In harmony on need to sing

280814PBBarbershop TWO SHORT OF A QUARTET: Greg Burtenshaw (left) and David Richardson are looking for two more voices to make up a barbershop quartet. PICTURE: PAUL BROOKS

David Richardson and Greg Burtenshaw need two more voices to complete a barbershop quartet, that vocal bastion of a capella harmonious perfection.
It has been 10 years since Greg and David sang traditional barbershop four parts with John Thirtle and the late Alan Doig in River Harmony and now they want to do it again.
David can honestly claim to have sung with the Musical Island Boys, barbershop quartet virtuosi. It was at an A&P show some years ago and David was performing a ukulele act. One of his songs was also in their repertoire so when his act finished they invited him on stage and he sang lead with them. "It was fantastic," he says. "Now, they are 2014 International Barbershop Quartet Gold Medal Champions, and they won that in the United States, the home of barbershop."
At 66 and 72 respectively, Greg and David sing bass and lead tenor, and they're looking for men of any age to fill the top tenor and baritone parts.
"In barbershop, you don't need an operatic-type tenor, that's the key," says David. "The worst thing you can have is someone with a strong, vibrato voice; you're better to have someone who squeaks." He says a falsetto is best for tenor so it doesn't drown out the lead voice. "They say that basses have a good falsetto and therefore make a good tenor."
Both David and Greg joined River Harmony in 1998 after seeing a newspaper ad placed by Alan Doig.
"In those days we had a practice in Wanganui and then every Wednesday night we travelled to Palmerston North to join with the Manawatunes," says Greg. Forty men were involved at the time.
Barbershop songs are arranged in four parts - lead and three harmonies - and are usually of American origin. Songs like Beautiful Dreamer, In the Evening By the Moonlight, Goodnight Ladies, Good Old Summertime, Sweet Adeline (female groups are known as Sweet Adelines) and most of them were written before World War 1. In a barbershop songbook that David has, a book used throughout the world, the most recent song was written in 1912.
"These songs will never die," he says.
Being a capella (unaccompanied), the music is portable. "That's what I love about it," says David, "You haven't got to plug anything into a wall. You can stand in the middle of the park and sing." He says they once burst into impromptu song in Cactus Creme Cafe during a Heritage Weekend.
Greg can remember seeing barbershop quartets busking on a Friday night in Wellington almost 60 years ago.
Barbershop singing originated in the US in the 1890s and reached its peak in the early 1900s. The style was revived in the 1930s and has been revived again recently with it becoming popular in secondary schools.
Barbershop started in New Zealand in 1969 and there are groups around the country making up the New Zealand Association of Barbershop Singers.
The four parts are tenor, lead, baritone and bass (even for women's groups) and the melody is sung by the lead, who usually has a tenor voice. The rest of the parts follow to form close harmonies. The result is barbershop.
Budding barbershop singers can contact David on 344 3000.