On February 28, the Nashville Singers governing and advisory boards gathered for a meeting over dinner at Nero's Grill. The evening included productive discussions and generated many great ideas to help take our organization to the next level.  

Reminder: Monthly board meeting tonight at 7:00pm at Mike Casper's home in Murfreesboro   

Make these hallmarks of excellence part of your internal makeup, the fabric of who you are as a singer. These are tips from a master class presented by the Masters of Harmony (Santa Fe Springs, CA), 8-time gold medalist chorus.

Consistently excellent singing and performance spring from consistently excellent rehearsal and repetition. Each time you do something "righter than before," you make it easier for yourself to repeat that level of quality in subsequent performances. Regardless of the music, the performance setting, the ensemble, or the director, there are some hallmarks of excellence you can make part of your internal makeup, principles and techniques that are a part of the fabric of who you are as a singer. Then, cued with only quick reminder, you can redouble your energy and effectiveness in the best parts of making music, without distracting yourself with executing technique.

1. Singer's Posture

Always sing with one foot slightly in front of the other, weight comfortably forward, chest comfortably lifted in a proud position, shoulders resting comfortably down and a little back, head in line with the body. Stand tall. Controlled relaxation is the goal; an attitude of readiness for anything. Everything in perfect balance!

2. Active Face

Singing is not a passive experience. When singing, have your entire face always doing something, ideally to reflect the particular emotion conveyed by the lyrics. Lift the cheek muscles a little, raise and extend the upper lip a little, energize the eyes a lot, get involved facially. Always sing with facial animation. Check yourself by practicing in front of a mirror.

3. Vowels that look right

Make an "oh" vowel look like an "oh." All vowels should be vertical in approach and encourage space inside the mouth. Create as much space as possible without inducing tension. Avoid any vowel which looks horizontal.

4. In-line singing

Make all the vowels sound similar, each to another. That is, no vowel should pop out at the listener disturbing the musical line; they should all be of a similar character. While an "ah" is certainly distinct from an "oh" or an "ee," it should not be different in the way it's placed, vocally, or in its inherent resonant characteristics. This is achieved by consistent vocal production, consistent placement high in the head, and a consistent approach to the musical line. At its best, there should be a continual, uninterrupted resonance (ring) throughout the entire vocal line, through the full range of word sounds and pitches. Go for a constant placement, constant breath pressure and a minimum of jaw movement.

5. Focused Singing

The sound is simply focused into a resonant point. Start the chorus with their hands held wide apart and have them sing a unison pitch while slowly bringing the palms together in front. Have them listen to the "focusing" of the sound. This is related to #4, above, especially in the consistency of the placement of the resonance and the focus of the tone. They will feel the tone placed in the front of the bony mask, generally behind the eyes or a little higher. Always work for the feeling of resonation in the head. It should never feel like the tone is produced from the throat position. Think spin and resonance in the tone without weight in the tone. The tongue position is also critical here: tip touching lightly the lower gum ridge. Carefully monitor a relaxed tongue position. It must be carefully taught. Any tension in the tongue is counterproductive.

6. Know the characteristics of your part.

There are many ways to relate the different roles of each part to the unified whole. I like the car analogy: The chorus is a finely tuned, extremely expensive racing machine (say, an expensive high performance sports car).

The leads are, of course, the drivers. They are in control of both the speed and direction of this well constructed machine. They sing with lyricism and freedom and are able to negotiate all the "curves" with ease. No jagged turns, everything sounds the same throughout the range and never weight in the singing.

The basses are the engine, providing a smooth, velvety, unrelenting supply of effortless, masculine power. The basses form the foundation and constancy to the barbershop sound.

The baritones are the transmission: shifting from gear to gear in a smooth, effortless motion. An even quality throughout the range, the baritones bring the dignity to the barbershop sound and are the dignified Mercedes Benz's of barbershop singing.

And the tenors are, well, how about the paint job? Brilliant yellow, fire engine red, or maybe the decals? I dunno. Figure it out. They will want to work for added color, sparkle and focus in their tone to make it just right.

Another approach to part characteristics is to get the foundation from the basses, beauty from the baris, personality from the leads, and shimmer or glitz from the tenors. This works well, too.

7. Bring the whole singer.

Bring all that you have to offer to every experience in life, including the rehearsal. Be in the moment, be attentive, be alert, be energetic, and contribute to the whole. You get the idea. "Be all that you can be." Accept responsibility for the only man who can make the ensemble better - you! It's amazing how liberating it is not to have to worry about all the guys around you!

8. Expect to grow.

Expect every rehearsal to bring personal and corporate growth. Come with the expectation of learning. Come expecting the musical leadership to have something to teach you. Treat time not spent gaining new knowledge as time wasted. Intend to improve every rehearsal.

9. "I'm talking to you!"

Not to the man behind you, not to the man on either side, not to the man in front, but to you. Every comment is meant for you. Be prepared to change instantly when the musical leader asks for a change. Don't think he means someone else. He means you! Do it now! Only you can change the way the chorus performs. No one else!

10. Look, act, and be successful!

When you're a little down, your back or feet hurt, and you wish you were somewhere else, try acting the way you'd like to feel. Stand up straight, smile, elevate your chest, look someone in the eye. If you look successful and act successful, success will follow. Take charge of your experience and make it - just make it - be something wonderful!

• Offset printing services
• Sound, PA, and recording equipment
• Costume dry cleaning services
• Storage for chorus property
• Access to a teleprompter for use at Nashville Singers concert productions 
• A lockable trailer for transporting risers and costumes to and from performances
• Donated outdoor, radio, TV or print advertising
• Airline vouchers converted from frequent flyer accounts (for bringing in "out of town" performance and choreography coaches)
• Catering services for large or small events
• Flowers and plants for events and stage decoration
• Combination color laser printer/copier/scanner
• Venue space such as ballrooms, restaurants, halls and atria for receptions and event 

In-Kind Donor Benefits In-kind donors will receive recognition through a number of channels:

• Donor page of the Nashville Singers website
• Donor acknowledgment in the printed event program at Nashville Singers produced concert events
• Donor acknowledgment from stage at Nashville Singers produced concert events
• Sponsor mentions in any press releases distributed to the media promoting the sponsored event
• Donor acknowledgments in promotional messages sent through social media and networking platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn  

Nashville Singers, Inc. is chartered by the state of Tennessee as a nonprofit organization and is recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. If you wish to make such a donation, please contact Todd Wilson, Executive Director at 615-852-SING (7464) to find out where you can make the biggest impact.   Together, we can enrich lives through song.