing with feet against the wall, but if singers are carrying any additional ab- Slice! dominal weight, I find that this just makes them feel as if they’re about to topple forward. Which creates Terry Ezell, tenor tension – the one thing we need to get rid of when Eric Grimes, lead we sing. Jason Dearing, bari Daniel Proctor, bass I’ve also found that when people have carried tension in their shoulders for many years, there’s no way that the back of the head is going to be able to No Name Yet touch the wall and keep the chin in the correct, relaxed, slightly lowered position required for good ? tenor singing. If this is the case, a small pillow, or a couple ? lead of books may be needed to bring the chin into align- ? bari ment. ? bass

This will allow us to feel that slightly lifted and length- ened back of neck that is so magical for a fuller, richer sound.

Doing at least some of your singing practice against the wall like this will eventually coax your body into realizing that singing in an aligned position really is more fun!

And here’s the short, very professional video that says the rest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epNEiWCpslo The Orange Spiel Page 10 March 2019

What you think about is what your au- L = Low notes are often sung with too dience will think about. Are you hop- much airflow. Try decreasing your airflow ing to get it right? The audience will to achieve a more natural, more relaxed hope you get it right. Are you thinking tone. about executing technique? The audience will be very aware of your technique. Are FREE SINGING TIPS you nervous? The audience will be, also. Are you baring your soul with abandon? The audience will by Nicole LeGault accept and respect it willingly and gladly. from a2z-singing-tips.com

When you sing, your mind can be your greatest L is for Larynx. The vocal cords are not ally or your greatest enemy. It can set you free to really cords at all - they’re more like flaps succeed. It can also make you inhibited, or afraid which stick out horizontally from the sides of to make a mistake, or confined to one way of ap- your windpipe. The vocal folds vibrate in ac- proaching your singing. If your mind stops being cordance to their length, mass and tension afraid of mistakes or embarrassment or criticism, using “tensor muscles”. and is open to exploring your own unique way of doing things, the freedom you feel will flow into your singing. FREE SINGING TIPS by Mick Walsh Here is an exercise to try. Have a trusted person from a2z-singing-tips.com listen to you sing a few lines of a piece of music that is giving you some challenges. Then sing it L. Larynx. Learn to get control over your again but while you sing hold your hands in front Larynx. When we sing we need to avoid of your face, palms facing out, and wave them lifting the Larynx. Find out where it is (ok, around in large circles going in opposite directions. it’s behind your Adam’s Apple) .Very gen- The pictures below provide a guide. As you sing, tly, hold your Adam’s Apple between your index fin- think only of moving your hands in sweeping cir- ger and thumb. Sing a high note, then sing a low cles, nothing else. Then have your trusted person one. Notice what happens. When we sing high tell you which version sounded better. Most times, notes the natural thing to do is to raise the Larynx he/she will say the circle version. Why Because but by doing that the Larynx gets in the way of all you distracted your brain from its habitual patterns. that lovely air flow you’ve been working on. It

sounds complicated but if you order, or download

Singing Is Easy! Basic Foundation Series from

http://singsmart.com/ you’ll find all you need to get

this and other techniques under your control.

FREE SINGING TIPS by Teri Danz

Here is another example that also requires a per- from a2z-singing-tips.com son to listen. Sing a few lines once. Then sing them again, but before you do, say out loud, “I’m L= Less is More -- Strive to do justice to the great! I’m great! I’m great!” Mean it. Then ask song and your interpretation of it. Just de- your listener which rendition sounded better. liver the message. Vocal gymnastics is not a prerequisite for doing a great vocal performance. The Orange Spiel Page 11 March 2019

to help athletes engage in a more constructive post- "POST-EVENT REFLECTION": competition reflection process, by combining key ele- A TOOL TO BOUNCE BACK ments from previous research in this area.

BETTER AND FASTER FROM There are a couple goals here. One, is closure. We may not need as much closure after great perform- SUB-PAR PERFORMANCES ances, but a process like this can help us bounce back by Dr Noa Kageyama a little faster when we’ve had one of those subpar days. from bulletproofmusician.com The other goal involves cultivating confidence, and in- hether it’s an audition, re- creasing motivation, by focusing less on the outcome cital, or performance, it’s which is out of our hands (like, whether you won an Wpretty natural to engage in audition or got cut in prelims) and more on the prepara- some sort of post- tion process which we do control. Things like the num- performance reflection or “post- ber of mock performances we do, or how we integrate mortem.” recordings, score study, drones, metronome practice, slow practice, mental practice, etc., etc. into our daily For me, the reflection process usually consisted practice. of a) re-living the worst moments, b) trying to de- cide how bad things really were, c) spiraling to Where ultimately, each performance feels less like a the bad place and questioning all of my life test of your talent and ability, and more like an experi- choices, and d) resolving to practice more next ment to evaluate the effectiveness of your performance time. preparation strategy.

Which, technically, I guess you could call a proc- So what does the Post-Event Reflection (or PER) look ess…though not an like? Well, there are 5 parts. especially useful one. I mean, sure, The Post-Event Reflection process coming out the other end with more deter- Part 1: When/where/what mination to practice for the next perform- Part 1 is basically the when/where/what of the performance sounds like a ance. Where you log the date, event, results (if it’s an good thing – but that audition, competition, or jury), and rate your perform- motivation didn’t last ance from 0-10, where 0=poor, 5=acceptable, and very long, because I 10=excellent. never made any specific plans about what I would actually change. And even if you rate your performance a 9 or 10, that doesn’t mean you’re done! As you’ll see in a moment, Like, should I do more scales? Shifting exer- there is still a lot to be gained by going through the cises? Metronome work? Recording? Perform- whole reflection process, even if you just had a great ance practice? As you can probably imagine, with performance. no concrete adjustments in mind, not much changed in my preparation strategy from one per- Part 2: The good, the bad, and adjustments formance to the next. Part 2 is where you dig a little deeper into the specifics So…what’s the alternative? What would a more of your overall performance score, by describing a) effective and strategic post-performance review what went well (e.g. “What worked well for you to- process look like? day?”), and b) what went not so well (“What did not work so well for you today?”). A structured post-performance process Because even if you had one of those transcendent A pair of Florida State University researchers days on stage, there is always room for improvement. (Chow & Luzzeri, 2019) recently developed a And no matter how poor the performance, there are al- structured tool called the Post-Event Reflection, (Continued on page 12) The Orange Spiel Page 12 March 2019

A “BACKWARDS” STRATEGY where 0=low, 5=ok, and 10=high. (continued) The idea is to quantify how well you did in each (Continued from page 11) area, and elaborate a bit on these scores with some most always some things that went well. observations about how you did.

Whether it was a good day or a bad day, the most Like, “Focus = 4. I started out pretty well, and had a important thing here is to go beyond the shallow, pretty clear focus on sound and phrasing, but then evaluative mindset where you simply identify the my thoughts started to wander a bit and I started good and bad of your performance, and instead prac- worrying about a difficult shift coming up, and then tice adopting a more thoughtful growth mindset where when I missed it, I had a hard time not thinking you focus relentlessly on identifying the specific ad- about it, and getting back into the music.” justments you can make in preparing for the next performance (e.g. “What adjustments do you need to Part 4: Activation (not nerves) make?”). Part 4 is devoted to reflecting on your performance For instance, if your rhythm was inconsistent or “activation.” tended to rush, this might suggest that it would help to do more metronome work and recorded run- What’s that? Well, anxiety has two components – a throughs in front of other musicians who make you mental component (worry, doubt, etc.) and a physi- nervous, so you can listen back and more effectively cal component (increased heart rate, sweating, pinpoint the specific places that get unsteady when etc.). Activation is just a word to describe the level of the nerves kick in. physical arousal we experience in performance set- tings, ranging from “deep sleep” to “intense excite- A performance rubric? ment.”

This is where developing a performance rubric (like The idea is to reflect on whether you were at an op- described here) to help guide your reflection could be timal level of activation in warm-ups, right before the really valuable as well. For example, in orchestral performance, and during the performance. Because auditions, you might review the recording and give if you were bouncing off walls in warmups, but feel- yourself separate grades for intonation, sound, and ing sluggish on stage, that’s not ideal and might call rhythm, as well as articulation, dynamics, character, for some adjustments (like some morning exercise? and so on. or a nap at some point?). And if you were really high in activation backstage, but then managed to get to You might be thinking that a rubric seems awfully a more optimal place once you began playing, it’d grade school-like, and yes, it totally is. But every time be helpful to explore what you did a bit further, so my kids have used their writing assignment rubrics to you can replicate that in future performances. guide the writing and editing process, they’ve done well on their writing projects. And every time they’ve Part 5: Open-ended reflection ignored the rubrics, their grades have suffered. And last but not least, part 5 is a series of open- Similarly, I think you’ll find that listening to your per- ended questions to help prompt some additional formance with a rubric does change your experience. self-reflection in areas that may not have been cov- For one, it’ll help you listen with a keener ear for de- ered by the previous sections. With questions like tail. But more importantly, it’ll help you avoid the ten- “What did you learn about yourself today?” and dency to obsess about one single aspect of the per- “Anything else you want to note?” formance at the expense of others. Takeaways Part 3: The mental side I used to think of each performance as a one-off ex- Part 3 is all about the mental aspect of your perform- perience. Where it was practice, practice, practice, ance. This is where you can write down all the mental perform, and then move onto the next one. skills that you’re working on – from confidence to focus to your ability to bounce back from little mis- In hindsight, I think it’s more effective to think of takes – and rate each of them on a scale from 0-10, (Continued on page 13) The Orange Spiel Page 13 March 2019

A “BACKWARDS” STRATEGY BARBERSHOP HISTORY (continued) QUIZ 60 (Continued from page 12) by Mark Axelrod each performance or audition as just another step in our ongoing development and growth. Seeing our from probeweb.org senior recital as an opportunity to improve our memo- rization strategies, for instance. Using upcoming 1 - Of the 69 quartets that have been crowned as mocks and the next few auditions as an opportunity international champions since 1939, how many are to work on bow distribution and bow arm control un- still together and performing? der pressure. Or using a semester’s worth of studio classes to focus on increasing the variety of vibrato 2 - Of the currently active quartet champs, which we feel comfortable using in performance. one was the first to win the gold and in what year did it triumph? My post-performance reflection process always led to the inevitable conclusion that I simply needed to prac- 3 - Name the still active championship quartets. For tice more if I wanted to have a more positive perform- extra credit, in what year did each win? ance experience the next time. But I think I had it wrong. 4 - Name the earliest international championship quartet that still has a living member. For extra When you look at a post-performance review process credit, in what year did this foursome take the top like the one Chow and Luzzeri (2019) developed, you spot? get the sense that the goal after a performance isn’t so much to beat yourself up or pat yourself on the 5 - Identify the living singer referenced in question back and make adjustments to your practice time, but #4. For extra credit, what is his voice part? to use what you learn from the experience to evaluate your preparation process and figure out how you’re answers on page 14 going to practice differently. Which may not change the past, but certainly puts you in a better position to have a more positive experience the next time. 33 MOST EFFECTIVE SINGING TIPS from how2improvesinging.com

#18 by Kevin Richards The Secret Is Simplicity

“Simplicity is the key to singing. Most of what you need to sing properly, you already know how to do. Breathe and Make Sound. Start with those two very simple but important things, and your voice will work like never before. The more you try to add to those two things, the harder it is to sing.” The Orange Spiel Page 14 March 2019

the first step to reaching their full singing potential. GOOD SINGING IS MEASURED BY FEELING, NOT SOUND When you sing, don’t go on autopilot. Get present to the sensations in your body. Witness what you by Arden Kaywin feel in the lower muscles of support, in the ribs, in from backstage.com your neck, jaw, tongue, and soft palate. Start listening to your body. Observe what it’s doing (or not here’s so much content out there with tips and doing) without judgment. Learn to be a witness to tools for how to improve your singing perform- what’s happening. ance. But over the years, there’s one key T thing I’ve learned, the first step a singer In this way, you’ll become acutely aware of what needs to take to unlock the potential of his or her your habits/tensions are when you sing and can voice, and I was reminded of it the other day when I more readily seek out the appropriate remedies. heard this quote by poet Nayyirah Waheed: There’s a deep connection between the mind and “Listening is one of the only spaces where you can be body that’s incredibly transformative if you know still and moved at the same time.” how to tap into it. So it’s time to become wiser, stronger, and happier in your singing. Break I love this quote because it reminds me that when we through to new levels of singing by changing how allow the mind to be still and just listen, we create you think about using your voice! space for transformation.

Most singers think of listening as it relates to sound: listening to the sounds of the instruments accompa- nying us, the sounds we make when we sing, the sounds that others hear us making. This kind of listening is focused out on external sound and our external experience with it. When we listen this way, we tend to force, manipulate, and push our voice as a means of controlling an outcome.

But there is another kind of listening: listening to your body.

READ: Perfectionism: The Enemy of Good Singing

Listening in this way means being present to the sensations your body—your instrument—in any given moment. It’s focused in on our internal experience, rather than out.

Your job as a singer is to pay attention to the sensation of good singing, not the sound of it. Every time you have that specific sensation in your body (in your support, in your resonance), you will know it’s the good sound merely by the way it feels. You won’t even have to hear it.

In this way, your awareness shifts from being an out- ward-focused experience overwhelmed by attach- ments to expectations and outcomes to a more internal experience rooted in the present moment of the body. When singers shift their mindset from listening to the sounds they’re making to “listening” to the feelings and sensations in their body when they sing, it’s The Orange Spiel Page 15 March 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 32 3 Senior 50-Year 4 1 Senior Legacy 2 0 QUARTET CORNER Senior 15 0 Youth 1st year 2 0 We had a pickup quartet for Wednesday 13 Feb Youth 7 2 and two regular and two pickup quartets for Thurs- day 14 Feb for Singing Valentines. Total Membership 63 6

What is YOUR quartet doing? Don’t have one? PAST DUE MEMBERS Find three other guys and start one! Can’t find a match? Drop me a line and I’ll run a list of guys looking to quartet up here in the bulletin. It’s one of he following members are listed separately those really fun things that you don’t fully under- on the BHS website as past due or within stand until you’ve done it. two weeks of due. They will automatically T be removed from the society roll at 180

It’s never too early to be thinking about Singing Val- days overdue. entines. Quartets are always needed, officially Gavin Andrews formed or pickup. It’s only a few easy songs. Jason Boddie Learning more than one voice part to these songs Ryan Henry can help make you easier to fit into a quartet. Bob Lau Brian Moore Men who have indicated interest in forming quartets Keith Starks (entertain, compete, or both) include: Andrew Wohl

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 contacted T Gregg Flowers me yet. Jeff Packer Robert Pucciariello Howdy Russel III Jan Stenback Ken Tureski The Orange Spiel Page 16 March 2019

BOARD MINUTE SUMMARY

The board did not meet in February. Board meetings will be scheduled as required. All members will be invited to attend. Here’s a simple way to financially support the Big Orange Chorus, at no cost to you! If you shop on amazon.com you can sign up for the amazonsmile program, and designate the Big O as your charity of choice. Then anytime you BARBERSHOP HISTORY make a purchase on amazon (smile), they make a donation to us! No cost to you, and a donation ANSWERS 60 to us: win win! by Mark Axelrod from probeweb.org To sign up, visit smile.amazon.com/ch/59- 1981228 and sign in to your amazon account. Answers to this month's history/knowledge quiz: From then on, any amazon (smile) purchase you 1 - Twelve make will help the Big O.

2 - Happiness Emporium in 1975 Thanks in advance!!

3 - Happiness Emporium (1975), Most Happy Fel- lows (1977), Rural Route 4 (1986), Interstate Rivals (1987), Acoustix (1990), Fred (1999), Four Voices (2002), Power Play (2003), Gotcha (2004), Real Time (2005), Vocal Spectrum (2006), Max Q (2007) Here’s a simple way to financially support the Big Orange Chorus, at no cost to you! If you 4- The Pittsburghers (1948) shop at any of the more than 400 merchants or like to purchase eGift Cards, FlipGive will give 5 - Tom Palamone. Tom was the lead singer in the us back from 1% to 20%, depending on the mer- quartet's championship year of 1948. Subsequently, chant. however, he switched to tenor. To sign up, visit https://www.flipgive.com/ f/570688 and start shopping.

Thanks in advance!! The Orange Spiel Page 17 March 2019

REHEARSAL SCHEDULE BIRTHDAYS

Thu 07 Mar Shepherd of the Woods Andrew Wohl 05 Mar Sat 09 Mar Sunshine District Contest Terry Ezell 07 Mar Thu 14 Mar Shepherd of the Woods Daniel Pesante 14 Mar Sat 16 Mar Carolinas District Contest Rick Morin 15 Mar Thu 21 Mar Shepherd of the Woods Bob Thames 15 Mar Thu 28 Mar Shepherd of the Woods Soren Dillinger 30 Mar Gregg Flowers 31 Mar Thu 04 Apr Shepherd of the Woods Bill Knoll 31 Mar Thu 11 Apr Shepherd of the Woods Jan Stenback 31 Mar Thu 18 Apr Shepherd of the Woods Thu 25 Apr Shepherd of the Woods RECENT GUESTS

Bob Ice Charlie Young Barry Flynn Pat Eimers PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE Juan Stegmann Grant Gladden Ted Louckos Shamus McIver Sat 09 Mar Sunshine District Contest Matt Watts Jake Stonecypher Sat 16 Mar Carolinas District Contest Josh Sanders Matt Setor Sat 04 May Annual Spring Show David Pesante Pat Glenn Fri 05 Jul International Contest Dale Pratt Cary Quick John Kerr Bruce Allison Jeff Verhoot Juan Stegman Mike Pruitt William Watts James Matti Paul Williams James Langford Steve Woodbeck { } Joe Plumlee Keyton Rentz Big O Buck$ Erik Petroni Jerald Carter Steve Moody Winkie DeLoach Wyatt Ledford Robert Hall Tom Frutchey Wayne Futon BIG O BUCKS SCHEDULE Rodney Herlong Dillon Tidwell

Sat 02 Mar Monster Truck Jam Sat 30 Mar Casting Crowns Sat 13 Apr Kenny Chesney Wed 24 Apr Rolling Stones Thu 09 May Greta Van Fleet WELCOME Tue 09 Jul Train and Goo Goo Dolls

...more to come NEWEST MEMBERS See Mike Sobolewski to help fund your experience David Scott Feb Seth Brewer Jan Collin Clark Nov Cyrus Dillinger Aug Wyatt Ledford Jun The Orange Spiel Page 18 March 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 April is 26 March. 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 March 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 Cipp 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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