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The legendary Dave Stevens, a long-time Society staffer and towering figure in the
Society's history, compiled this Woodshedding suggestions for developing the ability to woodshed.
The origin of the word 'woodshedding' is vague, to say the least. But from what
little we know of the beginnings of the barbershop style of singing, it is clear that
amateur quartets worked out the songs they sang by ear - a sort of trial and error
method that became known as woodshedding. There is little doubt that the same
is true of our early Society quartets - they woodshedded the chords that
supported the melody. Today, the written arrangement has almost replaced harmonizing by ear. While published arrangements offer more opportunities for more quartets to learn more music - and at a faster pace - it would be unfortunate if woodshedding were to disappear from the barbershop quartet scene entirely. So the purpose of this folio is to encourage men to participate in the woodshedding experience. There have been other efforts over the years to foster ear singing - articles in The Harmonizer and in district bulletins, plus such Society programs as the old Woodshedders Guild and more recently the AHSOW organization. Why all the fuss about woodshedding anyway? Because it can be absolutely the most fun you've ever had ... and you CAN improve yourself as a woodshedder. Learning to woodshed: STEP ONE Obviously, STEP ONE is to sing a lot of barbershop harmony. Not the high-powered performance and contest-oriented arrangements, but the traditional old standards - the refrains of such ballads as 'Dear Old Girl' and 'Heart of My Heart.' These harmony-soaked songs will give you the feel of the style and the sound of barbershop chords. Learn as many parts as your voice range permits - pitch it down if you're a bass so you can sing the other parts. Put it up a notch or two if you're a tenor. Leads are encouraged to learn other parts. Now, find three other men and sing through the following list of songs, some of which are even on learning tapes to make it easier. |
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It is important that you really do complete the requirements of STEP ONE. Don't say to
yourself that you have sung most of the songs before so there's no need to sing them
again. Force yourself to try other parts - you will experience a new enjoyment and be
better prepared for the next step. Learning to Woodshed: STEP TWO STEP TWO is the key to becoming a better woodshedder. It has to do with the fact that melodies imply an underlying harmonic structure. A simpler way to say it would be that every melody requires harmony or 'chords.' Some melodies suggest chords that are more obvious to the ear and so are better suited for barbershop, and particularly for woodshedding - the more obvious, the better. Since harmony is derived from the melody, the more familiar we become with that melody the better chance we have of feeling the chords that go with it. There is one very important thing about the harmony or chords suggested by melodies. There are always a few basic or 'primary' chord changes that are absolutely required. Your ear may hear more than these essential changes, but the perception of the 'minimum requirements' is the important element of STEP TWO. Take the first line of a song you probably know: 'Carry Me Back To Old Virginny,-- that's where the cotton and the corn and 'taters grow.' The words (or parts of words) in italics show the places where harmony must change - and change to the correct chord - or the song won't sound right. There are other spots in that line where you probably hear some moves you want to make, but the essential chord changes are those marked. Try this out in group woodshedding The best way to develop your ear to hear essential changes of harmony in songs is in a group woodshedding situation, where a selected solo voice sings the melody of familiar refrains (could be the chorus director, a section leader, or even you). The system works like this:
The following melodies are recommended because most of them suggest essential chord changes. Since all but a few are songs still under copyright protection, it means they cannot be printed here without permission from - and royalty payments to - the owners. But you will find the published arrangements a help in learning the melodies. Some of the arrangers have changed the melody in swipes, or toward the end of the song - okay for an 'arrangement,' but do your best to stick with the true melody for the purpose of 'laying it out there' for the group to woodshed. Use just the refrain or 'chorus,' not the verse: |
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There are many other good woodshed songs you may know that are not available from
the Society. Go ahead and try them with the group woodshed system. Here are a few
that should help you develop 'perception of the minimum essential chords' that melodies
imply:
Learning to Woodshed: STEP THREE By now you should be well on your way to hearing basic chords suggested by melodies - and the leads ought to be having as much fun as anyone! STEP THREE is really the same as STEP TWO, but with unfamiliar songs. Don't forget the system: group participation (including leads), sing only 'slab chord' sounds, stay on your tune-up note as long as it works, close your eyes and concentrate on the melody being sung by the solo voice. Try to avoid being a show-off - the idea is NOT to show the man next to you how much better your ear is! Learning to Woodshed: STEP FOUR STEP FOUR depends on the lead in your quartet, or the leads in the group. Pitch some of the songs down a little so everyone can sing the melody - with 'loo' several times, then with words, if you like. Unison singing of the melody will give you some hints on the harmony - you may have faltered a bit in STEP THREE on unfamiliar songs. Now put the song in its proper key, and the lead (s) sings the melody with words while the other three parts use the 'system' with hum or 'oo.' This will start the process of eliminating some extraneous notes. Tenors try to stay above the melody, baris start moving both above and below the melody, and basses - stay below everybody! If things are going well, go ahead and use words - who knows. . .you may have a good woodshed 'arrangement' going. Learning to Woodshed: STEP FIVE STEP FIVE is a 'spot-lighting' of some typical moves that occur quite often in barbershop singing. The examples are mostly from the songs sung in STEP ONE, so they should be familiar. Memorize them - they work in may spots where 'something needs to happen.' Many melodies stay on one note at the end of a sentence and the harmony parts feel as though they should do something. There is a definite feeling of needing to keep the music going somehow - just one chord change will give the music some motion and bring us back to the start of the next sentence, an important consideration in music. In barbershop language, it's a very simple 'swipe' - the melody note holds but the harmony parts move. Now that you know the moves that 'get you back,' you may also discover they can get you into trouble if used in the wrong place! One of the simplest moves is the swipe from the 'major' to the barbershop seventh - effected by just the bass and bari. One chord move from the very early days of our Society is called the 'rose chord,' actually a series of three chords, probably from the old ballad 'Good-Bye Rose.' You have already learned this chord sequence toward the end of 'Sweet, Sweet Roses of Morn,' and in 'Dear Old Girl' (lead and bari parts are swapped but the chords are the same). And finally, a series of chords that works sometimes when the melody repeats the same note several times (or the melody note is held for a while). To order this complete guide with illustrations and some example melodies, Order the folio from the Society's web site. For a larger number of tunes with training CD or tape, Order AHSOW's earrangement package. |