Excellent video, as always. Great content and execution. I think of rubato as one approach and barbershop freestyle as a slightly different approach. The main difference for me is that rubato maintains a sense of the meter, while Barbershop freestyle pretty much ignores it in favor of emphasizing words, lyric fragments, or juicy chords. I have found that barbershop freestyle is really challenging to teach, especially to people who have had other kinds of musical experience. And if they read music, even more challenging sometimes. I often point them in the direction of the very best examples of Barbershop freestyle I can find, and have them fill their ears with it.
Thanks!! Yeah, I think you’re right about that - rubato in it’s traditional sense isn’t quite the same as what we do in barbershop. Totally agree about it being very difficult to teach. I think we’ve been hung up on systems and note values for far too long in the western music culture to easily adabt to barbershop freestyle
I love these videos, they’re super helpful! I will say, I think I preferred your physical drawing style even if they weren’t as “perfect” as the digital ones; I find the white board doodles pretty lifeless and corporate-reminiscent. Your videos are always very comprehensive and easy to understand though, I hope to see more in the future!
brilliant. i’m just starting to learn to arrange and sturggled a bit with writing the rhythm exactly how i want it to sound. no i feel i can be more relaxed about it and leave those choices for when we perform instead
I definitely think rubato enhances performances, but it can be tricky for newcomers to get used to. I find when trying to teach tags to non-barbershoppers they can get confused about the timing.
Sometimes the best way to teach newcomers in that case is without sheet music at all. We often teach tags by rote, so they only hear one specific rhythm. We try to create rhythms that are organic to the lyrics. Putting emphasis on words (or certain chords) that you want to stand out a bit.
@@christinadenton5944 what’s really interesting about barbershop and learning music, is that we don’t really use sheet music nearly as much as in classical music. We use it as a reference, and most barbershoppers (who don’t read music fluently) use audio tracks of their particular part to learn a song. And even once they get the rhythm, we change it, and make up our own! This is how every group ends up with a completely different interpretation of the same piece. Usually just the case in ballads, intros and tags exactly like he said! I love working on a new song with my quartet, and coming up with new, interesting ways to sing it. It’s all about how well your inflections portray the story you’re trying to tell. The rhythm is mostly informed by the words, but also by the harmonies!! Which is my favorite part. And you get to make it up yourself! There’s not necessarily a “right way” to sing any song or tag. There’s the usual way, but the best way, is the way that allows you to express yourself the most. Sorry, I tend to ramble… 😆
what a great video! I love the drawn style, and your voice-over is so smooth, it's very soothing to listen to :D I think rubato in barbershop is also closely tied to the oral nature of the artform, there's no notated rhythm to follow if you're learning by ear
Barbershop composers intend the music to be sung with different rhythms than written. The assumption seems to be that the average barbershopper can read only rudimentary music notation and leans heavily on their ear to learn the proper rhythm (as with pop songs transcribed for easy piano).
Thank you so much!! It’s really an interesting concept - writing sheet music as it’s meant to be played, but it can for sure be more of a restraint than an aid 😄
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Excellent video, as always. Great content and execution. I think of rubato as one approach and barbershop freestyle as a slightly different approach. The main difference for me is that rubato maintains a sense of the meter, while Barbershop freestyle pretty much ignores it in favor of emphasizing words, lyric fragments, or juicy chords. I have found that barbershop freestyle is really challenging to teach, especially to people who have had other kinds of musical experience. And if they read music, even more challenging sometimes. I often point them in the direction of the very best examples of Barbershop freestyle I can find, and have them fill their ears with it.
Thanks!! Yeah, I think you’re right about that - rubato in it’s traditional sense isn’t quite the same as what we do in barbershop.
Totally agree about it being very difficult to teach. I think we’ve been hung up on systems and note values for far too long in the western music culture to easily adabt to barbershop freestyle
I love these videos, they’re super helpful! I will say, I think I preferred your physical drawing style even if they weren’t as “perfect” as the digital ones; I find the white board doodles pretty lifeless and corporate-reminiscent. Your videos are always very comprehensive and easy to understand though, I hope to see more in the future!
Thank you so much! And thanks for the input!
brilliant. i’m just starting to learn to arrange and sturggled a bit with writing the rhythm exactly how i want it to sound. no i feel i can be more relaxed about it and leave those choices for when we perform instead
Exactly! Happy to hear that you just started to arrange. I arrange a fair amount, so make sure to reach out if you need tips and tricks 😊
I definitely think rubato enhances performances, but it can be tricky for newcomers to get used to. I find when trying to teach tags to non-barbershoppers they can get confused about the timing.
Sometimes the best way to teach newcomers in that case is without sheet music at all. We often teach tags by rote, so they only hear one specific rhythm.
We try to create rhythms that are organic to the lyrics. Putting emphasis on words (or certain chords) that you want to stand out a bit.
@@barberchopin96 and this is why it would be better not to oversimplify the chart.
It was super confusing to me at first when I first got into barbershopping, and it’s really tricky to get the rubato to sound natural as well.
@@christinadenton5944 what’s really interesting about barbershop and learning music, is that we don’t really use sheet music nearly as much as in classical music. We use it as a reference, and most barbershoppers (who don’t read music fluently) use audio tracks of their particular part to learn a song. And even once they get the rhythm, we change it, and make up our own! This is how every group ends up with a completely different interpretation of the same piece. Usually just the case in ballads, intros and tags exactly like he said!
I love working on a new song with my quartet, and coming up with new, interesting ways to sing it. It’s all about how well your inflections portray the story you’re trying to tell. The rhythm is mostly informed by the words, but also by the harmonies!! Which is my favorite part. And you get to make it up yourself! There’s not necessarily a “right way” to sing any song or tag. There’s the usual way, but the best way, is the way that allows you to express yourself the most.
Sorry, I tend to ramble… 😆
baritone tiddly is my favorite formal music notation
Haha, it’s also pretty rare!
what a great video! I love the drawn style, and your voice-over is so smooth, it's very soothing to listen to :D
I think rubato in barbershop is also closely tied to the oral nature of the artform, there's no notated rhythm to follow if you're learning by ear
Love to hear that!!
And that’s a perfect way of viewing it!
Also, I’d love to see some tips on how to adapt a non-barbershop song to one or just general barbershop arranging!
That sounds like a fun video!
Barbershop composers intend the music to be sung with different rhythms than written. The assumption seems to be that the average barbershopper can read only rudimentary music notation and leans heavily on their ear to learn the proper rhythm (as with pop songs transcribed for easy piano).
I love this explanation!! Thanks for sharing it with all of us!
Very nice video once again. I'm learning a lot!
Thank yoooou!!
What mic do you use?! Always sounds so smooth and clear!
Thanks!! I use a RODE NT1-A. A really good mic for the price!
yipee!
Fantastic work. The juxtaposition of the two versions!🫡
Thank you so much!! It’s really an interesting concept - writing sheet music as it’s meant to be played, but it can for sure be more of a restraint than an aid 😄