(Customize the personal parts to fit your personal
history.)
- 1. THE WOODSHED - That was the little wooden building in the back yard
where, in the old days, Dad took you for a spanking when you did
something wrong. That's where you hid to get away from doing the chores.
That's where you went to sneak a cigarette or maybe steal a kiss from
the girl next door. Or maybe that's the place where you hid to sing and
play the ukulele or play the harmonica for your own enjoyment and not be
frowned upon or made fun of by others.
Let me introduce myself - I'm Vin Zito, and I'm a very fortunate
Barbershopper. I have been a Barbershopper for over 50 years, and you
can bet that in those 50 years, our Society has gone through many
changes. Let me take you back to when I joined. Our International
Headquarters was in Detroit, Michigan, in a hole-in-the-wall storefront.
Our Executive Secretary at that time was Carroll Adams, one of the
well-known pioneers numbered among such notables as O.C. Cash and Hal
Staab, to name a couple. Carroll, by the way, tutored me when I joined
the judging system. (My tenure lasted a record 40 years.) Carroll
operated on a shoestring. If I recall correctly, per capita dues were
$2.50 in those days. With that income, Carroll printed The
Harmonizer, which came out bimonthly if we were lucky. Occasionally
(and not too often), we received a musical arrangement from him,
arranged by one of the more popular Barbershop arrangers of the day. So,
we were somewhat fortunate; we managed to get a song now and then.
So, here we are, chorus and quartets alike, yearning for good
arrangements. If you were lucky, you had someone in the chapter who
could do some basic arranging, or you paid a "professional" a fee of
$100 or so to have a particular song arranged. If it was a good
arrangement and you sang it at a convention or contest, someone would
have a wire recorder and would steal the arrangement. Many were guilty
of that. I remember that we had a District Convention & Chorus Contest
in Lynn, Massachusetts, around 1959. Eleven choruses were entered in the
contest, and nine of them sang A Son of the Sea, an extremely
popular arrangement at that time. My quartet, The Sleepless Knights
of Harmony, was slated to sing while the judges added up their
scores. Back in the dressing room, we quickly learned the Intro to the
song, walked on stage, and sang it. Before it was over, we expected to
be the first casualties of the Society.
What's my point? It's simply that arrangements were at a premium and
hard to come by. When I joined the Hartford chapter, one of the first
members I met was a man named John Vergotti. John sang in a quartet
called The Four Pals. I asked him how many songs his quartet
knew, and he proceeded to pull two 8.5-x-11 sheets out of his pocket
with two rows of song titles on each side. I laughed and told him that
he was pulling my leg. He said, "Pick a song," which I did. He got the
other three guys and sang it. I picked another and another, and they
sang them. How was it that they could learn so many songs? John let me
in on the secret: He said that the Lead knew the melodies and the other
three improvised as they were sung. John called it "woodshedding" - the
first time that I had heard that word. I was flabbergasted. John said
that most of the chapter quartets learned that way.
What woodshedding amounted to was to develop a harmonic ear and learn to
recognize the melodic road being traveled down while you were singing.
You would recognize a feel for, or premonition of, what the other
harmony guys were going to do. This is woodshedding in its purest form.
No music, no musical director, no written arrangement - just sing, and
sing, it until it sounds right. The key was to develop an ear for music
and make it as important as the mouth emitting the tones. Woodshedding
is four men finding a ringing chord to each melody note and working out
their own arrangement to that melodic line, familiar or not.
Woodshedding incorporates all the fine points of good singing, breath
control, vowel-matching, and fitting your part so that you are listening
to the other parts and blending. Best of all, woodshedding is primarily
for self-enjoyment of the four singing members of the quartet; it is not
designed to please or entertain outside listeners or spectators. Are
there any questions about woodshedding?
AHSOW
The Ancient Harmonious Society of Woodshedders
2. A dear old friend of mine who hailed from Massachusetts, Charlie
Nichols, was an avid woodshedder. In 1977, he recognized that quartets
and choruses were increasingly dependent on written, intricate
arrangements. These arrangements had a degree of difficulty that did not
allow the average Barbershopper an opportunity to show off his ability
to improvise. Woodshedding was becoming a dying art. Sensing this,
Charlie and several of his stalwart followers founded AHSOW in order to
keep the pure form of woodshedding alive. Charlie discovered that he was
not alone in his desire to save woodshedding, and soon AHSOW's
membership began to grow. Not only did it grow, but weekend
"woodshedding conventions" began to pop up. Along with the average
Barbershoppers joining, notable quartets - many with medals - and some
of our most noted music men have joined. Everyone is interested in
keeping AHSOW's purpose alive, and that is to help Barbershoppers
develop a good ear, have a respect for three other parts, and keep alive
the off-the-cuff harmonizing without a written arrangement. One other
thing that AHSOW preaches is to sing another voice-part, not just your
own. Get a taste and a feel for another part, and it will help you to
have more respect and discipline when singing with three other guys. It
will also give you an opportunity to fill in on a part other than your
own, when it is needed.
3. One of our earlier staff members in the Society's Music Department
was a gentleman by the name of Dave Stevens. Dave had a wonderfully
unique way of getting a Barbershopper to tune in his brain and listen
while singing. I'd like to demonstrate this method to show you how he
did it.
How many of you know the song Five Foot Two? I see that quite a
few of you are familiar with the song. I'll sing the first part to
refresh your memory.
(Sing: "Five foot two, eyes of blue, oh what those five feet can do;
has anybody seen my gal? ") Now, I'm going to ask you to give me an
opening major chord on an "ooo" sound to the first phrase, and I don't
care if you sing a note in your part or somebody else's. (Group sings
chord - E-flat or any comfortable chord for the singer. Leader sings
"Five foot two. ")
(Leader asks group to think of the next chord and prepare to sing a note
in that chord. Leader sings "eyes of blue. " Leader asks for the next
chord and sings, "oh, what those five feet can do. " Leader asks for
next chord and sings, "has anybody " [group changes chord] "seen my "
[group changes chord] "gal? " Group will automatically put a swipe on
the last chord.)
Now, why did you put a swipe on that last chord? You simply felt it,
didn't you? That's part of the harmonic road that you're traveling down.
Let's see if we can get further into the song. (Leader sings the rest
of the song, with the chorus putting in the chords on a neutral
sound.)
Now - let's go back to the beginning. Those of you who want to can sing
the melody, and the rest of you sing along on a harmony part, using the
words the best you can. (When it's over, Leader compliments the group
and asks where l when they've seen an arrangement of that song. Few or
none should have seen it - remember to have confirmed this in
advance!)
Then how did you know what chords to sing? You know how - your brain
recognized the melodic road, and your ear told you what note to sing
that would fit.
The musical road that the songwriter had in mind can be recognized
sometimes by the musical notations written above the staff of the
published arrangement. A chord for each passage is noted, along with the
finger-placement for a guitar. In woodshedding, there could be several
roads, and all could be pleasing to the ear.
4. Now, there are a few rules that we try to adhere to in AHSOW:
- a. The melody-singer must know the words. Harmony parts may sing
on a neutral sound.
- b. It's more fun to sing more than one voice-part (but only one
per song!).
- c. As guidelines, we agree -
- i. The Lead is always right. He may not be correct, but he is
right.
- ii. If the Lead is wrong, refer to the rule just above.
- iii. When you establish a note in a chord, stay on it until
you are obliged to move.
- iv. When you're obliged to move, move the shortest distance
possible to the next acceptable note.
- v. When you are able to, move back to the original note.
- vi. Possession is nine-tenths of the law. Whoever gets a note
in the chord first is entitled to it, and you must find another...
unless the other singer agrees to give up the note. This applies to
harmony parts only; see "the Lead is always right" above.
Now, let's put it to the test. Who in the Lead section can read music?
(Select one volunteer. Give him a copy of the melody-line to "Down
Mobile." Have him sing it through, helping him if he needs it. Ask the
group if they recognize the song.)
You know what? Down Mobile was the very first song that O.C. Cash and
the boys sang in 1938 at the Society's initial gathering in the
Muehlebach Hotel in Kansas City, MO. See what you can learn from
woodshedding?
(Leader asks a Tenor to join the Lead and try to harmonize with him.
Leader asks him not to be shy, and tells him that if he can't remember
the words, he can sing. with a neutral vowel.)
Now, let's find a Bass! (Three parts sing. Introduce a Bari to the group
and let them sing. Guide them where needed, based on anything
appropriate that they're trying to do.)
Now, let's see what happens when the Bass gets carried away and sings a
different note on -bile of Mo-bile. (Leader C tells Bass to sing the
Bari's note. The Bari finds another note that fits the chord.)
A-ha! The Bari got pushed off his note, but notice how fast he found
another one? You are woodshedding. fellows.
I'm going to pass out a list of song titles amongst you, and let's see
if you can break up into groups of four and see if you can put something
together. Remember - you don't necessarily sing your own part. I'll give
you 15 minutes or so, and then we'll get back together and have a
mini-contest. Remember: No singing published or written arrangements!
(Leader conducts the contest and praises all of the participants.)
This concludes my presentation, gentlemen. I'm passing out to you the
rules and the process by which you can join AHSOW. I am the District
Certifier, and it will be my extreme pleasure to come visit you again in
the very near future and audition you for AHSOW. You know, AHSOW has a
room at most Barbershop gatherings where you can go and meet and
harmonize with your fellow members. Most of us go to conventions and
never get to sing. Well, here is a way to change all of that! If you
become a member, you'll get a badge, a list of the members, and a copy
of the AHSOW bulletin that will keep you abreast of goings-on and coming
events. You can buy a shirt like mine so you can be easily recognized -
and, believe me, you'll meet some great guys in the AHSOW room. If there
are no more questions, I thank you for the opportunity to stand before
you and tell you about AHSOW and how it works. As a member since 1987, 1
have enjoyed it, and I want to share it with you. It's achievable, it's
fun, and it's musically fulfilling. Give it a try, and remember - even
if you are not a member of AHSOW, you're still welcome in an AHSOW room.
Come to the meeting prepared with: AHSOW badge & shirt; copy of member
bulletin & membership roster; Pocket Woodshedder; enough Song Titles to
pass out to the group; enough copies of "What is Woodshedding" & the
rules; enough "Harmonize with AHSOW" gold brochures; yellow Certifier
Cards.
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