Coaching with Dede

Dede Nibler came to Australia to work with choruses all over the country and we

 were lucky enough to have her in Wollongong for a day.

 Dede has been a member of Sweet Adelines International since 1976 and has 

been a musical director for over 30 years. 

She is a member of the International Faculty and has achieved

 Master Director status with 2 choruses. In her other life Dede worked in

 public school education as a music teacher and administrator. 

She has been actively involved with the Young Women in Harmony program

 and has sung baritone in a quartet on the International stage 9 times. 

On Sunday 3rd August our chorus shared an afternoon 

workshop with Out of the Blue. 

Here she is looking ageless ...

Words from Dede

We learn heaps over a cuppa

Smiling faces

 

Out of the Blue - about to perform

WHC an attentive audience ... Now its our turn

Here we are all together

When Singing Is and Isn’t Barbershop by Dede Nibler

“I’m a singer. So what’s up? I’ve been singing in my church choir forever, and 

I was in the Community Women’s chorus for a few years. I also sang in the 

school choir — hey, I’m experienced. How can singing in a Sweet Adeline chorus 

be that much different than any other chorus?”

Well, it is! On the surface, singing seems like it would be pretty standard, 

but barbershop singing can take us to a new and different musical place.

Apples and Oranges

Many of us have a history of choral singing either at the school or community level. 

While these singing experiences are important and valuable, they do not lay a 

complete musical foundation for barbershop singing. Many classical singers 

experience a shock (Yes, I mean shock) when barbershop style greets a non-barbershop

 singer. All that rubato on slow songs, no crisp consonants (you don’t want a 

healthy T on the end of the word?), turning of diphthongs, reading bass clef notes and 

the melody is where? More than a few women who visit our choruses will be

 mightily confused during the first several rehearsals. As we better understand the

 uniqueness of our art form, we can do two things: teach it to our guests and

 singers and sing it better! 

Knowledge is power!

Voicing

Let’s begin with the first confusion — for those of us who grew up singing classical

 literature, having the melody sung by an inner voice is “just plain old wrong.” The

 melody is always on top! Sopranos always get the chosen part. Wrong — not in 

barbershop! In barbershop, it is the lower voices on the treble clef, the soprano/high 

alto vocal range, which get the prize: they get to sing lead, the melody part. This may 

throw a monkey’s wrench at those sopranos who must sing light harmony, in tune, 

and with a controlled vibrato. And a word of caution — not all sopranos can sing 

tenor, the top barbershop part. The timbre of the voice may not be sweet enough, 

the voice may be too heavy, or the vibrato may be a bit uncontrollable. 

To blend with the other three voices, the tenor has to float, but be able to sting l

ike a bee when her notes call for it.

Women who sing bass and baritone know that this type of singing just doesn’t exist 

in the classical world. I never felt like a true vocal artist until I sang baritone. This is

 the reaction of many women who come to barbershop from other voice parts in 

classical choral ensembles. As an alto, I never really felt challenged — but as a 

baritone? Many bass singers originally sing men’s tenor and they find a home in

 barbershop. Many leads don’t necessarily possess the range to sing soprano, but are

 born entertainers and feel a strong connection with the melody. Tenors might have 

found their voice to be too light to sing a soprano solo, but really shine as a 

barbershop tenor. That is part of the satisfaction of the barbershop genre – singers 

finally feel like they have found the voice part that is right for them.

Balance

The balancing of the four voice parts is one of the main differences between singing 

barbershop and classical women’s music. A classical cone shows all parts, 1st soprano, 

2nd soprano, 1st alto, and 2nd alto, sung as four equal voices. This also applies to 

classical mixed voicing, SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass). Since most classical 

repertoire has the melody in the 1st soprano, the other three parts function as 

supporting voice parts to the soprano. Barbershop coning is different. A few differences 

are: The bass must provide a strong foundation, the baritones must fill around the leads, 

the leads must command authority and the tenors may not overpower the leads. 

Only in barbershop do voice parts have actual musical responsibilities that must be 

accomplished before the famous lock and ring of chords happens.

Blend

Blend requires greater emphasis in barbershop than in classical ensembles. Voices

 must not stick out of the unit. That’s why a common vocal production is important for

 barbershop singers. Along with having good breath management and an active soft 

palate (lifted but not stretched), we learn to sing in the masque to make those chords 

ring! There is a big difference between a voice produced with the sound hitting the soft

 palate (like singing into a pillow) and a voice hitting the hard palate (like singing 

in the shower). 

We practice finding the hum/ring/buzz spot in order to 

increase the resonance factor and hopefully, the ring of overtones. 

Classical ensembles, more often than not, are not trying to create overtones. 

Their sound beam is placed farther back in the mouth cavity; therefore, overtones 

are not produced.

Other Musical Emphases

Other musical factors that are required to attain the barbershop sound are: breath

 management so that phrases do not end prematurely; physical involvement/energy 

(most classical ensembles do not move around, smile much, or look like they’re
 entertaining performers); tuning conducive to ringing chords (this could be the subject of

 another article); articulation that does not interrupt the flow of sound with hard 

consonants (we have imploded consonants, not exploded); pure vowel sounds 

and turned diphthongs; voices with controlled vibratos that allow the chords to ring; 

and voices that are free but energised and resonant.

Now What?

The Sweet Adeline family has international and regional faculty members, coaches, 

directors, section leaders and choreographers who understand barbershop. One of the 

most important things a chorus can do is to use as many of these talented people as 

much as possible and on a regular basis.

All members need to attend regional music schools. These events are planned with 

the members in mind and provide great education in the singing of barbershop.

Most of all, however, all of us should make a commitment to improving our 

personal barbershop technique. Until we decide to play by the barbershop rules, 

the results will be mixed and, perhaps, disappointing. The quartets and choruses 

on the move are those who dedicate themselves to those musical principles, which 

make barbershop different than any other kind of singing in the world.

Barbershop can be a most challenging and rewarding experience!