Song Interpretation (5)

A prominent feature of the barbershop style is the embellishments which arrangers use to, well, embellish our songs. They add the variety and artistic nuance that other styles use instrumental accompaniment for. Embellishments are easy to identify: just about any moment when the arrangement departs from the homophonic (that is, 'everybody-singing-the-same-word-at-the-same-time') texture that prevails in our style, is probably an embellishment. The importance for interpretation is that if we can identify embellishments, and figure out why the arranger put them there, they can help us both to present a plausible interpretation and to execute elements that might have seemed technically tricky.

I've listed here a number of common types of embellishment, and explained the sorts of role they play.

1. Swipes. A swipe is where one or more parts move to a new chord while sustaining the same syllable. They are commonly found at the ends of lines, with the leads sustaining a note which the other parts move around, but leads can also participate in swipes. Their role at phrase ends is to decorate a long note with harmonic change, so that the forward motion of the music is maintained. Convincing swiping from the harmony parts can help the leads sustain long notes, and actually make the breath that follows more effective. Swipes can also be used in the middle of lines (particularly in ballads) to colour individual words, and it is important to give such moments a little care, to give that extra colour its due. It is also useful to be aware of the 'flavour' or 'feel' of the chords you are swiping from and to. If the first chord is more intense, then the swipe wants to phrase away to a point of rest, but if the second one is more intense, that is a signal that the music wants to flow on into the next phrase.

2. Echoes. Echoes are often used in similar ways to swipes, but involve a repetition of some of the lyrics (as their name would imply!). They can be effective either for emphasising some element of the preceding lyric by repetition, or in order to give a more articulated rhythmic impulse than swipes. It's easy for arrangers to over-use this device (or is it just me?), so the trick is to decide how an echo contributes to the message of the song (sung mechanically, they can make you sound like a bunch of parrots).

3. Melody & accompaniment textures. These are where the parts stop singing homophonically, and three parts act as a backing to featured melody. The harmony parts may sing neutral syllables (doo-wops, oohs), or a simpler version of the lyrics (backtime). These sorts of textures are frowned upon in contest barbershop, except for very brief moments, but crop up quite often in singout repertoire; they make a nice bit of variety in a 20-minute spot. An awareness of the differing solo/backing roles is what's needed to bring these effects alive. As a harmony part, if you can't hear the solo part, you're singing either too loudly or too insensitively. As a solo part, you need to take the responsibility of being featured, and accept the spotlight. It is also useful to consider the nature of the accompaniment: is it there to provide a simple backdrop to the melody (as in sustained 'oohs'), or does it contribute to the rhythmic propulsion of the song (as in doo-wops)?

4. Pickups. These are the brief lead-ins to phrases, typically either unaccompanied lead, with the harmonies meeting them at the down-beat, or the classic bass 'bm-bm-bm'. These are entirely about the flow of the music, either propelling from one phrase to the next in a rhythm song, or easing the way into a phrase in a ballad. The important thing is for those parts who are not singing the pickup to think it along with those who are, or you will arrive late and flustered halfway through a word. They are there to contribute to the beauty of the song as whole, not to give you a nanosecond's holiday.

5. Key changes. We often think of key changes as an aspect of form, rather than of embellishment, but they are always there for an expressive purpose. Indeed, they remind us that the different elements of a song that I've been separating out for the purposes of discussion do all belong together in the song. The key change has expressive function on both the small and the large scale. It will usually be placed at a point of emphasis, either in terms of lyric ('and brother what's more...') or in terms of repeating something already stated (as in 'Who's Sorry Now?'), and as such has the effect of drawing extra attention to that emphasis. But they are also placed relative to the overall form of a song so as to sculpt the overall emotional contour or trajectory. If we can understand a key change as simultaneously an expressive detail and a structural signpost, then that indicates a considerable depth of musical insight.

Liz Garnett,  May 2000