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1 C i r c l e C i t y S o u n d THE BEAT is published monthly by the Greater Indianapolis, Indiana, Chapter of the Cardinal District of the Volume 38, Issue 4 Circle City Sound s mission is to perform with excellence in the barbershop style and encourage singing within the community, because we believe that singing enhances life. NOTE: Copyrighted material omitted from the online copy of this newsletter. Contact Jerry Troxel at jtroxel@ameritech.net to obtain a full copy. Thank you. Calendar of Events Annual Show Warren Performing Arts Saturday, June 9 International Convention Denver, Colorado July 1-8 Harmony Explosion Marion, Indiana July Cardinal Chord College Marion, Indiana July Harmony University St. Joseph, Missouri July 29 - Aug 5 For detailed information on all chapter performances (repertoire, uniform, meeting time and place, parking, etc.), check our weekly bulletin, SOUND BYTES or go to: and visit the Members Only section The newsletter deadline for the May issue of is April 26. Send articles to: jtroxel@ameritech.net

2 Page 2 Greater Indianapolis Chapter 2007 President Jim Rosenau PR & Marketing VP Larry Anthony Chapter Development VP Steve Cline Music & Performance VP Duane Henry Program VP John McQuistion Secretary Tom Bradley Treasurer Jim Sauder Immediate Past President Jerry Troxel Board Members at Large David Bloomer Brad McAlexander Lucas Snyder Director Bryan Hughes Assistant Director Drew Stainbrook Chapter meetings: Mondays at 7:00 pm at the Masonic Temple 525 N. Illinois Street. Parking is available north of the building, in the Scottish Rite parking lot. Guests are always welcome. Board meetings: The third Wednesday of each month at 7:30 pm at the chapter president's home. All chapter members are encouraged to attend. A TRIBUTE TO EARL CORNELIUS On Friday, March 16, I had the privilege of attending the funeral service of a great man. I didn t get the opportunity to spend very much time with Earl while he was here, but I left the service that day wishing that I had gotten to know him a lot better. The little bit of time that I did get to spend with Earl was definitely memorable. He had an infectious smile. He had a way of making you feel that what you had to say was important. I knew, shortly after I met Earl for the first time, that I liked him. His positive upbeat attitude about almost every thing made him a fun fellow to be around. I believe that the very first time that I ever heard a Barbershop chorus, Earl was on the risers that day. I remember thinking these guys sure look like they are having fun. I think that really applied to Earl as much as anyone else there that day. He was having fun and he was fun to watch. I left the funeral service that Friday thinking to myself, I have just left the funeral of a great man. You know that you have been around a great man when you feel yourself wanting to be a better man. The things that I heard them say about Earl that day made me want to be like him, made me want to be a better man. Thank you, Earl, for the life that you lived, for the example that you were and still are. A fellow Barbershopper, Randy Freeman

3 Page 3 TOPIC OF THE MONTH My favorite Barbershop song My favorite Barbershop song is That Old Quartet of Mine, written by Lou Perry, as sung by The Boston Common. To me, that song says everything about singing in a quartet that can be said. I have always wanted to sing in a quartet that would learn that song. So far that hasn't happened, but I still have hope that it will. Jim Sauder My favorite Barbershop song is Keep the Whole World Singing. It may seem a little corny but it's true. I really enjoy singing it each week before we leave the hall. I don t know who the fellow was who initiated this tradition but I want to thank him. I honestly believe that It is GREAT to be a Barbershopper, and I love being a part of Circle City Sound. Randy Freeman It would be hard to pick one song as my favorite Barbershop song, but Somewhere Over The Rainbow has always been one of my favorites. When I joined the Indy Chorus in 1982, that was a great crowd pleaser, and it is still one of our favorites today, 2007, that we sing to entertain audiences. Lew Gillespie My choices of favorite songs are influenced by what I enjoy singing, which changes from time to time. At the present time, I have two favorites: Too Marvelous For Words and Black Bird Medley. Too Marvelous is a favorite just for the joy of singing it, and Black Bird has just about the best bari line of any song I have learned so far. Duane Henry My favorite Barbershop song is When There's Love at Home, because it was one of the first songs I sang for my family to give them a taste of why I love Barbershop, plus I got to sing it on the international stage next to the man who gave me the motivation to get into Barbershop Harry Roembke, in the Grandfather/ Father/Son chorus, Indy It is a true testament of what Barbershop is all about to me. Dan Sejas NEXT MONTH S TOPIC: My most memorable Barbershopping moment... The Very Best Vocal Coach By Carol Johnson, Director, Manahawkin Chapter (Seen in several chapter bulletins, most recently in the Atlantic, Iowa, Nishna Notes, Gordon Renfeld, Editor) I will remember the first time I heard myself on a tape recorder. It didn't sound anything like me! My friend sounded exactly like herself, but that strange voice singing with her just wasn t mine. I was shocked to realize that it was indeed me. I suddenly know that the wonderful voice I have lived with all of my life isn t the same voice that everyone else hears. For months, I taped myself singing in the chorus. I listened in amazement to this awful voice it sang wrong notes, wrong words, bad vowels, made funny sounds, scooped, and even went flat! I became very aware of pitch and went right to work to produce a better voice. Little by little, I improved myself as a singer under the cold truth of this heartless coach, my tape recorder. Yes, your tape recorder is the best coach you'll ever find! It gives you the opportunity to hear the voice that everyone else hears. Remember that the only person who hears the voice in your head is you! Any time you are serious about good singing, the truth is there for you to hear. Just press the button.

4 Page 4 HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW? NOT THIS TIME! What a memorable March! As a chapter and chorus, we have just completed one of the more memorable months in recent history. As a former two-term Membership VP I can attest to the fact that being continuously proactive and creative in drawing potential new members into our organization is anything but easy. A big tip of the hat and rousing ovation are in order for our current Membership VP Steve Cline for his planning and implementation of an extraordinarily successful Membership MONTH! Jim Rosenau CHAPTER PRESIDENT What an incredible effort, and what a role model to follow... A fond memory comes to my mind when I recall nearly 40 men joining us on the risers one Monday evening as we conducted a guest night about five years ago. That was, without question, the highlight of my brief reign as the membership guy. The glitz and glitter of that one night soon faded, however, as over time, only one (maybe two) men actually stuck around and ultimately pursued membership. The other 38 or so guests never received the proper follow-up, and they never learned what Barbershopping has to offer those who chase the hobby. Our mode of operation over the past 10 or 12 years has seemingly been to repeatedly fall into the same trap: we can always get the guys in the door; we just don t do a good job of conveying that mind-numbing excitement and our passion for the Barbershop tradition. Have our past shortcomings made us smarter and prepared us to better share our hobby? Is the concept of a Guest Month one that will both rekindle our enthusiasm and make us better at retaining those whose interest we have piqued? You have to know that the resounding answer to that is, YES! We tried something different, Steve Cline developed a plan and stuck to it, and we have already realized a five-man increase in our membership. On top of that, there are seven more men giving careful and serious consideration to joining our ranks. Let s see a guest NIGHT with a net increase of one or two, or a guest MONTH with a gain to date of five, and a potential total gain of an even dozen new faces and talent on the risers. Talk about your no-brainer! Steve sent individual letters and made personal phone calls to each guest after each Monday night gathering. What an incredible effort, and what a role model to follow. Steve developed the program, delivered it with seemingly tireless effort and deserves the credit for the very positive results. Thank you, Steve, for a job very, VERY well done! With the success of the Guest Month concept came other noticeably positive peripheral events. How about that Tom Frank and his tag singing leadership? Terry Silke has added another tag-singing opportunity later in the rehearsal night, and together they have caused us to progress from hit and miss tag singing to much more tag singing becoming a significant element of our rehearsal time. It s been fun, it s been entertaining, and if you missed the fun in March, be sure to come in April for more tags, more singing and more FUN! Gotta say a word or two about the Spring Convention/ Contest. The Greater Indianapolis Chapter was in the spotlight all weekend. Circle City Sound captured the AAAA Plateau trophy with its performance of Indiana and Chattanooga. The Edge earned a solid second place finish in the quartet contest! Outstanding!!!!! Our Chapter was named the Cardinal District Chapter of the Year for Much of that credit goes to our involvement in Indy 2006, under the savvy leadership of Conference Chairman Jerry Troxel. And to cap off all of the success and hardware presentations was the naming of Jerry Troxel as the Cardinal District Barbershopper of the Year. Congratulations, Jerry!!!!! Here today and gone tomorrow? No way! Here today and here to stay? Yes sir! Thank you all for making us better every day. Have a spectacular month.

5 Physics and Music, part III What is it about a particular musical sound that allows us to know the instrument that produced it? How can we tell that it is a trumpet, a violin, or a voice? The term used to describe the uniqueness of each instrument is timbre (pronounced tam ber), also known as tone quality or color. Timbre not only allows us to distinguish different types of instruments, but it also allows us to distinguish instruments of the same type. An upright piano sounds different from a concert grand, and we can easily recognize the voices of Louis Armstrong, Luciano Pavarotti, and Paul McCartney, even if they all sing the same note. Furthermore, timbre allows us to distinguish a particular vowel that is being sung. The human voice has the wonderful ability to change timbre with only minor effort. Physically, timbre can be described as the shape of the sound wave. A pure tone is very smooth, but a sound produced by an instrument is not (see figure). As I mentioned last month, when we sing we actually produce a mixture of frequencies that are based on the fundamental tone. The relative strength of each of these frequencies in the mixture is what determines the timbre. While singing, it is important to think about your timbre. This is often referred to as having a core vowel. When a group of singers has a consistent timbre, the overall sound will be clearer, and overtones will be more prominent. pure tone E vowel Lucas Snyder BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE When singing, it is important to think about your timbre... FROM THE EDITOR S DESK One of the challenges of a bulletin editor is the selection of the lead story for each issue. Page 5 As mentioned in Jim Rosenau s article, March was an eventful month for our chapter. We had a fantastic membership drive, our chorus and quartets did extremely well at contest, and our chapter brought home both Chapter of the Year and Barbershopper of the Year honors. Any of those events would be a great lead story. However, in my opinion, nothing can overshadow the passing of one of our own. The smiling face (often an impish grin) of Earl Cornelius, 20-year member of our chapter and staunch supporter of our hobby, will be long remembered. His tireless efforts in arranging our Christmas performances at AUL have been greatly appreciated. On a personal note, I was telling Earl s son, David, after the funeral, that Earl reminded me of George Burns. Do you remember how George Burns was the master of obscure songs? When he would be on a talk show, he would always come up with some obscure tune that would baffle the host. Well, Earl would often come up to me and, without saying hello, just start singing the obscure verse to some tune. Then, when he would finally reach the familiar chorus, he would just grin and grin as he saw that I was finally on board with the song. Great fun! We ll miss you, Earl.

6 Page 6 Chapter Growth and Happiness What did Larry Klein, Tim Martin, Coy Hutcherson, Joe Schmidt, and Duane Henry do for the chapter so far in March 2007 that will make a difference for the future of our chapter? Steve Cline VP CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT I have seen a renewed excitement from the men on the risers... These men are responsible for the majority of the 28 guests we have experienced in three weeks of our Who Do You Know Who Enjoys Singing? March membership drive. So far we have three men who have caught the fever, turned in an application for membership and are ready to move forward. I feel we have the potential of securing six or seven other men who are in the process of making a decision. We can all feel happy about that. I believe the full-month membership drive gave the guests long enough to like what they heard and experienced, want to get involved, get comfortable, and gain confidence they were good enough to join us for the long term. The next question I want you to think about is, Do you think that growth in our chapter will lead to success and happiness? That is a definite YES for me. So far this month I have seen a renewed excitement from the men on the risers and have had several of our veteran members express to me what a wonderful experience they had. Even our director commented that we should have a membership drive every Monday night. I think Bryan s enthusiasm was evident to all and went a long way in making it a wonderful experience for our guests. The tag singing was a big hit with everybody, thanks to the efforts of Tom Frank and Terry Silke, and the quartet singing always is a big hit. Mahatma Gandhi once said: HAPPINESS IS WHEN WHAT YOU THINK, WHAT YOU SAY, AND WHAT YOU DO ARE IN HARMONY. How can this apply to us? Here are some ideas you can think about that should all lead to chapter growth and happiness: Keep a positive attitude about your chapter. Look for things that are unique to us and spread the word to all potential singers you know or meet. Think about what our chapter can offer folks in your community that no other group can. Help make our membership drives a success. It s truly not the other guy s job in your chapter to do membership things. Make it a point to work hard at singing better so that the guest next to you will want to join. Try to be the guy who challenges any degree of apathy that may exist in your chapter. Think about the happiness you can bring to new people and the fun you can have being around new personalities with new ideas. Help your chapter make a combined effort to grow it needs to be a group decision. Always remember what our mission statement emphasizes singing enhances life and don t keep it a secret!!!

7 Page 7 The Sound Corner by Brad McAlexander Many Barbershoppers were introduced to the hobby by their fathers, uncles, or grandfathers. It s a little unusual when a son s high school activity gets his father involved in a new hobby, but that s what happened to Randy Freeman. Twelve years ago, when Randy s son was recruited into his high school s Barbershop quartet, Randy found Barbershop. His son s quartet actually performed for our chapter one night, with Randy coming along for support. Even though he wasn t necessarily looking for it, Randy found Barbershop and found that he really liked it, and that he wanted to sing it. Randy came to Barbershop with a pretty solid musical background. His mother was a singer who performed in a trio as well as in her church choir. Randy s maternal grandfather, also a singer, was the first to introduce Randy to the concept of performing for the sometimes forgotten audiences, which led to Randy spending many good times with his grandfather performing at nursing homes. As a teenager and young adult, Randy also sang in his church choir and in a gospel trio with two of his brothers, appropriately named The Freeman Brothers. As many of his peers did, Randy served in the military. While doing his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, he joined the base s drum and bugle corps, playing trumpet. During the last few years, Randy has included two more hobbies into his life. Golf has become a major interest for him, when the weather cooperates. He also took up ballroom dancing five years ago, deciding that besides looking like fun, it might come in handy in social and business settings. He also likes getting out on the water, but at present he is a captain without a vessel; alas, he doesn t own a boat at the moment. When Randy isn t singing, dancing, or golfing, he can be found running his own business that currently works closely with CP Morgan Co. delivering and installing major appliances in new homes in the Indianapolis area. Randy says that 2006 was the best year he s had with this business, and that 2007 is on pace to be even better. On the personal front, Randy is currently single, but has a 30-year-old son, a 27-year-old daughter, and a 4- year-old grandson. Randy recently put together a yet-to-be-named chapter quartet that hopes to perform on our annual show or at the afterglow in June. As might be expected from Randy s background (as well as some of the other quartet members ), this group will likely include some gospel songs in its repertoire. At the time of this writing, Randy was also hoping that he had landed a speaking part in our upcoming spoof of the Robin Hood legend. When asked about his Barbershop career highlights, Randy stated that going to and performing on barbershop shows really excites him. He also enjoys the challenge of being part of the Indiana Harmony Brigade. As a matter of fact, he is in the middle of switching from baritone to lead and is relearning all of last year s Brigade songs, so he can fully participate in the weekend as a lead. (Good luck with that, Randy! Most of us normal humans have to work just to learn one part!) Randy also knows that the work behind the scenes is important. He volunteered to work on the ticket sales and ad sales committee for the annual show. After spending a day with him doing Singing Valentines, I can tell you that from Randy s perspective, nothing is impossible. His philosophy seems to be, A person just has to decide to do something, and then do it! If you have spent any time talking to Randy, you can see that his energy and enthusiasm for our chapter s projects, and our hobby in general, will benefit all of us in the long run. In the short run, grab him at a break and sing a tag with him. He has a good set of pipes!

8 Page 8 All For One and One For All As probably most of us know, French novelist Alexandre Dumas noted that The Three Musketeers exclaimed All for One, and One for All! The Three Musketeers (actually I believe they were a quartet) were proclaiming that the Musketeers worked together as one and supported each other. The job of each person was the job of the whole group. How does this phrase from that 1844 novel, and many movie adaptations through the years, apply to Circle City Sound especially in regards to PR and Marketing? Let me count the ways! First of all, every member of the Greater Indianapolis Chapter markets the group. Every time you mention to a friend or acquaintance that you sing Barbershop, you are performing a marketing function. Therefore we are All for One and One for All in spreading the Barbershop word. We are all fingers of the chapter, spreading out into the outside world. I recently mentioned at chapter meeting that the 844-SING number comes directly to my house. I answer questions regarding directions to practice, requests for quartet, small chorus, and full chorus shows. We all should be carrying chorus business cards to hand out to anyone who asks. They are excellent tools to spread our word and give a point of contact. Keep an ear out. Any time you hear of someone or some organization talking about supplying entertainment, give them a card or bring back the information to me. We are all in this together. We sing as a group and market our group to the public as a group. This is a product to be proud of. How many times have you heard from people either after attending one of our annual shows or some other performance that they truly loved the show and the music. Remember: All for one, and one for all. When any of us reaches out, we help each other! See you at rehearsal, and remember to grab some CCS business cards. Larry Anthony VP PR & MARKETING Every member of the Greater Indianapolis Chapter markets the group. You just might be a Barbershopper... Selected by Tina Gunther (with permission) from Harmonet messages from Matt Swann, Ann McAlexander, Paul Agnew, Dave Jacobs, Rob Baltensberger, Kate Firthuk and Tina Gunther If you hear a car horn and immediately reach for your pitch pipe, you might be a Barbershopper. If you wonder why the seats on a plane aren t FOUR across, you might be a Barbershopper. If the person sitting next to you at the symphony kindly suggests you stop humming the seventh of every chord played, you might be a Barbershopper. If you ve accidentally tried to blow a pitch on an Oreo, you might be a Barbershopper.

9 Page 9 Annual Show Success Secret In almost any volunteer organization, several members will often wear a number of hats. So, for this month it s time to set aside my Music VP hat and adorn my Annual Show Program Editor hat. For those of you who are new to this wonderful hobby, and those who are not so new to it, every year we produce an annual Duane Henry ANNUAL SHOW PROGRAM EDITOR Many places are willing to help support a non-profit organization... show program that lists the show sequence, songs, quartets, etc. It also tells a little about the chorus, the headliner quartet, and various facts regarding Barbershop, as well as numerous advertisements from businesses that are kind enough to support our chapter and hobby. The sale of program ads leads me to the crux of this article. The purpose of selling advertisements is twofold. First, it should defray the total cost of printing the program. Generally, the cost of producing the program is around $2,000. If you do the math, that s 10 pages of ads at $200 per page at various sizes ranging from business card size, quarter page, one-half page, up to a full page ad. The second reason is that once the printing cost is covered, every dollar sold over and above the production cost is profit that goes to support the chapter. If everyone gets behind ad sales, this will be very beneficial to the chapter. With sales of Singing Valentines being down this year due to weather and other factors, program ad sales as well as ticket sales are crucial to our financial success. This is where you come in. Because you are excited, enthusiastic, and a real Circle City Sound team player, you want to make this annual show as big a success and as profitable as possible. Therefore, the following is the secret to selling both ads and tickets. As a matter of fact, it s so simple it loses some of its significance in its simplicity. So, here it is ASK! That is the only secret to success. Many places are willing to help support a nonprofit organization, but you must ASK. Here are a few suggestions: The company you work for Family and friends Business friends Restaurants you frequent Where you have your hair cut The garage that services your car Where you bought your last car Your accountant Your attorney Your bank Your church Your dentist Your doctor Your home maintenance person Your insurance agent Your real estate agent Remember, the worst anyone can do is say No. Without music, life is a journey through a desert. Pat Conroy --from Grady Kerr, February 1999, SWD "Roundup"

10 Page 10 C i r c l e C i t y S o u n d Jerry E. Troxel, Editor 7400 Yorkshire Blvd. Indianapolis, IN jtroxel@ameritech.net April Birthdays 4/5 Tom Bradley 4/12 Dave Cala 4/13 Larry Anthony 4/19 Dave Bjork 4/25 Lynn Martin 4/26 Eric Turpen 4/30 Jonathan Presti Don t miss these opportunities! CARDINAL CHORD COLLEGE July Marion, Indiana Featuring guest clinician Dr. Jim Henry and Vocal Spectrum, 2006 International Quartet Champions HARMONY ARMONY UNIVERSITY NIVERSITY July 29 - August 5 Returning to St. Joseph, Missouri Featuring dozens of new classes!