Do you enjoy singing?
The Continentals are always looking for new singers. We are not only a singing organization, but also a social one. Although our primary purpose is to have fun singing, we spend a lot of time with each other just getting to know one another. We meet every week to rehearse and socialize. Our organization is not a group of all music people. In fact, we have very few people with music backgrounds in our organization. We are made up of every day people who just like to sing and have fun. We have people of all ages who are teachers, lawyers, realtors, doctors, retirees, students, and business professionals. People from all walks of life enjoy our form of singing and our group is non-judgemental. We allow anyone who likes to sing and can carry a tune. We take everyone from professional singers to shower and radio singers. You do not even have to know how to read music. In fact many of our members don't. If this is something that you are interested in, please come by any Monday night at 7:30pm. We rehearse at Warren United Methodist Church at 45th & Orchard Streets. You can also email us at contact@lincolncontinentals.org or call us at 477-5356 (please leave a message). If you have further questions, please see the section below.
Q & A
Q. Do I have to be a professional singer?
A. No. We have all types of people in our organization. Most have no formal musical background.
Q. Do I have to be able to read music?
A. No. In fact, most of our members are ear singers. That is, they listen to how something is supposed to sound and sing what they hear.
Q. What type of music do you sing?
A. The Continentals sing a variety of types of music. These include doo-wop, spirituals, patriotic, and classic barbershop. The one thing that all of our music has in common is that we sing exclusively a capella music. That is, we do not sing with a piano or any other instrumental aids.
Q. How many are in your organization?
A. Our membership fluctuates throughout the year, but at any given time there are normally 60-80 Lincoln Continentals singing in our group. We are also a charter member of the Barbershop Harmony Society which has many tens of thousands of members around the world.
Q. How often do you meet to rehearse?
A. We rehearse once per week for 2.5 hours. Right before large performances or contest, we will also schedule additional rehearsals as needed. There is no requirement for attendance at rehearsals, but that is where all the fun takes place and how you learn all the music.
Q. How often do you perform?
A. We primarily have one very large annual show each year and several smaller shows. Our smaller performances include a holiday show, a singing wafflefeed, singing valentines, and our district contest. In conjunction with these performances, we also perform for the public in a variety of venues such as county fairs, the state fair, Husker basketball games, anniversaries, churches, assisted living facilities, and schools.
Q. Am I required to perform in public?
A. Absolutely not. However, it is a lot of fun to be able to showcase our music to the public and as a member of a 50 to 70 man chorus it is not intimidating at all since you are not the only one singing your part.
Q. Do you compete?
A. Yes. Every fall, we compete in our district contest. As with anything else, competing is not a requirement, but is a lot of fun and an amazing experience. It gives our chorus a chance to gauge ourselves against the other choruses in the Barbershop Society and see if we are improving over time and what areas we need to spend more time on.
Q. I am not sure if I am good enough. What should I do?
A. Come and visit one of our rehearsals. Anyone is welcome to sing with us at rehearsals without being a member. This will give you an opportunity to hear the music, sing with the guys, and get to know our organization before you decide you want to join. We are confident that you will enjoy yourself.
Q. Do I have to audition to be a part of your group?
A. No, we do not have an audition process to become part of the group. However, our chorus director will do a voice placement exercise with you to determine which part is right for you and to gauge your abilities just so he knows where to place you in the chorus. It is not difficult and very low pressure.
Q. How old do I have to be to be a part of your group?
A. That's the beautiful thing about a capella singing. Anyone of any age can do it! We allow people of all ages from elementary school to retirees. Just come prepared to sing and have fun!
Q. What is Barbershop music?
A. Click here to learn about barbershop from Wikipedia
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