Harmony College Northwest | Class Descriptions

Class Descriptions

Below are descriptions and instructors (if available) for our 2010 offerings. Classes are listed by category, such as Chapter Development, Directors, Visual Focus and Singing Skills. Please note that you can "mix and match" your classes, even if they are in different categories. Classes are noted if they are than one session or if there is a "pre-requisite" required.

You can also click here for a downloadable PDF listing of classes by category, along with course descriptions. Also available is a PDF listing of the classes by session (without descriptions).

● Chapter Development	● Foundations of Barbershop	● Quartets
● Choruses	● Lots of Singing	● Singing Skills
● Coaching Techniques	● Music	● Special Topics
● Directors/Asst. Directors	● Music Team	● Visual Focus

Chapter Development
Chorus Coaching Sessions:
Register and bring your ensemble. Tap into a wide array of coaching talent. These people are eager to help you sing better, and have more fun and success as you do it. Coaching in Sessions #1 and #7 can be arranged by special request, if coaches are available. Coaches: TBA

Chapter Leaders One-on-One:
Special working-lunch sessions for Presidents, Secretaries, Treasurers, and Membership roles. Faculty: COTS Instructors.

A New Voyage for Your Chapter Member Ship:
This class is for the executive and music leadership of your chapter. In this interactive course, learn the strategies Evergreen District is recommending to all its chapters to increase membership. We need to think of increasing membership in a new way and the: Chapters Helping Chapters, It’s Show Time all the Time, The Barbershop Blitz, and Compellingly Attractive Chapter Meetings Programs will all be reviewed. Attendees will get the opportunity to hear real solutions to membership challenges that have faced other chapters and hear recommendations to solve their specific membership concerns. Get your own “Member Ship” that will allow you to see your chapter’s membership successes and challenges at a glance. Faculty: Bill Frazier.

Goal Setting and Long Range Planning for Your Chapter:
If you don’t know where you are going, then it doesn’t matter which road you travel. Fine-tune your techniques to determine where your Chapter wants to go and then how to develop the plan to get there. Faculty: Nancy Kurth & Kris Pederson.

Choruses
Chorus Coaching Sessions:
Register and bring your ensemble. Tap into a wide array of coaching talent. These people are eager to help you sing better, and have more fun and success as you do it. Coaching in Sessions #1 and #7 can be arranged by special request, if coaches are available. Coaches: TBA

Coaching Techniques
Shadow Coaching: Part 1: Elements of Coaching
Don and Amy will cover strategies and techniques for effective quartet coaching. What persona you wish to convey, what to watch and listen for, how to react, how to offer suggestions, and how to interact with those you are coaching. New coaches can be overwhelmed with WHAT to fix...it can be difficult to find the biggest "bang for the buck" yet keep the group you are working with happy and challenged! Don and Amy can help. Faculty: Don and Amy Rose.

Shadow Coaching: Part 2 (pre-requisite: Part 1)
If you’ve ever wanted to share what you have learned in barbershop, you should be a coach! Students will observe quartet coaching as it happens, and then have a chance to interact with our two coaches. Students will then be given an opportunity to work with a quartet at the end of each session, if they wish. Feedback from our two clinicians will be given in a gentle and safe way. Come on...you know stuff...share it! After attending Session 2, students can then register to “shadow” during sessions 3, 4, 5 and/or possibly session 6. Faculty: Don and Amy Rose.

Become a Purpose-driven Coach:
Want to be a “purpose-driven” coach? To be more than a fifth set of ears and a vocal advisor? An effective coach can instill a purpose in a quartet or chorus, one that goes well beyond mastering the technical stuff. It’s that purpose and that attitude that entertains the audience and gives something that enriches lives. Gold medalist Jack Lyon will excite you with this approach to coaching and you’ll love it! Faculty: Jack Lyon.

Directors and Assistant Directors
Rhythm in My Bones:
Are you a downbeat or an upbeat person? Straight-time or swing-time? Come and find out! We’ll figure out where the rhythm is in your body. You’ll learn simple tools to feel different time signatures and more complex physical exercises to feel beat subdivisions and syncopations. Got a piece that’s rhythmically challenging for you or your group? Bring it to this class and we’ll figure out how to get that song’s rhythm in your bones! Faculty: Donya Metzger

Directors Roundtable:
An opportunity to have an open forum with fellow directors. Each director in the class can bring forth situations or issues or problems and have possible solutions discussed. Faculty: Bob Robson

Forward Motion:
Forward Motion – what is it? Why do the judges keep talking about it? How do you get it? What do we do in our singing to kill it and how can we use simple strategies to achieve it? Faculty: Charlie Metzger

Synchronization 101:
Every time the ensemble is out of sync – starting, ending, or delivering both vowels and consonants at different times – you surrender the opportunity to ring a chord. Learn to recognize and fix sync issues. Faculty: Ron Black

The Talent Code:
How talent is created and excellence is achieved. If you are hungry to achieve excellence – in barbershop, or in any field – there are some amazing techniques that will get you there. Charlie will walk you through some of the ideas in this recent popular book, and give you a chance to practice them. Note: The approaches to practice and coaching in “The Talent Code” will be attractive to those who are prepared to struggle to achieve at a high level – not for those less committed. Faculty: Charlie Metzger

Rhythm:
Find the rhythm gifts in the song. Learn how to read and deliver those rhythms. Learn about ballads, blues, swing tunes, toe tappers, and syncopations. Get a handle on each of them. Faculty: Ron Black

Premeditated Warm-ups:
Develop a warm-up plan that draws upon and supports the music your group is singing. You’ll get tips to make the rough spots in a song easier, as well as instill new skills in your singers which they can transfer to any repertoire number. Faculty: Teresa McCafferty

The Art of Possibilities:
Students will watch the Zander video, and explore some of the “practices” that Zander teaches. Read the book of the same name or download a handout describing the practices. Faculty: Charlie Metzger

The ‘Fun’ da ‘Mentals’ of Warm-ups:
Are your warm-ups interesting….useful….even fun? In this course we will look at the key ingredients, or building blocks, of conducting effective warm-ups. Then we will explore ways to spice up your warm-ups to build interest, excitement and variety into those ‘fun’ da ‘mental’ building blocks to create meaningful and effective warm-ups for your group. Faculty: Elaine Cotton

Problem Solving for Directors:
"I'm not JUST waving my arms up here!!! Or, am I?" A) Habits of Highly Effective Directors. B) Clarify the mission for you, and for your chorus. Then figure out what you are doing that is helping you achieve the mission, and what is getting in the way. Target audience: Directors, music educators, music team. Faculty: Raymond Schwarzkopf

Strategies for Directors:
Choral Methods--How to select repertoire, and then prepare it for the chorus’ consumption. Bring a piece of music you will be teaching to notate for the purpose of mining its riches. Faculty: Charlie Metzger

How To Make Your Music Team Hum:
Having an effective and efficient music team is a huge part of improving your chapter’s music program. In this course, we will examine what the top chapters and the best music teams do! We will translate these best practices into how to set up a music team if you do not have one, or fine-tune your existing music team to have it become more efficient. This course is aimed at current music team members, prospective music team members, section leaders, and anyone who wants to help with their chapter’s music improvement program, and is for chapters big and small. Faculty: Mac Dallman

Ring Chords Like Never Before:
Ron will walk you through some easy adjustments to barbershop singing that will leave you amazed. You’ll be ringing chords like a pro. Faculty: Ron Black

Sound Management:
Listening skills, teaching tools, and kinesthetic experience. Target audience: directors, section leaders. Faculty: Ron Black

Unit Sound and Vocal Matching:
Hear the difference that it can make. Learn how to make your group of twenty sound like forty, just by learning how to find, and then make a unified sound. Faculty: Ryan Heller

Inspiring Physical Involvement:
Class is targeted for musical leaders and will focus on identifying ways to encourage improved movement and visual performance from our members. This session will discuss the “who, what, when, how and why” of performance and movement in the barbershop style, focusing on typical inhibitors to movement, and exploring practical methods to break down movement and performance barriers. Faculty: Judy Pozsgay

Kinesthetic Approach to Singing:
Techniques to “trick” the brain into better singing. Learn how the use of physical movement can help smooth out the tough vocal spots in a song. Learn to use your body to achieve a higher level of singing. Faculty: Teresa McCafferty

Foundations of Barbershop
Invitation to Songwriting:
Pique an interest in the pursuit of the craft. With motivation and an appropriate course of study, you could become a songwriter. Start your path toward creating new music that is meaningful to today’s generation of barbershoppers. Faculty: Paul Olguin

Bodacious Barbershop Basics (“Non-Theory Theory”):
This class is focused on the singer who has a FEEL for music, but, maybe doesn't read music or has little understanding of chords and chord structure. We will explore the very basics of how barbershop music works and demystify the circle of fifths, tri-tone movement and other terms we use that make your eyes glaze over! Come FEEL the fun by seeing and hearing and feeling how they work! Faculty: Raymond Schwarzkopf

Theory of Barbershop Harmony, part 1 and 2:
We all love those barbershop chords; now find out WHY we do. How are chords constructed and how do they function to make the barbershop sound? This class is open to those who comfortably read music and understand scales. This class runs through two class sessions. Faculty: Mel Knight

Singing in the Barbershop Style:
"How To Succeed In Barbershopping Without Really Trying! Ok, you have to try a little." Just because the chart is arranged "in the barbershop btyle" doesn't mean you are performing it "in the barbershop style." Help people understand what barbershop is and dispel what it is not. How to have a great time singing in the barbershop style – avoid being note and part singers. Learn to use the style to help your performance come to life. Faculty: Raymond Schwarzkopf

Tag Writing:
Students in the class will actually create two new tags. This class will be different from the songwriting class. Faculty: Paul Olguin

History of Barbershop in the Evergreen District:
Who were the Evergreen District giants on whose shoulders we now stand? Who were the great quartets and choruses over the years and what was their significance in our District (and Society) history? Discover little know facts and revisit the highlights of some 60-plus years of Evergreen history. Faculty: Mel Knight

Lots of Singing
Learn the Song of the Weekend:
Didn’t get a chance to practice? Bring your download of the sheet music, and spend 90 minutes getting up to speed, so that you can enjoy all the fun. Faculty: Charlie Metzger

Polecats Practice Session:
After the show is over, Friday evening is the perfect time to polish up or learn some of the popular Polecats. Faculty: TBA

Get Your Singing Fix Here:
The only HCNW Class that is all singing! If you think you won’t get enough time to sing this weekend, then join this class for a combination of Polecats, national anthems, a tag or two, a round or two, some interesting vocal exercises…just lots of singing. Bring your Polecat book, or you can buy one at HCNW. Faculty: Bob Robson

Personalized Vocal Coaching:
We all want to know how to sing better, fuller, with more resonance and better breath support. This is your chance to get a 20-minute, one-on-one personal vocal coaching (PVC) session with one of our coaches. The number of PVCs is limited. PVCs will be scheduled at some time during the long dinner period on Saturday. Be sure to indicate if you will also be attending the House of Delegates meeting. Faculty: TBA

Tag Singing:
What more needs to be said? You want tags? Paul has them, and you can sing them. Faculty: Paul Olguin

Gospel Sing:
Join the 2000 International Senior Quartet Champions, Over Time, in a Sunday morning gospel sing. Lots of songs both new and old, and lots of fun too! Faculty: Overtime Quartet

Music
Rhythm in My Bones:
Are you a downbeat or an upbeat person? Straight-time or swing-time? Come and find out! We’ll figure out where the rhythm is in your body. You’ll learn simple tools to feel different time signatures and more complex physical exercises to feel beat subdivisions and syncopations. Got a piece that’s rhythmically challenging for you or your group? Bring it to this class and we’ll figure out how to get that song’s rhythm in your bones! Faculty: Donya Metzger

Forward Motion:
Forward motion – what is it? Why do the judges keep talking about it? How do you get it? What do we do in our singing to kill it and how can we use simple strategies to achieve it? Faculty: Charlie Metzger

Tag Writing:
Students in the class will actually create two new tags. This class will be different from the songwriting or tag singing class. Faculty: Paul Olguin

Reading Music:
All your life you’ve looked at sheet music, but are you still confused by what it is trying to tell you? Just like you learned your A-B-Cs and how to do math, this class will take what you do know to clear away the confusion and help you become a smart singer on the risers. Faculty: Judy Galloway

Get into the Groove and Move:
Class explores the impact of movement and energy on the musical product and focuses on movement that is appropriate for singers. Class encourages the participants to identify ways in which to improve their performance, while discovering free, energized and natural movement, and becoming more aware of their bodies as they sing / perform. Class involves demonstrations and much audience participation. Faculty: Judy Pozsgay

Strategies For Learning Music:
Discover a variety of strategies for learning music. These strategies will be keyed to visual and auditory learning. Faculty: Judy Beckman

Music Team
Section Leader Boot Camp, Part 1: “You want me to do what?”
Understand the duties and responsibilities of being a good section leader for your chapter or chorus. Evaluate your strengths and know your challenges. Learn where to find help, and how to get started. The Boot Camp spans three sessions. Students are strongly encouraged to sign up for the entire three session block. Faculty: Fourth Avenue Quartet

Section Leader Boot Camp, Part 2: “Tools of the Trade.”
Fill up your toolbox with techniques, tools, and tips. Understand how to use them and how to build your own skillset to move your section beyond words and notes. The Boot Camp spans three sessions. Students are strongly encouraged to sign up for the entire three session block. FFaculty: Fourth Avenue Quartet

Section Leader Boot Camp, Part 3: “One for All and All for One.”
Find out how to use qualifying programs to your advantage and to give constructive feedback to your section singers. Learn how to use Personal Vocal Improvement programs to improve singers who need more help, to develop section unity and camaraderie through effective team building, and ways to help you stay motivated. The Boot Camp spans three sessions. Students are strongly encouraged to sign up for the entire three session block. Faculty: Fourth Avenue Quartet

Premeditated Warm-ups:
Develop a warm-up plan that draws upon and supports the music your group is singing. You’ll get tips to make the rough sports in a song easier, as well as instill new skills in your singers which they can transfer to any repertoire number. Faculty: Teresa McCafferty

Sound Management:
Listening skills, teaching tools, and kinesthetic experience. Target audience: directors, section leaders. FaFaculty: Ron Black

Quartets
Quartet Coaching Sessions:
Register and bring your quartet, and tap into a wide array of coaching talent. These people are eager to help you sing better, and have more fun and success as you do it. Coaching in Sessions #1 and #7 can be arranged by special request, if coaches are available. Coaches: TBA

Rehearsal Techniques for Quartets:
How can you maximize the value of those precious few hours that you are together? Learn how to plan the rehearsal, and get tools to clean up the problems that you inevitably find. Faculty: Corinna Garriock and Julie Hagstrom

So You’d Like to Be in a Quartet:
If you’ve ever thought you’d like to try singing in a quartet, here is the opportunity do it away from those folks that you see every week. A supportive and encouraging coach will give you lots of opportunities to try your hand at quartetting. This class is for men and women. Bring your Polecat Book, if you have one. Faculty: Teresa McCafferty

Quartet Tool Box: Q&A and discussion for quartets.
How do you get gigs? How much should we charge? What about mikes? How do we more effectively structure our rehearsals? What do we do if a person isn’t working out? How should we select music? Bring your questions, and your notepads. Quartetting will be different when you leave. Faculty: Paul Olguin

Singing Skills
Learn the Song of the Weekend:
Didn’t get a chance to practice? Bring your download of the sheet music, and spend 90 minutes getting up to speed, so that you can enjoy all the fun. Faculty: Charlie Metzger

Raising your game by knowing the music:
Learn how to spot the “opportunities” in your music that really make it stand out and soar. Once you truly understand the opportunities that the arrangers have given you, you and your ensemble can demonstrate a much higher mastery of your music. Faculty: Teresa McCafferty

Free Body, Free Voice:
Want to access your A-level singing voice? There is only one thing that stands between you and your most expressive vocal performance: tension. The cure? Deep body release, from the tips of your toes to the top of your head. With a free body, you can access free breathing, which allows for beautiful, expressive, easy singing. When you leave this class, you’ll have released tension you didn’t know you were carrying around, and your voice will reward you with greater flexibility, stamina and expression. What a great start to a weekend of singing! Wear comfy clothing and bring a yoga mat. Faculty: Donya Metzger

Vocal Production with Rik Johnson:
Learn how to sing with greater ease and higher quality. Faculty: Rik Johnson

Tune It or Die:
Does pitch matter? It certainly does, if you want to ring chords! Mike Menefee – he of the keen ear – will show you how better tuning makes more exciting chords, and magnificent overtones. High thirds, dirty sevenths, and all of the other great secrets are yours for the taking. Faculty: Mike Menefee

The Talent Code:
How talent is created, and excellence is achieved. If you are hungry to achieve excellence – in barbershop, or in any field – there are some amazing techniques that will get you there. Charlie will walk you through some of the ideas in this recent popular book, and give you a chance to practice them. Note: The approaches to practice and coaching in The Talent Code will be attractive to those who are prepared to struggle to achieve at a high level – not for those less committed. Faculty: Charlie Metzger

Listen, Learn, Take Action:
“You Want ME to Do WHAT?” You understand the techniques being given to you, but NOW WHAT? How do you consistently apply the tools you've been given? Learn how to be a better performer through your skills as a student (listening and doing) and as a teacher (listening and offering effective feedback). What do you listen for? It’s not just notes and words. Learn how to listen for – and create – rich, open, freely produced sound. Students will work on vocal placement, listening skills, and providing feedback to the singers they just heard. All participants will be used as performer and teacher since the most effective form of learning takes place when teaching. There will be lots of singing in this class. Bring a recording device to use as a sword! Faculty: Raymond Schwarzkopf

Make the Words Come Alive!:
Are your songs like a vanilla sundae with no topping (cone in a cup)? Do you want to better communicate with your audience – add some hot fudge, nuts and even some sprinkles to your lyric delivery? This course will explore some tools and techniques for making expressive word choices to enhance the artistic and emotional communication of your songs. We’ll look at ‘real world’ examples and see how we can use those in our barbershop plans. Faculty: Elaine Cotton

Care of the Aging Voice:
Want to keep singing – in fine form – for another 20 or 30 years? It’s not as far-fetched as you think. Come learn the secrets, and enjoy those years. Faculty: Rik Johnson

Improved Vocal Production, Part 1 and 2:
Take advantage of this 180-minute class. Learn how to more comfortably use your voice. Get great tips on warm-ups you can do daily to improve your vocal production. Learn how to achieve a “pleasing sound, freely produced.” Faculty: Ryan Heller

Vowels and Consonants Tell the Story:
The objective of this class is to improve the ability to sing vowels, diphthongs and consonants in standard English while singing in the barbershop style. The ultimate result of this skill is "vowel to vowel singing", creation of "wall of sound", and "ringing chords" while still communicating the message of the song...YES, IT CAN BE DONE! Faculty: Patty Severns

Ring Chords Like Never Before:
You’ll walk through some easy adjustments to barbershop singing that will leave you amazed. You’ll be ringing chords like a pro. Faculty: Ron Black

How to Give Personal Vocal Instructions:
"PVIs are not a contagious disease... but they COULD be a cure!" How to give PVIs to yourself, and to others. This concept is talked about a lot... but few people really know how to use it effectively. Come explore the way to use this method of teaching to get great results. Faculty: Raymond Schwarzkopf

Vocal Production with Ron Black:
Singing well is easier than singing poorly. Change your habits to sing with greater ease and higher quality. Faculty: Ron Black

Special Topics
Conversation with Max Q:
Ask them your questions. Four very approachable and enthusiastic champs are willing to share how they got to be champs, and what they learned along the way. Faculty: Max Q

So THAT’S What the Judges Want!
BHS and SAI judging categories: A panel discussion by members of the BHS and SAI judging communities. They will give a short presentation on what each judging area is looking for, followed by Q&A time. Finally, students will score competitors, and then compare and discuss scores with the judges. Faculty: Bob Thomas & BHS/SAI Judges TBA

Would you like to be a judge?:
January 2011 starts a new three-year training cycle for BHS judges. Your application and paperwork will need to be completed by December. If you are curious, have questions, or want to enter this program, come to this session and get your questions answered. Faculty: Bob Thomas

Steps to Getting Published Legally:
Arrangers! Here’s the class to walk you through the steps on putting the final touches on your arrangements. Learn what is required by copyright laws to arrange and publish barbershop sheet music -- from requesting permission to arrange to collecting per copy fees for the copyright owner. A new arrangement from the Region 24 Arrangers Workshop will be used as the example for every step. Handouts will be prepared using Print Music by Finale. Faculty: Janice Wheeler

Visual Focus
Gestures That Make Sense:
Don’t fret about trying to remember – and execute – a host of moves befitting the Rockettes. Sometimes, less is more! Roger Mills explains how we use gestures naturally in our speech, and then opens the door to using those same gestures in our songs. Faculty: Roger Mills

Showmanship: Learn from the Masters:
This class explores what “grabs” an audience, and how visual aspects influence the entire presentation. Participants will analyze DVD performances of professional singers as well as a variety of male and female barbershop choruses to determine what is effective, what is ineffective – and why. This class is for general audience members as well as visual leaders. Faculty: Melanie Wroe

The Visual Plan Launch Pad:
Ever wonder how to get started? Participants will learn a dynamic process for developing a visual plan, using basic “building blocks” of movement and ten core principles. No prior dance training is necessary. Particular emphasis will be paid to “springboards” (moves that launch a musical phrase) and “traps” (moves that interfere with the musical product). Differences in visual plans for male and female choruses will be addressed. Expect to move! This class is for chorus visual leaders - or those who want to be! Faculty: Melanie Wroe

Creating Your Visual Plan:
Let’s dive in! This workshop applies the material from the previous three classes (“Showmanship: Learn from the Masters”, “Get into the Groove and Move” and “The Visual Plan Launch Pad”) in actual creative development. Participants will work with other attendees in facilitated groups to develop all/part of a visual plan for a song of their choosing. Please bring two copies of the musical chart and a recording. This class is for visual leaders as well as anyone who wants to contribute to a creative process. Experienced choreographers: Please consider stopping by to lend your expertise! Faculty: Melanie Wroe