I am sitting here writing this review whilst listening, as usual, to some hard thrashing rock music (Rancid - a skinhead punk rock band); so you can imagine that it was with some trepidation that I approached a whole weekend of Barbershopping. I have been singing with the Wye Valley Chorus for about 6 months and thoroughly enjoy my time there. I love singing in any style and had found the camaraderie of the Chorus very fulfilling. However, it was quite a big step to attend Harmony College (instead of the Reading Rock Festival as I had first arranged); I had been told that it could be an emotional experience and that a serious amount of singing would be done.

When I arrived I still wasn't very sure of technically what I was doing well or, perhaps, how badly I might be singing. I knew that the break in my voice tended to come slightly lower than a typical Baritone's range but I felt that I had coped with the repertoire we had been doing. We had been visited by Jim de Busman a week before Harmony College and I had been his main target example for a number of teaching points but at the end of it he had suggested that I might make a reasonable tenor. So this weekend had the potential to be a voyage of discovery on a number of different levels.

Although I attended on a teacher scholarship my main contact with Barbershop was joining the Wye Valley Chorus that practices in a hall opposite the school. I am actually a Chemistry teacher who is broadly involved in Music at school and I intend to try to arrange Barbershop workshop lessons in school and perhaps encourage some of the boys to take it up on a more permanent basis. So, I had dutifully been learning my three songs and a tag for my place in the Chorus Stream but was not greatly inspired by them. Consequently, I was mightily impressed by the way in which Mike and Jon rearranged the pieces in terms of rhythm, dynamics and emotional content to produce a set that I felt proud to be performing. Roses of Morn particularly seemed a 'no-hoper' at first sight but having learnt the version lovingly crafted in the Chorus Stream at Harmony College we actually went back and recommended it as a possible inclusion for Wye Valley Chorus performances. I will remember the, at first confusing, entreaty "Look nostalgic" for some time.

The atmosphere and working ethos in the Chorus Stream was excellent and the blend of straight practices intermixed with Jim de Busman sessions and performance sessions with Soundcrew meant that time flew by.

I actually had a chance to sing in a quartet with some of the members of Soundcrew for a tag in the Sunday session of the Chorus Stream. What a feeling to be able to lay my somewhat hesitant Baritone on top of the rich stable Bass coming from my left, it made it so easy to sing and I would recommend other singers to try it. The other members of the Chorus Stream made a real fuss of me and actively sought to speak to me and, more importantly, to sing with me so I felt very welcome and this was a large part of my enjoyment of the weekend.

I set out on this weekend with the intention of seeing what I could achieve or cope with in terms of musical understanding and voice control and range. The thing that really struck me over the weekend was the difference I could hear in my own voice in terms of projection and clarity of sound; the techniques really do work when you know what to do. I attended the Ten Favourite Songs mini-sessions and was pleasantly surprised by my ability to keep up, generally, with sight-reading pieces whilst singing them. I quickly realised that I was somewhat handicapped this weekend by only knowing about 5 standard songs well but I was so pleased with the patience and helpful instruction that was so readily available. This was the case not only in the official sessions but also in the informal performances on the grass or in the bar.

This was one of my abiding memories of the weekend, I love to sing but even I was surprised to find myself still singing at around 2 or 3 in the morning two nights in a row (my vocal chords were really suffering on Sunday morning). By meandering around the various groups that had set up in and around the bar I managed to get opportunities to sing Baritone, Bass, Lead and Tenor in old favourites, new songs and Tags. People were so kind letting me sit or stand close enough to clearly hear and mimic their singing as the vast majority of the songs were entirely new to me. This was an amazing experience and although I will concede that the quality of singing at 3am on a Sunday morning may not have been top drawer I would say that this freeform approach in the evenings was an integral part of my enjoyment of Harmony College. These opportunities to test my range have resulted in a possible swap to Lead in our Chorus when we are overstocked with Baritones but also the invitation to try some Quartet work within the Chorus at Lead and/or Tenor.

In conclusion I would highly recommend anyone who enjoys singing to go to Harmony College. It will improve your singing technically but will also allow you to try things out in a friendly and supportive environment.

Dr. Martin Clarke
(Housemaster and Work Experience Coordinator) Monmouth School