Jo Oosterhoff

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Barbershop Blog

Basic Barbershop Interpretation

I’m writing a resource sheet for school teachers who have barbershop groups at their schools and need to take the first step into changing their singing style from a cappella to barbershop. Here’s the gist of my tips on interpretation

Jo July 14, 2008November 18, 2014 Barbershop Blog

Want to stay in pitch?

Make sure that as you transition through the vocal line, each successive vowel is LIFTED into the vowel space under your hard palette, not allowed to fall into the jaw. To feel the difference, try singing (on one note) “we

Jo April 7, 2008November 18, 2014 Barbershop Blog

Growth Mindset

Just read a great article on how different mindsets affect achievement. The Growth Mindset is one where intelligence and ‘talent’ are recognized as requiring a lot of effort and hard work to bring to fruition. A Fixed Mindset believes that

Jo December 2, 2007November 18, 2014 Barbershop Blog

The Lost Art of Breathing In

I’d have to say that THE most common breathing problem I encounter in one-on-one vocal lessons (and quartet coaching) is overly conscious inhalation. People seem forget that breathing is a natural process once they start singing. In fact, people work

Jo November 12, 2007April 4, 2020 Barbershop Blog

Building Unit Sound

Here’s one way of looking at Unit Sound. Listening Skills provide the foundation to all good ensemble singing. You need good ears to hear and adjust to the others in the group, but you’ll find that as you get better

Jo November 3, 2007April 4, 2020 Barbershop Blog

Lead, nee Baritone

A really good way of fast-tracking the transition from a harmony part to Lead is to get your lead to sing your songs by themselves, in front of you. It may feel a bit embarrassing/scary at first, but you’ll get

Jo November 3, 2007November 18, 2014 Barbershop Blog

Learning Songs – Mark Your Target Vowels

Want to get a step ahead and learn your songs at the level you’d like to sing them? There are a couple of easy things you can do to improve your chances of success, and all they require is preparation

Jo October 27, 2007April 4, 2020 Barbershop Blog

Spelling Vowels

The key here is BE CONSISTENT. Whatever you choose as your example words, make sure vowels are never spelt with more than one vowel (EE is the same vowel twice, so that’s OK, but AY is not – that’s a

Jo October 27, 2007April 4, 2020 Barbershop Blog

New Music, New Level?

Have you ever noticed that skills you’ve spent the last 6 months drumming into your contest songs appear by themselves (at least to some degree) in the new song you started last week? It’s true, learning new songs is an

Jo October 24, 2007November 18, 2014 Barbershop Blog

New Quartet? Learning Songs

After the initial fun of finding a name and a couple of songs to sing, many inexperienced and some semi-experienced quartets have difficulty translating that enthusiasm into a fantastic educational momentum that can mean the difference between a long-term success

Jo October 23, 2007November 18, 2014 Barbershop Blog
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Blog Subjects

Audiation audience-rapport Breathing changing-voice-parts Choosing Repertoire Choreography Duetting dynamics Interpretation Learning Music Personal Improvement Pet Peeves Philosophy Pitch Quartets Showmanship Singing Lead Unit Visual Plan Vocal Freedom Vocal Skills Vowels

Recent Posts

  • Brain Before Voice
  • Is this music difficult or easy?
  • The Curly Q
  • Tension vs. Intensity
  • The Breath Of Life
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