At past rehearsals, we have been told to sing our tonics and our 5ths loudly and the thirds and the sevenths somewhat
more softly. Many of our members were looking somewhat confused. They
apparently thought that the tonic went with gin, the fifth referred to another intoxicating liquor, the third to the number
of swings in the national pastime of the rich, and the seventh to the stretch occurring in the same game. Below
is reprinted, for your perusal, the article explaining all this which was published in an Arlingtuner years ago
and bears repeating. No one expects you to be able to pick these out but you should at least be conversant with the terms.
As Barbershoppers most of us are of an age such that we were raised on do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti,
and do as the notes in the scale. ‘Tis time to change. It is time cross the Rubicon
of musical lexicography and come into the 21st century. Do, re, and mi are defined by Guido’s scales,
who ever the hell Guido is (probably the great granddaddy of the Godfather). It is either Latin or Italian in derivation.
The first language is dead. The second, while famous for its operatic composers is not known for its contribution to Barbershop.
In addition, if you don’t start using numbers over 1, they too will soon be extinct in this 1010101010 world
of computer bits and bytes.
So
my fellow Barbershoppers, it is time for you to learn the numbering system that is in use today. More importantly,
to learn what the numbers mean. Come into my parlor and let’s look at intervals and such.
Don’t you dare shut this off. You have been singing for sometime now and if you don’t
know intervals and where they are, it is high time you should.
In any chord,
three notes played simultaneously, the lowest note is the root or tonic, or Number 1, of that chord in its first position.
In the key of C, the C major chord is CEGC and the lowest C, like most of us, has these three names (root, tonic, and
1). Counting from there, the scale goes up the traditional eight notes. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and 8. The upper
8 can also be called 1 and usually is. However when the lower C is played and a D above the second C is
included in the chord, this is a 9th, not a second. The lower D has dibs on being called the
2nd.
All well and good you say but what does this mean to me. It means
that you must have in your musical brain, a very good ideas of the relationship of these notes to one another.
For
instance, Tenors must know their thirds and their minor thirds particularly well because they have a lot of them.
Baritones must know their 4th’s and 5th’s, and bases, their roots
and their 5th’s. All parts will have all intervals at some time or another, but these
are very common in the parts as mentioned. So how do you get them?
First you can be born with
perfect pitch. If your DNA did not bless you with that, you can select new parents, put them and your self
in a time capsule, travel faster than the speed of light, and start all over again. Both Sears and Target
were out of time capsules when last I checked so they are not to be found for ready money. Since you can
utilize neither of these methods, you will have to resort to S.T. (Sly Tricks). And ta da, ta da, here
are some suggestions.
Sing the start of the Marine’s Hymn. “From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.”
(Incidentally, there were only three marines present at this famous battle). Stop. Now sing the same tune
with new words. One, three, five, five five, five, five, eight , five, three, four, five, five four, two, one.
Then try singing by the numbers but sing a one on the same pitch as the starting one after every number, going up to
new number and back to the baseline in the process (11315151, etc). Or sing, “From one the one halls
one of one…”, each time returning to the base line one. You get the idea. Try
your own method. Here are some other suggestions.
Sing, “Anchors away my boys.” Then sing one, three, five six, three, six. Sing, “Oh the girls in France they don’t wear…”.
(If you don’t know this one, your coming of age has been sadly neglected. Contact me after
practice.) Then, one, two, three-minor, two, one, one two, three-minor.
Sing Here Comes the Bride, then 1444.
So now you have the idea.
The use of S.T. can get you a long ways. Listen to the intervals when you sing
them. You can’t be singing Here comes the Bride or bolstering marine recruitment when we sing.
But if you do it several times, they will become ingrained. How far is it from do to so, who
knows? How far is it from "Here to comes (the bride)” or “…From…”
to “… the (halls of)" you know. Sing them. Take them to your heart
and carry them with you always. Go in peace and for goodness sake, go in harmony. (Baritones, I know you want to sing about the girls in France. Here
is the ploy you can use. Find your fifth on the barbershop tune up chord and starting with this as your
note on “Oh”, “girls” will be our barbershop flatted 7th for that chord. Thus
you can sing risqué songs in the guise of looking for that 7th chord. Technically, it
is a minor 3rd above the 5th. What an excuse! )
Our classic barbershop tune up is bass on 1, baritone on 5, lead on 8(1) and tenor on 3.
Disclaimer: The above views are my own and not necessarily that
of the Nashville Mavens. To many singers, do, re, mi, etc. are sacred. So a word to
the wise, don’t discuss politics, religion, or the virtues of Guido’s scales when dining with friends.
Stick to safe topics like movies, sex, and the weather.
Rewritten from Arlingtuner,
June 2002 .
Bernard Martin
Music VP
