Hobbies that border on obsession

Everybody needs a hobby. Or two. I have actually lost count of all the things that I like to do that could be considered a hobby.

I sing in a barbershop quartet. The wife of the baritone in this quartet warned me before I started, that quartetting is not just a hobby, it can become an obsession. I should have believed her from the beginning. I doubt that I would have done anything different. Making music has been a part of my life since my mother would play classical music on the record player, and I would sing along with Mr. Rogers on TV. I guess it was only natural that I would get here in my exploration of music sooner or later.

In truth, this is the most challenging musical endeavor of my career. Good barbershop is un accompanied, and un directed. A good quartet relies solely on the musicianship of each of the members along with the individual instincts of the members to produce the "ring" that all barbershoppers seek. Good barbershop singing requires that the singers match how their sound is produced, how long it lasts, how it balances against the other members, and how it fits in the chord. Good barbershopping requires that all of the vowels match among the four members, all the diphthongs and tripthongs match and are evenly energized. There are a million and one things that are involved in the barbershop technique and they all must become automatic before you can successfully "sell" a song. One of my musical heroes, Jim Miller, likened it to the perfect golf swing, except that he said the golf swing was easier. This all sounds like I am complaining, but I am not. When a quartet finally gets a chord to ring, it is nothing short of exhilarating.

We are getting ready for our first contest, in September. I literally cannot wait. Worst of all, I want to practice three times a week so that we can do the best we possibly can. Course to do that something will have to be sacrificed. I guess my job will have to be the first thing to go. KIDDING I was just kidding.

Troubador