• YW – Yesterday SSAA

• Lean On Me for YW

Information on copyright licenses is available from APRA: http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/MusicConsumers/Findalicencetosuityourneeds.aspx

LEARNING TRACKS

Please contact Lea Baker for info on learning tracks for these two songs and other arrangements.

OTHER SONGS?

You can find lots of other songs for Young Women In Harmony. Visit the YWIH page of the Sweet Adelines International website. http://www.sweetadelineintl.org/

Around the world, nearly 23,000 women sing in more than 500 Sweet Adelines International Choruses and 1,200 Quartets. You’ll find them right throughout the United States, as well as in Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, Wales and the Netherlands.  All Australian Choruses are chapters of the International organisation. Not only do our members learn vocal production and music, they also learn choreography, stage production costuming and much more. It is a lot of fun!

Our members frequently say “we come for the music and stay for the friendships”.

Click here to read more about Sweet Adelines International and Sweet Adelines Australia.

Here are the basics of being in a barbershop chorus or quartet:

• Singing in tune (yeah, pretty basic!)
• Listening to the other singers and blending your voice with theirs in the ensemble
• Holding your own part while standing next to others singing 3 different parts
• Expressing the song through your voice, face and sometimes even choreography
• Practicing your vocal skills, breathing and choreography in between rehearsals
• Learning your songs, using sheet music or learning tracks so you’re ‘off paper’ quickly – we don’t hold the music when we sing

Want more information about Barbershop singing? Download this fact sheet!

Ever heard of Deke Sharon?  He founded the Contemporary A Cappella Society (CASA) and was music director and arranger on the film Pitch Perfect. He gave barbershop a great rap recently on the CASA website, likening it to an a cappella martial art!  Covering blend, tuning, dynamics, rubato, phrasing, rehearsing, performance and community aspects of barbershop, he summed up this way, “I’m not saying you have to learn Barbershop to be a great a cappella singer… but I am promising you if you do sing Barbershop, you’ll be better than if you don’t.”  You can read the whole article HERE

As a member of a chorus or quartet, you’ll learn the skills needed to sing your part smart and have fun ringing some chords!

The Barbershop Cone is another big difference to SATB or SSAA style. This just means our top voices sing with less weight and intensity than our lower voices.

Read below and try your voice against the range samples in the What Part Is Best For Me? area of the Do It! page.

Tenor

(SSAA: Sop 1)

Tenor has a light, sweet, pure tone that complements but not overpowers the lead voice. Light lyric sopranos make good tenors, with a range from G above middle C to high F on the top line of the clef. On the odd occasion the Tenor sings notes below the Lead, the tonal quality changes from light and clear, to more full and rounded.

Lead

(SSAA: Sop 2)

Lead is the melody and is sung with authority, clarity and consistent quality throughout her range. The Lead sings with limited vibrato as a clean, pure sound is what helps the chord ‘lock’ and ‘ring’. This part is where the interpretation, emotion and inflection stem from. Range is usually from A below middle C and C above middle C.

Baritone

(SSAA: Alt 1)

Baritone covers a similar range to the Lead, singing mostly below the Lead notes but sometimes above. They must have a good ear and be able to constantly adjust their balance to accommodate their position in the chord.

Bass

(SSAA: Alt 2)

Bass is the lowest note in the barbershop chord, with a rich mellow sound. The range is from E flat below middle C to G above middle C. Like the Baritone, this part is written on the bass clef of barbershop sheet music. The bass part provides the foundation of each chord, usually with more volume to fill out the barbershop ‘cone’.

When you audition for a chorus, our educators will place your voice in the right voice part for you so you’re singing in the range that best suits you.

• YW – Yesterday SSAA

• Lean On Me for YW

Information on copyright licenses is available from APRA: http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/MusicConsumers/Findalicencetosuityourneeds.aspx

LEARNING TRACKS

Contact us via our Online form for info on learning tracks for these two songs.

OTHER SONGS?

You can find lots of other songs for Young Women In Harmony. Many arrangements are free of charge. Visit the YWIH page of the Sweet Adelines International website. http://www.sweetadelineintl.org/

Barbershop arrangers draw great songs from different eras and give them a fresh, unique sound – some are new and some are eighty years old! As Deke Sharon said on the CASA website,

You know what?  There’s a lot to be learned from your elders, and if a song has lasted a century, it’s still around for a good reason.”

The Australian movie The Sapphires, whilst they don’t sing unaccompanied or in barbershop style, has made people fall in love again with girl-group harmonies from the 1960’s.  The Pitch Perfect film and TV show Glee have showcased a cappella versions of songs made popular in recent years.  Go to the Education page for more information.

NEW SOUTH WALES

Lea Baker

Lea is a member of the regional education faculty in Australia and runs her own singing school. She is also the Master Director of Australia’s current champion chorus, Endeavour Harmony Chorus. They’ll represent Australia at the Sweet Adelines International contest in St Louis, USA in October 2018. They were placed 10th in the world at their last international contest performance in Las Vegas in 2015.

Lea grew up in a family where harmony singing was common and joined Sweet Adelines International since 1988 and. Since then she’s achieved her dream of starting her own Chorus and became a Master Director in 2006 when Endeavour Harmony achieved a score in excess of 600 at the Regional contest.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Bec Hewitt

Bec is the lead of 6-time Australian champion quartet, Hi-Jinx and a member of the regional education faculty in Australia. She is also an accomplished vocal teacher with her own school.

Western Australia has had a very successful Young Women in Harmony program for the past 15 as part of the Youth in Barbershop Development Initiative (YIBDI). YIBDI brings together young male and female singers to sing Barbershop at an annual Big Barbershop Day Out (BBDO).  They now boast an impressive two hundred students who participate in the BBDO every year.

60 seconds with Lea Baker

We asked Lea a few questions to help you get to know her…..

What inspires you about barbershop?
I love that it’s a unique form of a cappella singing. There is nothing else like it – creating those overtones that give audiences goose bumps! I also love the high standard of vocal and performance education that Sweet Adelines offers.

What has been your favourite moment as a music director?
Seeing the results of the work we put in pay off in performances that are of a high standard. One of my favourite moments was the lengthy standing ovation Endeavour Harmony received at the 2009 Regional Contest in Hobart.

Do you have any advice to girls wanting to sing harmony?
It is really cool so go and do it! Hook up with some friends and just sing together. Singing barbershop is one of the most satisfying and fun forms of harmony singing.

What is your best vocal practice tip?
Listening. Ensemble singing is based on all singers listening and blending. Listen to great singers, emulate their technique. Listen to yourself, record yourself and listen back. How do you sound? What could be better? What is going well?

Where has Sweet Adelines taken you?
From a wannabe “shower” singer to Master Director of the best barbershop chorus in Australia, (currently anyway!). The education and international travel opportunities Sweet Adelines offers is unparalleled in the a cappella world.

Implementing ‘Young Women In Harmony’ songs into your choral program will deliver both musical excellence and education while giving young women a taste of show business.  The program uses just voices, no accompaniment, so it develops a good ‘ear’ for synchronisation and tuning.

Students love to sing barbershop! It’s challenging, so students become motivated to learn. Teachers love the program because of the quality education and support, not to mention much of the music and resources are free!.

We provide materials, training and performance opportunities for young women to foster appreciation for our unique art form.

TEACHER RESOURCES

• Learning songs guideline for teachers v3
• WhyTeachBarbershop
• Young Women In Harmony Educator’s Guide
• Barbershop Singing

Vocals and tags for young women

Voicings for YWIH

For Repertoire, visit the Repertoire page.

Please see the Education page for more information

If you have any general questions about Young Women In Harmony you can reach us via our Online form

Young Women In Harmony – Australia is an initiative of Sweet Adelines Australia, which is part of Sweet Adelines International, a global music education organisation for women. Sweet Adelines Australia has over 1300 members in 33 Choruses around the country.

Music Leaders | Repertoire | YWIH In Sydney | Education