Join Us - Visitors welcome
Have you sung before in at school in a choir or play?
Do you sing in the shower or along with the radio?
Ever dream of singing in a harmony chorus?
Miner Chords need new male and female members.
Why not add your voice?
Make new friends who enjoy singing and learn about the a Cappella style.
Improve your singing skills in a supportive environment
SOME COMMON QUESTIONS
Do I need to have a good singing voice?
Having a great voice is an asset to any chorus, however, most of our members just enjoy singing. What is most important is that everyone’s voices blend together in harmony.
Do I need to be able to read music?
No, reading music is a great asset but not essential!
Learning tracks and scores will help you with self-paced learning.
Becoming a member-First rehearsal:
At your first attendance the Music Director may ask you to sing couple of simple “tags” and run through some basic vocal exercises to determine which voice part he feels your voice is suitable for. It could be Tenor, Lead, Baritone or Bass. We often start new visitors off in the lead or bass.
From the bottom up the four voice parts are bass, baritone, lead and tenor. The melody is usually sung by the leads, Basses generally provide the root of the chord. Tenors add the 'natural harmony'. Baritones take what's left to complete the chord.
Becoming a member-Second visit
On your second visit you will be added to our website as a prospective member which will allow you to access the music score and learning “tapes” for two songs to learn in your voice part.
Qualifying. (No cost. No urgent timeframe!)
When you feel confident in singing these, approach the MD.
The Music Director, in a supportive way, will then ask you to sing a qualifying song with others as determined by your readiness. Singing to the MD's standards will qualify you for membership. Financial Membership occurs when you pay your membership fee. You will then be registered with BHA.
Remember
Polecats- songs which can be sung with other barber-shoppers anywhere. Polecats include, “Heart of My Heart,”” Down Our Way”,” Wild Irish Rose”,” Sweet & Lovely.”
Starting out, a good strategy may be to just join in quietly on all the parts you know and learn to blend with the other voices.
Tenors/leads - notes from the treble clef (tenor notes up, leads down)
Baritones/basses- notes from the bass clef (bari notes up, bass down)
Section practices are when one or more sections practise separately.
Tags are the last few bars of an arrangement. These are to practise voice blending.
Feel free to try to learn parts other than your own. (It helps to extend your range.)
Vowels and Mouth Shapes- Matching vowels by adopting recommended singing mouth shapes assists in creating harmonies. (see attachment).
Watching the conductor is a process which helps all parts to synchronize.
Listening to others both in your section and overall helps produce the beautiful chords.
Do you sing in the shower or along with the radio?
Ever dream of singing in a harmony chorus?
Miner Chords need new male and female members.
Why not add your voice?
Make new friends who enjoy singing and learn about the a Cappella style.
Improve your singing skills in a supportive environment
SOME COMMON QUESTIONS
Do I need to have a good singing voice?
Having a great voice is an asset to any chorus, however, most of our members just enjoy singing. What is most important is that everyone’s voices blend together in harmony.
Do I need to be able to read music?
No, reading music is a great asset but not essential!
Learning tracks and scores will help you with self-paced learning.
Becoming a member-First rehearsal:
At your first attendance the Music Director may ask you to sing couple of simple “tags” and run through some basic vocal exercises to determine which voice part he feels your voice is suitable for. It could be Tenor, Lead, Baritone or Bass. We often start new visitors off in the lead or bass.
From the bottom up the four voice parts are bass, baritone, lead and tenor. The melody is usually sung by the leads, Basses generally provide the root of the chord. Tenors add the 'natural harmony'. Baritones take what's left to complete the chord.
Becoming a member-Second visit
On your second visit you will be added to our website as a prospective member which will allow you to access the music score and learning “tapes” for two songs to learn in your voice part.
Qualifying. (No cost. No urgent timeframe!)
When you feel confident in singing these, approach the MD.
The Music Director, in a supportive way, will then ask you to sing a qualifying song with others as determined by your readiness. Singing to the MD's standards will qualify you for membership. Financial Membership occurs when you pay your membership fee. You will then be registered with BHA.
Remember
- There is no time limit to pass and there is no fail and you are out
- You will have encouragement and support from other members.
- Every chords man has been through this so ask for help.
- While working towards qualifying, you are welcome to join us at weekly rehearsals. Just soak in the ambience or sing the harmonies as you become more comfortable. Family members and friends are also welcome.
Singing in public:
Members are expected to have passed their qualifying songs before they can sing in public with us. Of course, you will need to learn the repertoire that we are singing in public as well.
Current Repertoire:
Under the Board Walk, Breaking Up is Hard to Do, Nearer my God to thee, Aura Lee, Pokare Kare Ana, Christmas Carols and many others including polecats.
In 2017 we will revisit some of our existing songs and learn a range of more modern ones.
Polecats- songs which can be sung with other barber-shoppers anywhere. Polecats include, “Heart of My Heart,”” Down Our Way”,” Wild Irish Rose”,” Sweet & Lovely.”
Starting out, a good strategy may be to just join in quietly on all the parts you know and learn to blend with the other voices.
Tenors/leads - notes from the treble clef (tenor notes up, leads down)
Baritones/basses- notes from the bass clef (bari notes up, bass down)
Section practices are when one or more sections practise separately.
Tags are the last few bars of an arrangement. These are to practise voice blending.
Feel free to try to learn parts other than your own. (It helps to extend your range.)
Vowels and Mouth Shapes- Matching vowels by adopting recommended singing mouth shapes assists in creating harmonies. (see attachment).
Watching the conductor is a process which helps all parts to synchronize.
Listening to others both in your section and overall helps produce the beautiful chords.
