By Bill Blifle, courtesy of the Albuquerque Chapter
New Mexichords Serenader - used by permIssion

[This is the fifth and final part of a five part series written by Bill Biffie, music category judge and Society Board member.]

Well men, we've come to the end of this five part, five month, discourse on vocal technique. If You've been diligently practicing these techniques, they have become habitual with you and you're enjoying singing as you never have before! If you haven't been working, you're still making about the same contribution to the sound of the [chorus] as you were three months ago. (Shame on you!)

Now the good news is that its not too late to put these techniques into action. If you have the past four issues [bulletin], you can refer to the ones you missed and BEGIN NOW to improve your enjoyment of this great hobby, and increase your contribution to the chorus. If you don't have the past issues (you mean you don't bind them in hard covers and store them in your walk-in safe deposit box?), I'm sure your happy editor will gladly give you a full set. Just let him know.

Well, to recap the steps to good singing and a healthy attitude:

I. Stand up straight. Keep the chest up and expanded with the shoulders down and relaxed (see Part One).

II. Expand the area around the belt line, NOT the chest (it's already up and expanded, remember?) as you inhale (see Part Two).

III. As you inhale, expand and extend the vocal cavity (the mouth and throat by dropping the jaw, opening the throat, raising the soft palate, placing the tip of the tongue on the inside of the front teeth and extending the lips off the teeth) Whew! (See Part Three, then see it again!).

IV. As you exhale, keeping the chest elevated and the vocal tract open, support the tone with the lower muscles of the abdomen (the ones you expanded in Part Two) WITHOUT undue tension (see Part Four).

Now for the LAST STEP. Keep the face as involved in the act of singing as is the rest of the body! You must raise the cheeks slightly (SLIGHTLY) and express the emotion of the song in your face. We call this the "active" face and it is not only essential to your stage presence, it really affects your sound in a positive way, too. I repeat, the facial expression you have is as much a part of vocal technique as is good posture, breathing, or anything else we have discussed. This is the "UP" face as opposed to the "DOWN" face . "UP" is better! (Remember to keep the lips off the teeth and shape the mouth in a more "vertical" rather than "horizontal" way. Keep the corners tucked in slightly for all vowels).

Spend five minutes a day in front of a mirror, singing your part. If you look like a singer, you'll be a better singer. It's really that simple. Watch your posture, your inhalation and exhalation techniques, your mouth shape, and YOUR FACE! If we would all spend just FIVE minutes each day for a few weeks doing this simple task, the chorus's contest scores (and audience appeal) would SKYROCKET - I MEAN SKYROCKET! Let's really dedicate ourselves to being the best chorus member we can be.

Thank you for your attention these past months. And remember, if you want a complete package of these steps to better singing, just let your fearless editor know. Good luck and good singing!

Barbershop History - General Knowledge Quiz
Author: Mark Axelrod, editor of "Blue Chip Chatter,"
Teaneck, NJ.