Barbershop

For those of you who don't already know one of the ways I participate at my church is through the choir. I'm a bass. My favorite songs are any where I get to actually sing a bass part to harmonize with the melody. This usually means only 2 songs/hymns per Sunday. I'm not very experienced with singing off a sheet of music, but luckily I usually sit next to my friend Ken, who is a great baritone, but sings bass with the choir. So really, all I have to do is copy what he's singing and it works out great.

Ken also sings in a barbershop quartet. He invited me recently to come sing with the local chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (or SPEBSQSA for short, but I think they recently changed their name to the Harmony Foundation.) I decided to go last Thursday night and my first impression is that I had mistakenly gone to a local AARP meeting. But everyone was very nice and welcoming. The director is great and has a real passion for barbershop. I picked it up a little and ended up having a fantastic time. I got to bring my music home with me and now I'm looking forward to next week. I feel like a big geek, but this weekend I did some internet searches on barbershop music. I had no idea that so many guys were into it and also, that there actually are a lot of younger guys out there who compete in the national competitions. So I'm going to keep going to practice and who knows, maybe someday you'll see me in concert.