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Email SubscriptionOriginal Barbershop Tag: You Beside My Side
Feb 4
A few days ago, I wrote a barbershop tag for my girlfriend Chelsea.
My multitrack of the tag (sung a half step lower than written):
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My goal was to write a “bloom” type tag where all voices start on a single unison note, and travel in smooth contrary motion to the final chord. Some great examples of this kind of tag are Cry and Sleepy Time. I took this idea so it’s logical extreme by using almost entirely chromatic contrary motion. In fact, of the melodic intervals in the tag, 19 are half steps, 9 are whole steps and 2 are perfect fourths.
The sheet music: beside_my_side.pdf
The Lilypond file used to generate the .pdf file: beside_my_side.ly
Update:
I made a little video that teaches you all the parts by ear:
Apr 03, 2009 @ 23:28:16
[..YouTube..] That’s pretty cool! You might consider having the bari go from six to five as the bass goes from five to one in the very last measure, if you’re going to have that swipe.
Hope your girlfriend liked it!
Apr 04, 2009 @ 20:51:53
[..YouTube..] Are you suggesting that the bari sing an “a” on the downbeat of the last measure and then swipe down to “g” a step below?
Apr 05, 2009 @ 17:14:04
[..YouTube..] Yeah. Usually that bass swipe from the five to the one (in this case, the G to the C) happens simultaneously or right before A baritone going from the sixth to the fifth (A to G). You can suspend the bari or otherwise. Give it a shot!
Apr 11, 2009 @ 14:38:16
[..YouTube..] Thanks for the instruction and for including the printed music.
Apr 12, 2009 @ 07:20:07
[..YouTube..] haha i love watching these learning vids – and the fact that it’s an original is very impressive! nice tag man, I’ll give it a shot with my quartet
Apr 12, 2009 @ 09:17:07
[..YouTube..] Firstly: Thank you! I am flattered. Secondly: If you could make a quick recording I would be eternally grateful
Also, I would love to hear what made it hard to easy to sing.
Have fun!
Apr 15, 2009 @ 22:27:07
You are so sweet. I love these tags and multitracks!
You are also so smart! How cool to have the ability to teach 4 different parts of music.
=
I love you.
Jun 22, 2009 @ 18:02:14
VIH guys would love to learn this!
Oct 10, 2009 @ 16:40:10
[..YouTube..] a nice sounding tag. You are aware that you didn’t get the base line in the third measure. Sounds like no major chord I’ve ever heard.
Oct 12, 2009 @ 12:39:14
[..YouTube..] You mean I didn’t sing it like I wrote it? Or I sang it differently in the teaching part of the video and the performance part of the video?
Oct 12, 2009 @ 12:45:08
[..YouTube..] You didn’t sing the tag with the pitches that were printed on the musical notation you included when you did the final ttbb take.
Oct 12, 2009 @ 12:49:32
[..YouTube..] In the third measure the first counts are major C chords in 3rd inversion. If you listen to it, It is not a mojor sounding chord. I sang it (albeit in a lower key) as you wrote it.
Jan 22, 2010 @ 17:34:45
[..YouTube..] very nice job!