Most people prefer to bring the stomach muscles slowly up under the outgoing air, but some folks get good results by trying not to let the ribs and chest collapse as they sing. Both methods work. Experiment to find the one you can do best. In fact, some great singers feel that they're pushing the diaphragm AWAY and DOWN as they support the breath and tone. The point is, SOME manage~ent of the breathing apparatus is essential to control of tone. Through' it all, you should be completely RELAXED from the chest up and feel the work being done ONLY below there.

A caveat: the key here is "firmness" in the lower abdominal area, not "tenseness" or "tension."

Throughout the process of managing the outflow of breath, you should be able to move your stomach wall with a fairly gentle push in. If your "abs" are too tight to be moved, you're setting up tension in the larynx. Try this: tense your stomach muscles REALLY tight. Notice what you feel in the larynx. TENSION, right? Well, tension is ALWAYS wrong. So don't overachieve.

One last check as you sing a tone. You should be able to gently cradle your chin in the hand and feel the space between your teeth with the thumb and first finger (one on each side, Sillyl). RELAX your jaw and tongue. Remember, UNWANTED TENSION is the singer's worst enemy.

Get help from someone on the Music Team and watch for the FINAL CHAPTER in our thrilling saga (in the next bulletin issue]. Good luck and good singing.

We Perform - cont. from pg. 8

Before we get away from quartet action, what quartet performances have taken place?

Well, back on February 2 [missed this in last bulletin issue] a pick-up quartet consisting of Bill Amos, Jay Garber, Jim McCarthy and Bob Parker sang for the Penn Hills AARP group and then stopped by Seneca Manor to sing for the residents and promote our show.

The Random Choice quartet was requested to sing at the officer installation night of the Butler Chapter, So on February 3, 2006, Bill Amos, Jay Garber, Bob Parker and Mark Pascarella traveled to the K of C Hall in Wexford and sang for our friends from Butler.

On February 14, Random Choice, using Bill Amos, Jay Garber, Tom Koch and Jim McCarthy sang at the Overbrook Senior Center. The seniors were having a Valentine's Day Luncheon.

March 16, Random Choice, using the same four as on February 14, sang for the Level Green Seniors at the Lion's Club in Level Green.

During the period, the Three Rivers Chorus also did some performances. On February 8, we sang at the Covenant Methodist Church in Greentree and then on February 23, the chorus traveled to Bridgeville to sing for residents at Vanadium Woods Village. On April 12, the chorus sang for "Meals On WheeIs" volunteers at Chadwick Banquet Hall in the North Hills area of Pittsburgh.

Chorus Manager Jay Garber has several more performances scheduled, so let's be ready. And I hope we can report on more quartet performance in the coming year.

How To Sprout Quartets

Gary WuIf tells how the Buckeye-Columbus develops dozens of great quartets:

[editor - This is a portion of an article by Gary WuIf, Co-director, Buckeye-Columbus, Ohio, chapter which can be found on the Society web site in the Quartet Singing section. I have elected to include it here, even though you could go there and find it yourself, because you probably wouldn't, and it is so relevant to our situation.]

Quartets don't grow in your chapter by accident. They grow and mature in a chapter that plants quartet seeds, spreads quartet knowledge like nutrient and cultivates growth with care and attention.

Why do chapters exist without active quartets? How can a chapter improve its quartet activity? This article will address these problems and give you some tools to cultivate your own garden of quartets.

As the Co-director of the Singing Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, I have seen how an active quartet program can make a big difference in a chapter. We have always had active quartets, and currently have members taking active roles in 18 quartets. In the Johnny Appleseed District contest last spring (2002], our quartets earned five places in the top ten, including four of the top five finalists.

This doesn't happen by accident, and the benefits to the chapter are enormous. The more quartets you have, the more community exposure you generate, thus creating an atmosphere for growth in your chorus. Your members learn to sing better, and recruiting new singers becomes much easier.

To plant the seed, you must make quartets an active part of your chapter program. Each meeting include quartet singing.