Education
ADVENTURES OF THE MIGHTY PITCH PIPE BLOWER Pitch pipe blowers share mishaps and tips
T
hey are unassuming, these unheralded heroes of barbershop. But forget them not, for upon their person they carry, hidden from sight, the all-important magical object. Gracefully, catching the attention of neither judge nor audience, they remove it from its secret lair just before the song begins. They are brave. They are confident. Behold them in their glory. They are…the pitch pipe blowers! But it’s not all glory. Pitch pipes have a way of causing…surprises. Read the stories below for some harrowing tales of pitch pipe “incidents,” and then get some advice and encouragement from a few seasoned pitch pipers so you’ll be ready when you get the great honor of blowing the pitch!
A HAPPY DAY FOR THE TENOR During a singout with my quartet ‘NTrance, the wrong pitch to one of our songs was blown. It was two full steps higher than intended. We made it through but afterwards, I commented that it certainly did not feel like a bass line in that key. The wide-eyed look of “Seriously, you’re complaining?!” from our tenor, Annette Wallace, was memorable! — Nancy Nortz, OK City Chorus (#25)
WE MEANT TO DO THAT At a Regional contest in 1998, North Metro opened with our new ballad. Our director had practiced not to pause after acknowledging the audience, but to spin and start the uptune. The applause was so loud the chorus couldn’t hear the pitch. A member somewhere in the middle of the chorus chose what they thought was correct and it spread through the chorus. We sped through the song as if we were being chased and finished in the higher pitch. We were sure it was too screechy and would be penalized, but instead we received accolades from the judges. We ended up blowing the higher pitch for that song going forward. Since then, whenever the episode is mentioned, it’s “that time the wrong pitch was blown.” —Susan Askins, North Metro Chorus (#16)
8
| January 2021
RUMORS WERE NEVER WRONG Rumors was debuting I Know Him So Well on a teaching gig in Region #14 at the closing show. Dale blew the pitch and whoever the bass was [it was me!] started the song…“do do”…with an upward interval instead of the downward one. It didn’t work, so she blew the pitch again. I am known for seldom being right but never in doubt, so I stuck to my guns that I was doing it correctly. It turned into a comedy bit. That might have been really good, because the audience was rolling in the aisles holding their sides laughing, except we never managed to sing the song… Of course, I was wrong. We sang the song later at the ice cream social. It was perfect!! — Peggy Gram, 1999 International Champion Quartet, Rumors That spontaneous comedy bit lasted the better part of 10 minutes before we moved on! It mostly involved me and Peggy. To this day, I’m not sure what Charla and Judy were doing while we futzed around. — Dale Syverson, on same incident Peggy described
