End-of-year reminders for entering the 5th Annual Tag Writing Contest
- Due date for submitting entries for the 2022-2023 Tag Writing Contest is January 31, 2023. This means you have all the rest of December plus all of January to prepare and submit your tag entries!
- Who can enter?
- Barbershoppers from North by Northwest Region 13
- Barbershoppers from Evergreen District
- Attendees of any Region 13 Arrangers WorkShop at HCNW
- Attendees of any HCNW
- Each person can enter a total of three (3) tags.
- Here are the official Tag Writing Contest documents: Terms and Conditions, Official Entry Form, Suggested Vocal Ranges and Staff Notation.
If you have any questions, please contact Janice Wheeler.
Tips from the Tag Writing Contest judge
Here is a recap of the advice given by Judge Kevin Keller for tag writers entering the contest:
- Fewer chords are better than more chords – don’t try to write an entire coda. Many great tags are just four measures long.
- Smooth vocal lines are best. Make the vocal line for each part easy to sing as much as possible. Using familiar intervals in part lines from one note to the next are especially helpful for singer success.
- Make it a tag that others would want to teach and sing. This is most important for tag rooms at conventions and contests.
New to all this?
Also, if you're just getting started, here is Janice Wheeler's 6-part video series on How To Write Your First Tag: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6
Additional tips:
- Suggested Vocal Ranges and Staff Notation
- Tag Writing Tips #1
- Tag Writing Tips #2
- Tip Packet for writing tags for women's voices
- Tip Packet for writing tags for men's voices
2021-2022 Tag Writing Contest Winners
Overall Winner / Grand Prize Winner: Carol Lord, For Auld Lang Syne. Want to give the winning tag a try? Click here for the sheet music.
Other Category Winners
- Category 1, Women’s Voices by a published composer/arranger: Carol Lord, There’s No Place Like Home
- Category 2, Women’s Voices by a published composer/arranger: Cris Conerty, On Wings of Music We Fly
- Category 3, Men’s Voices by a published composer/arranger: Suzy Buerer, Take Heart
- Category 4, Men’s Voices by an unpublished composer/arranger: Darwin Scheel, How Dry I Am
- Category 5, Mixed Voices by a published composer/arranger: Erica Kelch-Slesnick, Boys and Girls
- Category 6, Mixed Voices by an unpublished composer/arranger: Darwin Scheel, Our Hopes Like Seeds May Grow
2020-2021 Tag Writing Contest Winners
Overall Winner / Grand Prize Winner: Cris Conerty, On Wings of Music We Fly
Other Category Winners
- Category 1, Women’s Voices by a published composer/arranger: Carol Lord, There’s No Place Like Home
- Category 2, Women’s Voices by a published composer/arranger: Cris Conerty, On Wings of Music We Fly
- Category 3, Men’s Voices by a published composer/arranger: Suzy Buerer, Take Heart
- Category 4, Men’s Voices by an unpublished composer/arranger: Darwin Scheel, How Dry I Am
- Category 5, Mixed Voices by a published composer/arranger: Suzy Buerer, Zoo Train
- Category 6, Mixed Voices by an unpublished composer/arranger: Darwin Scheel, Ice-cold
2019-2020 Tag Writing Contest Winners
Winners of the 2019-2020 Tag Writing Contest were announced at the Region 13 Convention in April of 2019. You can see a complete list of them--along with links to the winning entries--here!
2018-2019 Tag Writing Contest Winners
Our FIRST EVER Tag Writing Contest has wrapped up. The purpose of the Contest was to encourage barbershoppers in Region 13 or Evergreen District, plus HCNW attendees, to get involved with composing and arranging tags for men’s, women’s, and mixed voices, and to freely sharing their tags with fellow barbershoppers. The Contest was first announced in June 2018; entry deadline was January 31st, 2019. Cash prizes for the winning tags were provided by Region 13, and a grant from the Bud Leabo Memorial Fund provided for five Registration Fee Scholarships to the 2019-2020 Arrangers WorkShop. A total of 20 tags were entered into 4 categories by 10 tag writers. The contest was judged by Kevin Keller, a tag-writing contest veteran who has judged tag writing contests in both the Central States District and the Illinois District of the Barbershop Harmony Society for several years.
The winners of the 2018-2019 Tag Writing Contest are:
- Category I: for Women’s Voices by a published composer/arranger: Carol Lord, What I Hate About Love
- Category II: for Women’s Voices by an unpublished composer/arranger: Cris Conerty, for Sweetie Jim
- Category IV: for Men’s Voices by an unpublished composer/arranger: Darwin Scheel, I’m Alone and Blue
- Category VI: for Mixed Voices by an unpublished composer/arranger: Suzy Buerer, America
- Honorable Mention: Janice Wheeler, Happy Birthday!
Each non-Grand Prize Winning Category Winner received an Award Certificate and a check for $50.00. The best overall tag was declared our Grand Prize Winner and went to Darwin Scheel for his Tag I’m Alone and Blue. He received an award certificate, a check for $200.00 and a registration fee scholarship to the 2019 Region 13 Arrangers WorkShop at Harmony College Northwest. All of the non-Grand Prize Winning Entrants were included in the drawing for four (4) additional Registration Fee Scholarships to the 2019 Region 13 Arrangers WorkShop provided by the grant received from the Bud Leabo Memorial Fund; the winning names were: James Warner, Cris Conerty, Carol Fogle, and Laura Hiserote.
You can download the winning tags by clicking here for a PDF!
