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Jo Oosterhoff

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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 Read more

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 Read more

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, 2007June 9, 2022 Barbershop Blog Read more

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 Read more

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 Read more

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 Read more

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 Read more

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 Read more

Performance Planning

Most people know that to perform at a high standard, they need to plan their performance. In fact, you get marks for it in more than one judging category (SAI). So most barbershop quartets will have a plan for each

Jo October 15, 2007April 4, 2020 Barbershop Blog Read more

How Do I Know If I’m Doing It Right?

I get this question a lot. If you have a good vocal teacher, he or she should help you identify the physical feeling associated with the ‘right’ way vs. the ‘wrong’ way. Also, if it feels more relaxed/lifted and ‘easier’

Jo October 15, 2007March 7, 2014 Barbershop Blog Read more
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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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