Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Msg #17: Polish and practice (T minus 5)

URGENT IMPORTANT LINKS

  1. You must fill out your housing and meal survey before August 15.
  2. You should fill out your supplementary requests if you have guests or require a longer stay.
  3. Tickets are on sale for our show, and are very limited.

SINGOUT OPPORTUNITIES COMING

As in previous years, we will have some quartet performance opportunities on Friday morning (and perhaps other times as well.)  Thanks to Lee Daum and Noah Morrison.

There will be a survey distributed soon.

I do it every year - what's better than more singing?  More singing plus making audiences happy!

UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS

We keep the dress code simple - wear whatever you want. With two exceptions:
  1. For singouts the uniform is a Hawaiian shirt.
  2. For the Saturday Night chorus performance it's simple:
    1. Solid long sleeve, white dress shirt, clean and pressed, not yellowed, not patterned.
    2. Black dress pants, shoes, socks, belt. Not black jeans, not sneakers.
    3. No suspenders unless necessary, solid simple colors like black, red, white.
    4. A solid color tie.
If this represents a hardship for anyone, please let me know privately and I will see what we can do for you.  (For example, if the only black shoes you have are orthotic sneakers, wear them.)

If you can, bring spares of things - we want everyone on the risers any way we can.

Reunion Rooms

Since Harmony Brigades and Platoons (smaller, one-day rallies with shorter song lists) have become so popular, whenever you travel to a convention or other gathering - look for Brigade reunion rooms.  Brush up on your core 8 songs (and others from previous years) and have a blast.  If the event you are attending doesn't have a reunion room for AXQ brigaders, why not see if you can organize one?


Useful Links


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Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Msg #16: Final Prep Work Time (T minus 6)

THREE NEW IMPORTANT LINKS

  1. You must fill out your housing and meal survey before August 15.
  2. You should fill out your supplementary requests if you have guests or require a longer stay.
  3. Tickets are on sale for our show, and are very limited.
Of course, please register for rides if you need them, or can offer them (see the bottom of this note for links.)

WE ARE ONLY SIX WEEKS AWAY


We are about 6 weeks away from the rally.  At this point you should be able to sing most every song off paper (but not necessarily perfectly).  If you are a veteran Brigade attendee, you might also be dusting off some of your old favorites from previous rallies.

I know many attendees who have at least one or two rough songs.  That's expected.  If you are more than four songs behind, now is the time to get help.

There is a LOT we can do for you, but only if you ask.  Everyone wants to help you succeed, please ask!

Rehearsing Tool

At run throughs people keep looking at the notes that I keep. (I'd mentioned them in another weekly letter.)  I'm sharing a link to them - feel free to make a copy and keep your own records.

Tramp and Supertramp

One of the fun activities at the rally is to earn a "Barbershop Tramp Award".  To do so, you need to sing (and collect a sticker from) everyone outside your own part.  We caution people not to "sing and run" but to enjoy the rally and the singing, and not just collect all the stamps as fast as possible.

The truly dedicated make the effort to learn another part on at least one song, and try to sing with EVERYONE.  This is popularly called the Supertramp award.

This is our biggest and most successful rally ever, so earning Tramp and Supertramp will be quite a challenge.  Enjoy!  These awards are given at the closing meeting on Sunday.

Useful Links



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Thursday, August 2, 2018

Msg #15: 7 Weeks To Go!

Useful Links Are At The End Of This Message


Welcome to August!  Now is a good time to polish your final preparations.  Make it to at least one run-through or sing with your sponsor.  If you don't live locally to other singers, make a video-chat appointment with someone on your part and sing for them, and let them check you.

 As always - if you need help, ask for it!  Everyone wants everyone else to succeed, together.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

  • People who are driving to Brigade - please volunteer to make an airport run for people flying in.
  • For people who are flying - links at the bottom of each message will help you find a ride to/from the airport.
  • Some parts of the rally are in danger, without your volunteer help.
    • Thursday night dinner organization
    • Friday singouts
  • The Rooming form is coming soon - when it becomes available please fill it out promptly.
  • Daniel recently sent out a list of open Board positions - 2019 Needs You!

General Schedule For The Rally

The schedule's highlights in broad outline:
Friday:
  1. Afternoon arrival
  2. Checkers pass the checking process
  3. All attendees pass the checking process
  4. Dinner and quartet contest assignment
  5. Quartet competition
  6. Sing until you want to sleep.
Saturday:
  1. Breakfast
  2. General meeting and a members-only meeting
  3. Singing for fun (finish checking)
  4. Lunch
  5. Chorus rehearsal
  6. Singing for fun
  7. Dinner
  8. Big show
  9. Quartet competition and results
  10. Sing until you can't sing any more
Sunday:
  1. Breakfast
  2. Closing meeting
  3. If you can still sing, sing until the hotel makes you leave. :-)

The Quartet Contest

If this is your first Harmony Brigade Rally, you may not know how the quartet contest works.  Even if it is NOT your first rally - did you know you have song options?  Read on!
Caveat: This competition is not about winning, this is about fun.  It's also about your skill in making your quartet sing to its potential.  Only one quartet will win: but every quartet can be glad it sang together.  Be the person other people WANT to sing with.
After Friday night dinner, every attendee will be assigned to a random quartet (sometimes to two quartets, if our parts don't evenly balance).  Each quartet will be randomly assigned 1 of the 12 songs.  Each quartet will have to quickly choose a name for itself.  (It's good to come with an idea or two.)

There will be a short period of time before the show to rehearse.  (For quartets sharing a singer, you will be a trio for some of that time.)  Get together and sing!  See my advice from earlier this summer on that rehearsal time. (Maybe even print and bring it with you.)

Friday night all the quartets perform, and the top ten quartets will move on to the Saturday night show.  But do not despair: maybe you will sing Saturday anyway.... I'll describe that below.

This probably won't happen - but if one of your singers is truly not prepared on your assigned song, you have two options.  One is to notify the contest admins, and ask for another singer: which you should only do if your singer is truly unprepared.  The other thing you can do is substitute another song.  If you do that, the contest admin will quietly disqualify you from the Saturday night show, and no one needs to know.

Quartets which advance to Saturday night will get their second song Saturday afternoon, usually after the chorus rehearsal.

It's good to come prepared with ideas for interpretation, props, alternative lyrics or chords, or anything that strikes your fancy.  This is all for fun, so be creative!

After the Friday night phase of the competition, two new random quartets are formed by the contest admins, choosing from among the quartets that did not advance.  They will be announced at the same time the songs for Saturday are given to the competing quartets. Those quartets will perform TWO songs randomly chosen for Saturday night.  After the competition, First, Second and Third places are announced.  No scores are revealed - this was all for fun, right?

Useful Links


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Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Msg #14: 8 weeks to go!

Useful Links Are At The End Of This Message


 Since I have finished reviewing all our songs, I'm going to start providing important reminders and useful general information.

 If there is something you want to know - ask me. I'll put the answer in the next weekly.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

  • This is the last weekly before August 1, which is the deadline to withdraw without having to pay hotel fees.
  • For people who are booking travel - links at the bottom of each message will help you find a ride from the airport.
  • There are still important tasks that need volunteers - or they won't happen.
    • Thursday night dinner organization
    • Friday singouts
    • Show script writing
    • MC for the Saturday night show
  • The Rooming form is coming soon - when it becomes available please fill it out promptly.
  • Daniel recently sent out a list of open Board positions - 2019 Needs You!

Did You Know About The XQ Database Project

There is a gentleman who is a giant fan of XQ, who keeps a database of every song that has ever been sung at any XQ Rally, ever.

Want to know who sang what, when?  He has all the answers through 2017.

Remember The Older Brigade Songs?

Now is a good time to start reviewing old New England Harmony Brigade songs.  If you have attended before, great!  If not, use the XQ database above to see if you know any of them (check arrangements, not just titles).

Pro Tip: Make Some Notes

I spent a little bit of time this weekend reviewing all my notes from practice and run-throughs, and made a little chart of what still needs fixing. I've printed it out, and will be reviewing it every time I practice.


Useful Links


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Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Msg #13: Bonus: Vict'ry Road

Useful Links are at the bottom of this message.


Volunteers Urgently Needed

You'll be hearing soon about open Board positions for 2019.

In the meantime, we have important jobs that no one is doing -- please volunteer directly to Daniel Schwartz.  These activities may not happen without you.

  • Organizing Friday-morning singouts.  Have you done this in the past?  Would you like to do this again in 2018?  Currently we don't have someone to organize the gigs and the quartets.  If you enjoy the singouts, help us make it happen!
  • Organizing a Thursday-night dinner in Marlborough.  Want to find a local place and make the reservations?
  • We need a Show Chair to script the Saturday show.  We have an able Stage Manager (Tom Misner) to run the show...  but someone needs to plan it.  Is that you?
  • We need someone to MC the Saturday show. Haven't you always wanted to introduce OC Times?

Preparation And Frustration
This is frequently the time of summer when NEHB preparations feel both exhilarating ("I've started and know most of the 12 songs: so close!") and frustrating ("It's been weeks of preparation, and I'm not done").  For a very few it's "I've put this off a little bit too much, and I'm worried".

For those of you who feel behind - we are here to help.  Ask, and we'll do our best to find a way.

 For those of you who have frustrations - me too. :-)  I keep an active list of trouble spots I'm working on, and it feels like that list may never end.  BUT: if I take a look at my music, I can also see all the trouble spots that I've fixed.  Don't just look at your "todo" list for your music.  Look also at your accomplishments.

For those who are having some trouble with songs and sequences, there are a number of memory tricks you can try.  They may seem silly - but something works for everyone.
Mnemonic: I'd had the toughest time remembering My Wild Irish Rose.  Is it sweetest/dearest or dearest/sweetest?  I use the simple trick "She lives in South Dakota".  Sweetest/Dearest.
Memory Palace: Sometimes you can fix trouble with remembering sequences of things by remembering a familiar walk or path and "placing" the ideas in sequence along the way.  Say you walk from your car to your office the same way every day.  In your mind as you walk, place each "verse" at a different small landmark.  It's amazing how you can suddenly remember a sequence.
Movement: For some songs, when stuck, I remember hand motions.  I don't have to make the hand motions, but for example if you go up at the end of a first verse and down at the end of a second, point up as you practice the first spot and down at the second.  The act of making the motion can help reinforce memories.
There are many memorization techniques - this just scratches the surface. 

Victr'y Road (NEHB 2018 Challenge Song)

It is not too late to get in on the fun of the Challenge Song. Email Joe Dempsey.

Much like our song #12, Vict'ry Road is a hard-charging gospel tune.  This one was written by J. D. Sumner. Sumner was a prolific gospel song arranger, who sang in multiple Christian revival quartets from the 1940s until his death in the late 1990s.  According to Wikipedia, he was a fervent promoter of Southern Gospel. (Another variant on barbershop.)

Sumner became friendly with a young Elvis Presley when Elvis was 14, and they stayed friends until Elvis' death.  Sumner credited the young Presley with helping him resolve a serious drinking problem.  Sumner often appeared on stage and in recordings with Presley. J.D. was also a founder of the Gospel Music Association.

Apparently, Sumner also held a record for 18 years - lowest sung bass note.  You can hear an example of that range here.

The song is yet another example of Christian Gospel Quartet music.  Much like I'm Feelin' Fine, it uses classic Christian iconography to paint a picture of the acceptance of Jesus and the resulting help received.  Simple in tone and word, the music pulses and drives, and the arrangement (David Wright) puts lovely variety into the arrangement.

This is a song for basses - who maintain a driving simple patter during each chorus. Learn your breath spots as carefully as you learn the words and music - one missed breath can be a disaster. :-)  While the song wants to move - be cautious of singing it too quickly.

Video Links:


Useful Links


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Tuesday, July 10, 2018

IMPORTANT: If you will be withdrawing from NEHB 2018


If you will be attending NEHB 2018, this message is not for you.

If you are unsure if you will be prepared, reach out for help (to me, your sponsor, to president@nehb.net).

If you need to withdraw, there is a deadline for partial refunds.


The deadline for withdrawing from NEHB 2018 with partial-refund/no bill is August 1, 2018.

The method for withdrawing is this form. Only this form, emails are not sufficient.


 If you have fully prepaid, you can get a partial refund.  If you have not prepaid, you will not be billed if and only if you withdraw before August 1, 2018.

We pay the hotel for your room on August 1, 2018. If you withdraw after that date, you will owe for your room. Period.


We understand that life and health can intervene - we would love to have you present.

But August 1, 2018 is the withdrawal deadline to get any money back.

And now you know.





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Msg #12: How YOU Feelin'?

Quick Reminders
Links for these are at the bottom of this message along with other useful information.
  • Additional volunteers needed.  Look for an email with volunteer opportunities coming soon.
    • To be clear - some activities, like singouts, are in jeopardy without additional volunteers.
  • As you make your travel plans, update the forms for rides wanted/needed.
  • The deadline for withdrawing from NEHB without paying the balance of your bill is August 1 
  • Sponsors you have a positive duty to check in with your attendees and help them. Please do so.
  • Jeff Forman is our quiet hero for logistics.  He'll be reaching out shortly in email with the following:
    • You will soon be receiving your rooming form. It is important that you fill it out completely and swiftly.
    • Shortly after the rooming form will be additional information on guests etcetera. You will want to fill those associated forms out swiftly as well.

I'm Feelin' Fine

I'm Feelin' Fine is a rollicking gospel tune by Mosie Lister.

 Lister was a very experienced composer of gospel music, an experienced quartet singer (albeit not within the barbershop tradition) and eventually a Baptist minister. Lister spent his youth and most of his life (outside of military service) in the heart of Georgia.  He was beyond prolific, with well more than 200 songs composed.

 The song seems to me to be from an American revivalist gospel tradition.

 The American Revival tradition arose in the late 1900s as a means of both cementing faith and bringing in converts, and it is an ongoing tradition today in the Southern Baptist community.  Interesting sub-branches include the Northern Chautauqua traditions of the Methodist church.

The song is, of course, about the acceptance of Jesus as one's personal savior (very much in the American Evangelical tradition) after a night of despair and eventually an answered prayer. The answer brings the promise of a heavenly reward.   It's a fun tune, and whether you believe or not, you can sing it with joy and verve.

 On a personal note - I was raised outside the Christian tradition, and I no longer have even that Jewish faith.  For people like me who are basically agnostic/atheist, overtly religious songs can be a challenge, because they ask me to sing with feeling and conviction of a profession of faith that I don't really have.  But: let's be honest: I don't know Nora, I'm not a black woman (Blackbird), I'm no singing bear, and so forth.

Good, honest, audience-grabbing performances always require us to bring a bit of our true selves into a song that may not be truly our own.  If we are not just singers, but artists - we can enjoy every song and make it matter.  For my fellow singers who are in the heart of this Christian faith - this song is for YOU.  For the rest of us, this song is for US if we want to make our friends glad.  I'm gonna sing like I mean it.

 Video Links


Useful Links


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