Contest preparation-a yearlong commitment

Where have I seen that headline before? If you check the PROBEmoter Web page and look under Bulletin Aids, you will find an article with the above title. The article is about vocal preparation for contest. Dede Nibler has an excellent article for the singer and I think we can use her thoughts and comments to build on as we prepare our chapter bulletins. In looking over the article, I find many similarities that could also aid in producing a good bulletin, perhaps one for inclusion in the yearly BETY competition.

1. Do you know your voice? Its strengths and weaknesses? Do you have a plan for improvement?
   Look at your bulletin for your strengths and weaknesses. Look at it not once but several times. Each time look for something different. Look for things that can fix any of your weaknesses and also those things that will strengthen your already strong points. Find someone else in your chapter who can look over your bulletin and find the strengths and weaknesses.

2. How well do you respond to your director?
   How well do you respond to your reader? Always write/edit your bulletin with your reader in mind. Ask questions of your articles so that they will tell the story that you want them to tell. Smile as you read what you have written in your bulletin. If you can smile at your prose, you have done a good job.

3. How well do you know your music?
   How well do you know your bulletin and what you are trying to communicate to your readers? Mark your bulletin with pencil/pen to see where you can improve before you go to press. Read other bulletins and compare them to yours. Use some of their strong points in your writing.

4. Are you attempting to be all that you can be physically?
   Are you attempting to be all that you can be as an editor? Are you maintaining good composition and eye-pleasing pages? Are you using all the tools available to editors to make a bulletin look and sound great? Are you including writings that will give your readers a chance to relax and maybe even laugh at themselves?

5. Do you have a barbershop dream/goal?
   Do you have a dream or goal of what you want your bulletin to be or look like? Without a dream/goal you have nowhere to go with your bulletin and nowhere to make changes to achieve your dream. Seek out other editors who can help you make your dreams come true.

6. Are you willing to take risks?
   Nothing ventured-nothing gained. Visualize your plan over and over again. See the desired results in your mind and then see them build your confidence. Stay positive with all your editing and keep going. Change things that need changing and keep those items that work.

These are just a few thoughts from the article called "Contest Preparation-A Yearlong Commitment."