Sharing – Singing – Learning – Growing – Giving
The Wind Masters welcome men of any age and ability who like to sing. Sight-singing skill is not required, although we’ll do our best to help you develop skill in that area.
If you don’t think your voice is any good, come and let us help you make it better. On the other hand, if you’re an accomplished singer, there are special opportunities available. Come and ask about them.
There are no auditions that you have to pass (unless you want to sing with a select ensemble).
We call our gatherings “meetings” rather than “rehearsals” because we do many more things than just rehearse music. The goal is to make it an enjoyable, productive time for each singer present.
Come and visit our next meeting – you can observe if you want to, but it’s more fun to sing along. We’ll provide all the resources you need to be successful.
Here’s a sample meeting schedule:
- 6:00 Welcome
- Warm-ups: Proper Singing, Breathing
- Tags!
- Singing
- Learning a new song
- What’s coming up
- 7:25 “Keep the Whole World Singing”
We try to be respectful of each other’s time, by arriving a little early and being ready to sing.
- New music. There are 1000’s of barbershop arrangements to pick from as we start learning new songs. Come have fun learning right along with us.
- Arrangements: Yes, we sing 4-part acapella “barbershop style” … but that is by no means “old fashioned” or “out of date” — in fact, it’s quite the opposite! New fantastic barbershop arrangements are being written for many of the popular songs we all enjoy.
BACKGROUND:
The Wind Masters Chorus was formed as the Columbia Gorge Chorus in October of 2015. We are a charted chorus of the Barbershop Harmony Society.
Men of all ages are invited to sing with us.
We meet Thursdays at 6:00 pm
Down Manor Banquet Room
1950 Sterling Place, Hood River, Oregon.
Contact us: info@wind-masters.org
The Barbershop Sound
The Barbershop style of music is unique for its close, four-part a cappella harmony, melody in the second-highest voice (the “lead” or often the melody singer), and distinctive “ringing chords” with frequent dominant seventh chords, giving it a rich, resonant sound with overtones audible as new notes.
Below are some sample videos for you to watch.
A CAPPELLA / BARBERSHOP SINGING:
To hear and see what barbershop singing is about, here is a video of one of our nearby men’s choruses, Northwest Sound from Bellevue, WA performing “How Far I’ll Go” under the direction of Kenny Potter in Salt Lake City, in 2019. These men (young and old) as you will see – sing to tell a story, and give their audiences a gift.
WHAT’S A “TAG”?
Barbershop tags are short, harmonically rich musical endings or codas added to the final measures of a barbershop song, designed to create satisfying, ringing chords and heighten drama. They typically resolve to a big, happy major chord on the tonic, often featuring extended harmonies and unique chord choices, and can be sung as standalone pieces, taught by ear, or used as fun, quick group singing exercises at events.
This video will demonstrate how the tag sounds and the four voice parts.
YES, MEN CAN SING!!
Watch this Welch men’s chorus during their time on Britain’s Got Talent in 2023. They are all men who needed to sing.
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If you’d like to sing again
(even if it’s been years),
we definitely invite you to come sing with us. Come check us out!!
Being that we are restarting our old chorus — this is bound to be an “adventure” full of new surprises and fun activities.
