FamiLee Life

Baritone on Ice :: The Art Shanty Project and Music Lessons

"It has begun..." This was the subject line of Mike's email regarding the upcoming Art Shanty Projects on Medicine Lake in Plymouth, MN. The above photo is a shot of three art shanty's in construction. The exhibit will premiere on the lake on Saturday at 12 noon and run February 19th. If you are in town, be there!

For me, the highlight will be Mike's norae shanty (aka the karaoke ice house). You will find me there often this winter, trying to stay sane during the long cold season (although I must say it has been unseasonably "warm" this winter).

And, I learned this week from two independent sources (Holly and Christopher) that I am a baritone. This was an interesting revelation because I am so unmusical (despite 3 years of minimal effort on the piano as a pre-teen!) and thus quite illiterate in such matters. But I trust my sources given that they are both trained singers/vocalists and outstanding karaoke singers.

What does it mean to be a baritone? Of course, I had to do some "research" on this matter. According to Wikipedia, a baritone (from Greek βαÏ?υτονος 'deeply, heavily sounding') is a male voice of intermediate pitch, between bass and tenor. It is typically written for in the range A one octave and a third below middle C to F above middle C (i.e. A2-F4), though it is often extended at the top.. Dummies.com gives this definition -- The baritone can usually sing from an A (first space bass clef) or F (first space treble clef) below the male High C. The bass-baritone has some height of the baritone and some depth of the bass and his range is usually A-flat (first space bass clef) to F (first space treble clef) and sometimes as high as G below the male High C. The baritone's register transitions usually occur at the A or B just below Middle C and the D or E above Middle C.

Now, given that I am so musically illiterate, these notes really mean very little to me. It is like trying to understand statistics by simply looking at equations. I am a more practical thinker who needs concrete examples to illuminate an idea. Fortunately, Wikipedia lists some well known singers who are baritones. And, as concurrent validity to my friends' assessment of me, there are a number of singers on the list whose songs I sing or at least recognize as singable. For example, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley are all considered baritones (Cash is viewed as a bass-baritone).

My usual karaoke set has included songs that can be sung in this range, such as Born to Run by Springsteen, Sister Christian by Night Ranger, as well as a medley of songs by female singers which I bring down a register or two, such as Beautiful by Christina Aguilera and If I Ain't Got You by Alicia Keys.

Lately, though, I have been practicing some new songs. If you come visit me at the norae shanty, I promise to sing one of them. These songs include Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash, Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet, and Dance Hall Days by Wang Chung.

So come for a music lesson on the lake this Saturday! Until then, I will be practicing my voice and my breathing.

Posted by richlee at January 12, 2006 10:24 AM