This fall, I sang lead and tenor in a pickup quartet called Distant Smash Hit. We competed for evaluation only, meaning our score was not added to the rankings and we only competed in the semi-finals Friday night. Last year, I competed for a rank with a group called Eclipse. In both cases, my goal was to provide someone new (last year it was a barbershopper who had just moved to Canada, and this year a younger barbershopper who had never been on stage in a quartet) with a quartet experience. But in both cases, I learned that starting a pickup quartet like that does not always sit well with everyone.
A “pickup” quartet is a quartet that is together for only a short time. Typically, you see this in seasonal quartet gigs: 4 guys get together to go sing Heart of my Heart for a loving couple in a singing valentine, or to sing Christmas carols. In the contest scene, it is common to see pickup quartets that exist for the purpose of novice encouragement; Replacement Parts is well known as a pickup novice quartet, and many chapters have their own version of this. In recent years, we have also seen quartets like the two I sang with, as well as others, together for only a contest or two; 2016 Ontario District champion quartet Fleeting Sensation comes to mind, which came together for their baritone who was moving across the globe. So what are the implications of starting a quartet with no intentions of sticking together for the long haul? Is it something that qualifies as bad or good in one way or another?
I have spent the last year talking with people about Eclipse placing third last year. The idea that it might be unfair or harmful was only brought to my attention on contest day, when I couldn’t do anything about it. I’ve been asking around and what I learned was that it upset people – those who had been in a quartet for a long time, striving for a high rank – that a quartet could form and achieve in one contest cycle what they had spent years working towards. This resonated with me because I have had this frustration in many different facets of life. I am not a competitive person, but when I work hard for something and then fall short of my goals, I am disappointed and frustrated. But when I set out to form Eclipse, it was with the intention of following in the footsteps of what I had learned about For the Love of Pete (FtLoP). FtLoP is a novice encouragement initiative like Replacement Parts that the Toronto Northern Lights used to do. I didn’t want to discourage barbershoppers, I wanted to encourage new ones.
I joined the Toronto Northern Lights in 2013, just before the international convention, but I became a barbershopper with the Simcoe Gentlemen of Harmony. I remember from my time with them that there was always unbridled, unconditional encouragement for my participation. Guys would come up and hand me a polecat book, and they didn’t even care if I was reading the music. They would invite me to sing in front of the chorus and we had a grand time. I attribute their encouragement to my desire to be a part of this community. I have come a long way since then, and I wanted to share that joy with others! Starting pickup quartets to sing with new people is the best way I can think of to encourage new barbershoppers and give them the experience I had. But there are certain systems we already have in place for doing just that, and these allow for encouragement that doesn’t cause discouragement.
The Novice Quartet Contest takes place only during the semi-finals (Friday night) of the convention, as it is only a two-song contest. In order to be allowed to compete as a novice quartet, at least two members must never have competed in a BHS contest before. This system is an excellent way to encourage involvement in quartetting, and comes complete with a gigantic trophy to boot! In my search for the best way to encourage new barbershoppers and avoid discouraging the ones who have been doing it a while, I came to the realization that novice quartet contests are the way to go. Happy Barbershopping!
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