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Davidson C Room, Renaissance Hotel -- Nashville, Tennessee ATTENDEES Although the sign-in sheet failed to survive the convention, the meeting was exceptionally well-attended, with an estimated two dozen men present. AHSOW President & SWD DEC Toban Dvoretzky called the meeting to order. DISTRICT REPORTS Activity Reports were solicited from DECs or their designated representatives. JAD: DEC Ken Wheeler stated that an AHSOW presence occurred three times yearly (Spring convention, HEP, Fall convention), with a letter sent to all JAD members early each year to apprise them and to engage their support. Four courses taught at the HEP involve woodshedding in some way: Tags, Polecats, Woodshedding, and the special advanced AHSOW course. JAD is highly supportive of AHSOW, and the convention woodshedding room is named "Tommy's Woodshed," in honor of Tommy Palamone. DIX: ADEC Jack Jemison reported that a QT (qualifying team) was planned for Knoxville. ADEC Don Dobson will spearhead the efforts. CSD: ADEC Tom Millot stated that AHSOW was present at all functions except the HEP. He observed that many people often seemed too busy to come by the rooms. EVG: DEC Chuck Olson reported that it was difficult to establish AHSOW presences at Divisionals, which are often only one day long and in challenging venues. He noted that he expected great cooperation during Fall convention in Vancouver. M-AD: DEC Mike Stoll, who as District VP of Events has heavy influence over assigning AHSOW venues, stated that at Prelims there was high traffic in the suite reserved for activity. ADEC John Fisher has been visible and successful at the various Divisionals. FWD: ADEC Earle Holt reported that AHSOW planned its first presence at the HEP, via a Woodshedding course on the curriculum, with Directors' School in the plans. The goal is to induct 25 qualified men into AHSOW in FWD this year, with 12 taken in so far. SUN: DEC Bob Folk reported that the promised room at Prelims was changed to another, which undercut the pre-convention publicity. This created difficulties on-site at the convention. NED: DEC Vin Zito observed that NED conventions tended to be jammed with meetings, causing difficulties with time and venues. He prefers to perform chapter visitations, presenting his comprehensive program on woodshedding, which is especially valuable when a chorus director takes the night off. He plans an AHSOW presence at HEP, aided by DIX ADEC Don Dobson, who will be traveling to the area for a six-week summer vacation. Regarding the challenges at conventions, Stoll suggested that a contest room be used during all otherwise-unscheduled hours, as it will be conveniently located and open all the time. At this point, Dvoretzky read aloud "DEC Thinking," written by AHSOW VP and SWD ADEC Steve Shannon: "One of the problems that we (AHSOW) face is the perception that there must be 'unscheduled' district time at District Events in order for AHSOW events to work. So, if the District doesn't schedule enough (or any) downtime between events, they assume that there will neither be time for, nor interest in, Woodshedding. "Quite the contrary is true. Many members of our subculture would much rather be singing than watching. The proof is in the many members who frequent our rooms and find themselves so entranced with discovery singing that they miss the contests that they paid to see. "While we do need to promote and man our rooms for general public and non-member traffic between major contests, we certainly should not fear or avoid scheduling 'our' events during other activities. "As we move forward (a political phrase) toward a new, well-managed and well-marketed AHSOW, I believe that we should treat our activities with the same import that Just Plain Barbershoppers treat their spring and fall contests. Who knows -- we just might attract a very active and loyal group of singers who will start coming to district functions again." LOL: ADEC Dave Rislove noted that DEC Paul Smith teaches a Woodshedding course at the HEP. The course is well-received and of high utility. SWD: DEC Toban Dvoretzky reported that, for the first time in history, all Spring conventions were covered (three by him, one by ADEC Hank Hammer). Although the number of inductees may appear minimal, the important issue is to engage members and visitors in authentic woodshedding as a positive experience, different from anything they've ever participated in. Dvoretzky promised an illustration later in the DEC Powwow. Great mileage is gained in SWD by screaming the AHSOW message over and over until everyone's brains turn to putty, and AHSOW activity at every function is accepted as a given. ROSTER Dvoretzky handed out the latest DEC Roster, with addresses and phone numbers, for review. M-AD ADEC Phil Richards asked why the list featured phone numbers instead of e-mail addresses; Dvoretzky replied that the latter changed with surprising volatility, and that phone numbers made for a more enduring list. Anyone desiring the e-mail addresses of DEC personnel may consult the AHSOW web site at http://www.ahsow.org or may contact Dvoretzky for them. GREETERS Dvoretzky reviewed the purpose of the inaugural Greeter program (2000, Kansas City), which was to employ individuals purely to greet visitors to the room. This avoided people coming to the room and feeling ignored because everyone was involved with other activities, and it relieved DECs and administrators from trying to do too many things at once. ONT ADEC Bruce Dibble had prepared a page with an analysis of the Kansas City program and suggestions for refinements; this was distributed to attendees of this Powwow. Stoll volunteered to work with Dibble to produce a plan for the AHSOW Board by the time of the 2002 Riverside Mid-Winter. AUDITION PROTOCOL Dvoretzky reviewed the protocol desired during auditions. Awkwardness has arisen when members of the Q-Team comment on the candidate's abilities. While encouragement is not a bad thing, only one person -- the man conducting the audition -- should say a word to the candidate. When the head auditioner is in doubt, it is OK to pull one or more Q-Team members out of earshot of the candidate for a private, quiet, very quick caucus about the man's abilities, but under no circumstances should the candidate overhear anything or be left hanging too long. Dvoretzky has employed this technique while conducting auditions. The DEC Operations Manual should be reviewed as a refresher before any upcoming AHSOW activity. CHANGES IN MEMBERSHIP ELIGIBILITY Dvoretzky reported that, as a result of sweeping changes to the AHSOW Bylaws that were endorsed by the AHSOW Board this week, the requirement that a man must have two years in the Society before being eligible for AHSOW has been eliminated. This means that a 15-year-old with six months in SPEBSQSA can join AHSOW if he woodsheds well enough. Passing the audition (and paying the dues) become the only criteria. AUDITION PROCEDURES Dvoretzky recommended, and the group concurred, that all melodies to be used by the Q-Team should be practiced in advance. This affords fairness to the candidate and avoids embarrassment to AHSOW and its representatives. Certifiers should avoid spending undue time looking through the booklet of melodies while the candidate is standing there. The Certifier should ALWAYS ask, "Have you ever sung an arrangement of this melody?" and listen intently to the answer. When in doubt, select a different melody, and repeat the question until the answer is satisfactory. After a candidate has passed his two or three harmony parts, Certifiers should always remember to test him on melody-singing -- anything of his choice. He need not go through the entire melody; the purposes are to determine the man's ability to sing melodies, and to encourage him to understand the importance of singing melodies in a manner compatible with good woodshedding (different from singing "performance Lead"). If an inductee is a decent melody-singer, this constitutes his third or fourth voice-part on which he is qualified. If the man has failed the audition, but there is time to work with him and see if he can sing melodies, this is an opportunity to soothe his disappointment by inviting him to sing melodies in an AHSOW room anytime he wants to (and to sell him a yellow "Discovery Singing" folio for $5). Certifiers should be sure to give every auditionee a copy of the pages "Woodshedding the Harmony Parts" and "Woodshedding 'Lead': Is this Possible?" from the DEC Manual. SUPPORT ON THE WAY Dvoretzky stated that Russ Seely had been appointed AHSOW's Vice-President of Marketing & Public Relations. Seely recognizes that DECs have been appointed for their musical capabilities, yet they're obliged to perform marketing and promotional tasks that may not quite be their bailiwick. Seely intends to recruit assistants in each District to help each DEC with these ancillary tasks, with the goal of having 75% coverage by the 2002 Mid-Winter. To do this, Seely requires recommendations of capable men whom he can approach and recruit. Each DEC was encouraged to contact Seely with likely prospects. HELPFUL NEW TOOL Dvoretzky revealed the availability of a yellow dry-erase board, 14" x 20" and one pound in weight, which he stumbled upon and has used to great benefit in SWD. The board features permanent print to advertise the general presence of an AHSOW room, and space beneath where the DEC can write the specific locations of his AHSOW room and the times when it is open. The inherent flexibility of this product alleviates the situation described by Folk in the SUN District report. The vendor has agreed to provide AHSOW a volume discount while still shipping to individual AHSOW customers, and Dvoretzky highly encouraged each DEC to order one or more through him in time for upcoming activity. BUDGETARY SUPPORT While reimbursement of expenses is available for smaller items, such as postage and photocopying, the larger expenses of attending District functions -- especially those that the DEC might not normally be inclined to attend -- have not been budgeted for by AHSOW. Toward this end, Dvoretzky revealed the AHSOW Board's approval this week of the "Ear-rangement #1" package, comprising a cassette or CD of 14 woodsheddable melodies and a supporting pocket-sized folio. While the Board stopped short of endorsing an allocation of the proceeds toward support of the DEC program, Dvoretzky expressed hope that this was imminently in the cards. Possibilities include defraying DECs' own expenses, either actual or by a per-diem; sending AHSOW administrators to support local DECs as high-visibility ambassadors and on-site promoters; and/or sending experienced DECs to support their colleagues in other Districts. For this to come to pass, Dvoretzky said, each DEC should order an Ear-rangement package for himself and promote the dickens out of it. Production of the materials was predicted to commence in July, immediately after return from the Nashville convention. SAMPLE WOODSHEDDING CLASS As had been continuously requested over the year, Dvoretzky demonstrated a sample Woodshedding Class -- good for HEP schools and when sitting with a group of guys in a convention AHSOW room. The techniques are secondary to the principles, which are: 1) In authentic woodshedding, there are NO WRONG NOTES -- only good, better, and best. A "good" note is anything that comes out of your mouth, because you're woodshedding, and that's good. A "better" note is one that belongs in a feasible chord that the group has struck upon, but someone else may have a bit more claim to it than you do. A "best" note is one that forms a solid, ringing, chord that causes you and your group to look at each other and agree that this is what you want. 2) In all other areas of Barbershopping, there is an Authority Figure (chorus director, section-leader, et al.) poised to tell us that we are WRONG, and that we are holding up the progress of our group. As "discovery singing," Woodshedding is remarkably democratic -- any of the four can, at any time, suggest trying something different. Even if a fifth ear is around a woodshedding quartet, his role is to show HOW someone's note may ultimately fit in an appropriate chord -- as opposed to correcting any singer or "teaching" a note. 3) In woodshedding, everyone must LISTEN as they've never listened before, and REMEMBER what they sang the previous time, as we would be going through chords several times to discover what the group liked best. 4) In woodshedding, it is never necessary to "finish" a song. The group can gain 100% satisfaction by discovering any number of chords, even being content to quit in the middle of a phrase -- yet another phenomenon totally unique to authentic woodshedding. Dvoretzky began the sample class by chatting with a volunteer quartet. He first asked, "What exactly is 'woodshedding'?" and discussed the answers, with prompts: "Is it, 'Hey, you & you & you -- come here and let's woodshed My Wild Irish Rose!'?" "Is it, 'Well, I don't remember this chorus arrangement after all this time, so I'll be woodsheddin' it'?" After working with the group's answers, Dvoretzky endorsed one suggestion that was closest to "discovering harmonies around a Lead's melody without referring to written or familiar arrangements." Dvoretzky then stated that this was how our Society began, and that when O.C. Cash and the boys got together that first night, this was exactly what they did -- no one had printed music. He then asked if anyone knew the very first melody sung by O.C. and the boys. When "Down Mobile" was suggested, he commended the guesser with delight, then asked, "How would you like to try it, just like O.C. Cash and the boys did? Here's how the first part goes..." and he sang it. He then asked who would like to try each of the voice parts; when this was determined, he picked a key (around A-flat or G) and asked if it were comfortable. He then told the Demo Melody-Singer to listen to the first three notes. He then helped everyone find his note within the starting chord, and listened to them harmonize. Every "discovery" that the group made was worked with, whether standard or funky. The constant question was, "Now, how did we like that? Did it work? Are we comfortable with it?" Each member in the quartet was always polled, and sometimes members of the "audience." Even when three men liked it but the fourth expressed some doubt, there was a possibility to work with the chord further, and to discuss which further-discovered option the group liked. Artistic aspects were discussed -- when a funky chord was sung, the group was asked whether they thought that the choice was artistically appropriate at this stage of the singing, or whether something more traditional was more appropriate now while saving the funkier option for the repeat. In certain instances, members were asked if the group's chord allowed them easy "voice-leading," or horizontal ease of singing intervals in their own voice part. The rise and fall of the melody was discussed in terms of what it made the other voices do -- the trade of root and fifth between Bass and Melody, and the Bari sometimes having to sing the melody line "inside-out" or opposite what the Melody's pattern was, and the Tenor being knocked higher when the melody ran higher and then being able to return to a lower note when the melody descended, and Barbershop being "close harmony," which means that the Bass has the right to sing the highest feasible "low note" in the chord, and when the chord is tight, the Bari can often find a home on the 7th, and other such aspects. In every instance, the group was encouraged to DISCOVER what they liked THEMSELVES, and to concur on it. It was in this way that the group progressed through the first half of the melody. The quartet had to remember what they had agreed upon in earlier places, and subsequent notes and measures were added to it. At the end of this approximately 40-minute example session, the quartet had created its own arrangement to the whole first half of "Down Mobile." Demonstrating to the audience of DECs how to involve different men in a sample, Dvoretzky told the quartet that, since the second half of the melody was exactly the same as the first, they had essentially arranged an entire song of their very own, and he physically applauded them for their achievement (as the audience spontaneously did). Dvoretzky then asked the participants how they had felt during the demonstration. All stated that they felt encouraged, respected, and treated with patience. The audience of DECs agreed that this was the aura distinguishing the session. The assemblage concurred that the demonstration was a useful illustration of what they themselves could do. CONCLUSION Dvoretzky emphasized to the DECs that they are "never alone out there" -- that Powwows like this occur at every International and Mid-Winter, and that they and their colleagues can always appreciate swapping ideas about anything at any time during the year. The participants in the DEC program are valuable and valued, Dvoretzky said, and they should always remember this while renewing their efforts to spread the many good things that only authentic woodshedding has to offer. The Powwow adjourned amidst good feelings and the woodshedding of "My Little Girl." Respectfully submitted, Toban Dvoretzky -- President & SWD DEC |