Oversinging:
Why do so many of us do it? What can we do to fix it?
Do you know the definition of over-singing? Even if you don't, I'm sure you know it when you hear it! Chances are that you've heard a lot of it – and chances are also good you’ve done some of it yourself. In doing so, you've put your voice at risk and presented a lesser performance than if you had exercised greater vocal control and restraint. Sometimes, over-singing is a result of not knowing proper technique; however, even well-trained singers can succumb to common misunderstandings about what sounds “good” to judges and to audiences.
Here are some common misconceptions:
Misconception 1: “The tougher the music we sing, the more impressive we'll sound.”
Reality: Audiences and judges would rather listen to a good performance than listen to a not-as-good performance. This should be obvious, no? But if you take nothing else away from this article, make it this: if your goal is to draw attention to your group's limitations, go ahead and perform an arrangement that stretches the outer limits of your capabilities. How can listeners get caught up in the story if vowel and synchronization issues make the words difficult to understand? Will they enjoy that tough passage if some of the chords never quite lock?
What the Singing Category says: Choose music that the ensemble can sing well! The ability to nail a piece in rehearsal is not the test of whether a song is within your group’s ability. Remember, contest and performances are different: When the adrenaline starts to kick in, the song tends to go faster, your nerves affect your breathing and your throat becomes tight. Then, guess What? What sounded great in rehearsal is not sounding so great.
Here's a rule of thumb: you need to be able to comfortably and with quality sing a whole step (or two) above the highest note in the song (or the lowest), if you plan on making the note in performance. Likewise, a tough passage should sound effortless even after accounting for the nerves of a contest or performance.
Signs you may need to work on blending issues:
Bad: Shortly after a performance,
your husband precisely identifies several passages in which your voice stuck out from the vocal fabric of the ensemble:
Worse: This, despite the fact that you sing in a chorus of 120 women…
Worst:… and he's accidentally left his hearing aid at home.
Signs that your 'fortisimmo' has crossed the threshold into 'screaming':
Bad: This is the sixth time this year you've had to repaint the room where the chorus rehearses.
Worse: After your chapter show, a guy wearing a heavy metal T-shirt and a
nose ring hands you his card and gushes that you've got the voice his band has been looking for.
Worst: Your singing in the shower is interrupted by a knock at the door by your neighbor,
who asks if he could borrow your table saw when you're done. You don't own a table saw.
Misconception 2: To sound our best, we should try to sound like the champs.
Reality: Your group will sound best when each singer is using her voice as naturally as possible.
When you think about it, the sounds that our best groups make are very distinctive.
Each group has its own vocal characteristics and sonic personality, and I am sure that most people could easily tell them apart.
So, if the top groups do not sound like each other, why would you want to sound like any of them?
What the Singing Category says: The singing elements should be “natural, unmanufactured, and free from apparent effort.” Your singing is at its best when you are using your voice the way it was intended—with good vocal technique based upon solid principles that allow the natural sound of your voice to emerge. And a more natural vocal style will inherently take less effort! Trying to imitate some other singer's sound (we call it “manufactured sound”) is the fastest way to vocal problems, due to the tension and unnatural positions the vocal mechanism must assume.
Personal singing styles and inflections are a reflection of the individual, so imitation sounds exactly like what it is and is usually not as good as an original. The audience becomes more distracted by the effort and notices the singer more than the singing.
If you must imitate, mimic the techniques and vocal exercises the champs use to get that great sound, but do not imitate the sound itself!
Sound your best: Use and develop your natural voice, one that relies upon a foundation of solid individual vocal technique and ensemble technique.
Misconception 3 : The 'pingier' the sound, the more overtones we can
generate, and that's what it's all about..
Reality: Forward presence and 'ring' are part of good barbershop as
long as they don't come at the expense of other important characteristics of good singing.
There is a tendency for Barbershoppers to sing with a tone that can be described as 'forward', 'bright' or 'in the mask', and has qualities of 'ping' and 'ring'. We often go toward this general tonal 'placement' because our ears tell us that more overtones are being produced, which they are. Every Barbershopper has been taught that overtones are a good thing. But would you believe it is possible to sing out of tune and still produce a lot of overtones? Ah yes, what a complex study in sound wave physics our hobby is. One main reason for there being a Singing Category was to address this issue. Our singers were starting to grossly misuse the vocal instrument in order max out the overtones. A vocally healthy group we were not.
What the Singing Category says: “Achieving harmonic reinforcement should never be at the expense of vocal quality.”
An overly bright choice of tone also impacts the genuine expression of the song. In an extreme example, imagine a country western-type “twangy” voice singing about “goin' out drinkin' with the boys.” Got that tone in your head?
Now apply that same tone to a song like “I Love You Truly.” Does that combination make you believe he really does love her truly? I should say not. Likewise, for Barbershoppers, choosing a tone that is purely for that sake of “ring” does not always do service to the music.
Sound your best: Ring chords with good vocal quality and good intonation. Use a tone appropriate for the lyric.
