Request to barbershop relatives/ music fans

Hey Isaac and John (and of course anyone who knows about this).

You both did barbershop as I remember. Isaac I am sure you did and John I think you did some kind of a capella group in college.

I am thinking of trying to teach my kids a few barbershop numbers because I would really like them to start learning how to read/pick out harmony parts. I think they have fairly good ears for it and it is just a matter of training to not just do what comes naturally for them and track the melody.

Do either/any of you have suggestions about it, or any good music that you could send me? I am looking to find something obviously entry level because for this barbershop group I will obviously be working with my children, and to make up for whatever natural talent they might have we are compensating for some pretty bad attitudes and averseness to anything that seems like work.

It is amazing how different in that regard, too. Drake has an amazing ability for work and will stay on task as long as need be... Unless we are talking about something other than he wants to do and then no dice.

And the preferences are so different. I am having them do musical theater camp this summer because I figure at the very least I should try to have them develop these skills if they have them. And I am sure they won't be actors nor do I want them to but theater is VERY good for poise, in fact I owe any and all to my confidence in public speaking to it because when I first started I was horrendously stage frightened at any performance or audition.

Chase said: Oh man, theater camp.

Drake said: Oh, man theater camp... You are ruining my life mom.

Archer said: Wow, theater camp! That sounds GREAT! (beaming that Archer beam).

And I think there is at least some critical period, not that they are destined for greatness, just the basic functional level. I had a good ear and could act when I was a kid but I had little training so by the time I discovered I was interested it was a bit too late to catch up with the girls who were Shirley Templeized pretty young. And I had almost no dance or sports or physical activity at all... (was probably a couch 'spud')

It was funny to me, though, that despite privilege and attempts to cultivate certain skills, there wasn't really ever enough to overcome physiological endowments or the lack of.

Just like if I had been born to Tiger Woods' dad and it would have been totally hopeless (I am the worlds' most clumsy person in the universe and can barely operate a vacuum with precision let a lone an instrument that is supposed to hit a ball somehow), there were some people that had the training since they were little and it did no good.

There was one girl in my high school acting troupe, (she changed her name from Heidi to Justine because I think she was planning on needing a screen name as early as thirteen), that thought that she was going to take the world by storm as a professional actress, but she was completely 100 percent tone deaf. I made sure to always be there when she auditioned for the annual musical because she tried really hard and had a boatload of confidence to keep at it year after year and do daring Marilyn Monroe numbers for auditions and all of that, but I had a feeling that as much as she was the school's best hope for a Merril Streep or whatever, they were afraid to even put her in the chorus.

Anywho, I am trying to whip these bad boys into shape, and Slade agrees that barbershop might be a fun new family focus for all of us, so if either of you knows some pieces, has some good CD's to recommend or whatever you have to fire at me while I get started, shoot.

Specific technical question about barbershop: which part traditionally sings the melody, and does it matter for any reason? I have written a few simple arrangements if I don't get any better ideas but they don't sound QUITE right, so I don't know if there are things that I don't know.

It is strange because I will need to sing the TENOR (by which I mean second for the bottom) and melody, though I am not sure these are always the same, even though it would be much easier if I sang one of the trickier parts. Because I am the only one that sings tenor in the family. Yet. Drake might get there in a few years, I am not sure Slade has a shot at it though.

Thanks again to anyone who responds.