Observation 8 and Final

For my last day at Holt, I decided to bring something musical that means a lot to me and that is Barbershop singing. I was a little concerned at first since I know the ability level of the singers and singing something in four parts is tricky but I wanted to challenge them. We sang a tag that I taught by rote, focusing on tuning.

I love this first tag because each voice part is very contained and allows the freest part of the voice (T1s in falsetto) moving the most. I had each section make small circles (2-3 per part) and taught each part one at time, bass upward, layering in parts. We then brought the singers back to the risers to "perform it." I'm always surprised by the ability level of these boys, especially when they are taught in isolation. When we bring the group together and teach chunks, it takes a lot longer for them to hold onto their part. By going part by part and layering, each guy got to grab onto the newest part while holding firm to what had been developing before.