Barbershop music

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Barbershop music
Typical instruments a cappella voices
pitch pipe
The Dapper Dans barbershop quartet, at Walt Disney World's Main Street, USA
WPA poster, 1936

Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1940s–present), is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture. Each of the four parts has its own role: generally, the lead sings the melody, the tenor harmonizes above the melody, the bass sings the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone completes the chord, usually below the lead. The melody is not usually sung by the tenor or baritone, except for an infrequent note or two to avoid awkward voice leading, in tags or codas, or when some appropriate embellishment can be created. Occasional traveling may be sung by fewer than four voice parts.

According to the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), "Barbershop music features songs with understandable lyrics and easily singable melodies, whose tones clearly define a tonal center and imply major and minor chords and barbershop (dominant and secondary dominant) seventh chords that resolve primarily around the circle of fifths, while making frequent use of other resolutions."[1]

Slower barbershop songs, especially ballads, often eschew a continuous beat, and notes are often held (or sped up) ad libitum.

The voice parts in barbershop singing do not correspond closely to the correspondingly named voice parts in classical music. Barbershop singing is performed both by men's and women's groups; the elements of the barbershop style and the names of the voice parts are the same for both.

Contents

Ringing chords [edit]

Barbershop chord on C About this sound Play tempered (help·info) About this sound Play just (help·info).

The defining characteristic of the barbershop style is the ringing chord. This is a name for one specific and well-defined acoustical effect, also referred to as expanded sound, the angel's voice, the fifth voice, the overtone, or barbershop seventh. (The barbershopper's "overtone" is the same as the acoustic physicist's overtone or harmonic, although the numbers differ. The first overtone, at twice the fundamental frequency, is the second harmonic, etc. The undertone is the difference between the frequencies of two sung notes and is known as heterodyning).

The physics and psychophysics of the effect are fairly well understood; it occurs when the upper harmonics in the individual voice notes, and the sum and difference frequencies resulting from nonlinear combinations within the ear, reinforce each other at a particular frequency, strengthening it so that it stands out separately above the blended sound. The effect is audible only on certain kinds of chords, and only when all voices are equally rich in harmonics and justly tuned and balanced. It is not heard in chords sounded on modern keyboard instruments, due to the slight tuning imperfection of the equal-tempered scale.

Gage Averill writes that "Barbershoppers have become partisans of this acoustic phenomenon" and that "the more experienced singers of the barbershop revival (at least after the 1940s) have self-consciously tuned their dominant seventh and tonic chords in just intonation to maximize the overlap of common overtones." However, "In practice, it seems that most leads rely on an approximation of an equal-tempered scale for the melody, to which the other voices adjust vertically in just intonation."[2]

What is prized is not so much the "overtone" itself, but a unique sound whose achievement is most easily recognized by the presence of the "overtone". The precise synchrony of the waveforms of the four voices simultaneously creates the perception of a "fifth voice" while at the same time melding the four voices into a unified sound. The ringing chord is qualitatively different in sound from an ordinary musical chord e.g. as sounded on a tempered-scale keyboard instrument.

Most elements of the "revivalist" style are related to the desire to produce these ringing chords. Performance is a cappella to prevent the distracting introduction of equal-tempered intonation, and because listening to anything but the other three voices interferes with a performer's ability to tune with the precision required. Barbershop arrangements stress chords and chord progressions that favor "ringing", at the expense of suspended and diminished chords and other harmonic vocabulary of the ragtime and jazz forms.

The dominant seventh-type chord is so important to barbershop harmony that it is called the "barbershop seventh". BHS arrangers believe that a song should contain dominant seventh chords anywhere from 35 to 60 percent of the time (measured as a percentage of the duration of the song rather than a percentage of the chords present) to sound "barbershop".

Historically barbershoppers may have used the word "minor chord" in a way that is confusing to those with musical training. Averill suggests that it was "a shorthand for chord types other than major triads", and says that the use of the word for "dominant seventh-type chords and diminished chords" was common in the late nineteenth century. A 1910 song called "Play That Barber Shop Chord"[3] (often cited as an early example of "barbershop" in reference to music) contains the lines:

'Cause Mister when you start that minor part
I feel your fingers slipping and a grasping at my heart,
Oh Lord play that Barber shop chord!

Averill notes the hints of rapture, "quasi-religion" and erotic passion in the language used by barbershoppers to describe the emotional effect. He quotes Jim Ewin as reporting "a tingling of the spine, the raising of the hairs on the back of the neck, the spontaneous arrival of goose flesh on the forearm ... the fifth note has almost mysterious propensities. It's the consummation devoutly wished by those of us who love Barbershop harmony. If you ask us to explain why we love it so, we are hard put to answer; that's where our faith takes over." Averill notes too the use of the language of addiction, "there's this great big chord that gets people hooked." An early manual was entitled "A Handbook for Adeline Addicts".[2]

He notes too that "barbershoppers almost never speak of 'singing' a chord, but almost always draw on a discourse of physical work and exertion; thus, they 'hit', 'chop', 'ring', 'crack', and 'swipe.' Vocal harmony is interpreted as an embodied musicking. Barbershoppers never lose sight (or sound) of its physicality."[2]

Historical origins [edit]

In the last half of the 19th century, U.S. barbershops often served as community centers – a place where most men would gather. Barbershop quartets originated with African American men socializing in barbershops; they would harmonize while waiting their turn, vocalizing in spirituals, folk songs and popular songs. This generated a new style, consisting of unaccompanied, four-part, close-harmony singing. Later, white minstrel singers adopted the style, and in the early days of the recording industry, their performances were recorded and sold. Early standards included songs such as "Shine On, Harvest Moon", "Hello, My Baby", and "Sweet Adeline". Barbershop music was very popular between 1900 and 1919 but gradually faded into obscurity in the 1920s. Barbershop harmonies remain in evidence in the a cappella music of the black church.[4][5][6] The iconic barbershop quartets are typically dressed in bright colors, boaters and vertical stripe vests, though costuming and attire can vary.[7]

Organizations [edit]

Barbershop Harmony Society [edit]

Main article: Barbershop Harmony Society

The revival of a cappella singing was taken up again around 1938 when a tax lawyer named Owen C. Cash decided that for the art to die out would be a shame.[citation needed] He garnered support from an investment banker called Rupert I. Hall. Both came from Tulsa, Oklahoma.[citation needed] Cash was a true partisan of quartet singing who advertised the fact that he did not want a cappella to fall by the wayside.

Cash had struck a chord, albeit unwittingly, and soon, across North America, men responded in their thousands and later in the same year the "Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America" was set up, known by the abbreviation S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A.[8] at a time when many institutions in the United States were in the habit of using multiple initials to denote their function. The group adopted the alternate name "Barbershop Harmony Society" early in its history. While its legal name has never changed, it changed its official brand name to "Barbershop Harmony Society" in 2004.

Sharp Harmony, a Norman Rockwell painting, appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post magazine issue dated September 26, 1936; it depicts a barber and three clients enjoying an a cappella song. The image was adopted by SPEBSQSA in its promotion of the art.

Female barbershop music [edit]

Traditionally, the word "barbershop" has been used to encompass both men's and women's quartets singing in the barbershop style. Harmony, Inc. calls itself "International Organization of Women Barbershop Singers" while Sweet Adelines International calls itself "a worldwide organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony."

Organization [edit]

Singing a cappella music in the barbershop style is a hobby enjoyed by men and women worldwide. The hobby is practiced mostly within one of the three main barbershop associations,[citation needed] which have a combined membership in the neighborhood of eighty thousand.[citation needed]

The primary men's organization in the US and Canada is the Barbershop Harmony Society.[citation needed] Women have two organizations in North America, Sweet Adelines International and Harmony Incorporated. Sweet Adelines, Inc was founded in 1945 by Edna Mae Anderson of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Harmony, Incorporated was formed in 1959 by five chapters that split from Sweet Adelines in 1957 over a dispute regarding admission of non-Caucasian members. SPEBSQSA and Sweet Adelines at that time restricted their membership to whites, but both opened membership to all races a few years later. All three organizations comprise choruses and quartets that perform and compete regularly throughout the US and Canada, and Sweet Adelines International also has a portion of its membership outside North America.

Organizations affiliated with the Barbershop Harmony Society and Harmony Incorporated exist in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Spain, South Africa, Scandinavia, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and elsewhere. Some national and regional barbershop groups include:

A worldwide association for mixed groups, the Mixed Harmony Barbershop Quartet Association, was established in 1995 to reflect the growing popularity of male-female barbershop singing.[22]

Notable artists [edit]

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Quartets [edit]

See also: List of quartet champions by year and List of Sweet Adelines International quartet champions by year

A barbershop quartet is an ensemble of four people who sing a cappella in the exacting barbershop music genre.

In North America most male barbershop quartet singers belong to the Barbershop Harmony Society,[citation needed] while most female barbershop quartet singers are in either Sweet Adelines International or Harmony, Inc.[citation needed] Similar organizations have sprung up in many other countries.

Most barbershop quartet singers also choose to sing in a chorus.[citation needed]

Choruses [edit]

A barbershop chorus sings a cappella music in the barbershop style. Most barbershop choruses belong to a larger association of practitioners such as the Barbershop Harmony Society, Sweet Adelines International or Harmony, Inc.[citation needed]

In the Barbershop Harmony Society, a chorus is the main performing aspect of each chapter. Choruses may have as few as 12 or as many as 150 members singing. Choruses normally sing with a director, as distinct from quartets. It is not uncommon for a new quartet to form within a chorus, or for an established quartet affiliated with a given chorus to lose a member (to death, retirement, or relocation) and recruit a replacement from the ranks of the chorus. Choruses can also provide "spare parts" to temporarily replace a quartet member who is ill or temporarily out of town.

Unlike a quartet, a chorus need not have equal numbers singing each voice part. The ideal balance in a chorus is about 40% bass, 30% lead, 20% baritone and 10% tenor singers.

Filling the gap between the chorus and the quartet is what is known as a VLQ or Very Large Quartet, in which more than four singers perform together, with two or more voices on some or all of the four parts. A VLQ possesses greater flexibility than a standard quartet, since they can perform even with one or more singers missing, as long as all four parts are covered. Like a normal quartet, a VLQ usually performs without a director.

BHS [edit]

See also: List of chorus champions by year

British Association of Barbershop Singers [edit]

  • The Cottontown Chorus: Five times British champions in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013; three times BABS silver medalists (2001, 2002, 2004) and bronze medalist for 2003; European Barbershop Convention silver medalists for 2005 and 2009; winners of the adult section of BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year for 2008; Irish Association of Barbershop Singers international gold medalist for 2008; winning chorus at the Manchester Amateur Choral Competition for 2008; based in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England
  • Cambridge Chord Company: twice European barbershop chorus champions (2001 & 2005) and bronze medalist (2009); four times British Association of Barbershop Singers chorus champions (1999, 2002, 2004, 2006); BABS Millennium champions (2000); five time BABS silver medalists (1994, 1997, 1998, 2009, 2010); "Choir of the World" National Eisteddfod of Wales 2004; chorus based in Cambridge, England.
  • The Great Western Chorus of Bristol: winners of a record eight gold medals (1977, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1990, 2008 and 2010); four times BABS silver medalists and five times bronze medalists. The Great Western Chorus hold more chorus competition medals than any other chorus in the association; Radio 3 "Choir of the Year" 2006 Finalists; based in Bristol, England
  • Hallmark of Harmony: Six times British champions, formed in 1978 and based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.
  • Shannon Express: twice champion chorus formed in 1978 and based in Potton, Bedfordshire, England.

Sweet Adelines International [edit]

Barbershop Harmony Australia [edit]

The Blenders, from Gold Coast, Queensland, have won the BHA Chorus Competition eight times (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007) and runners-up three times (1991, 2009 and 2011).

Irish Association of Barbershop Singers [edit]

Ten times male chorus champions The Polyphonics from Cork.

The Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers [edit]

Typical barbershop songs [edit]

Barbershop Harmony Society's Barberpole Cat Songs "Polecats"—12 songs which all Barbershop Harmony Society members are encouraged to learn as a shared canonic repertoire—all famous, traditional examples of the barbershop genre:

Examples of other songs popular in the barbershop genre are:

While these traditional songs still play a part in barbershop today, barbershop music also includes more current titles. Most music can be arranged in the barbershop style, and there are many arrangers within the aforementioned societies with the skills to include the barbershop chord structure in their arrangements. Today's barbershop quartets and choruses sing a variety of music from all eras—show tunes, pop, and even rock music has been arranged for choruses and quartets, making them more attractive to younger singers.

References in popular culture [edit]

  • "Lida Rose" is a song beloved to barbershoppers from Meredith Willson's musical comedy The Music Man. A barbershop quartet forms an integral part of the story, and was played by the Buffalo Bills onstage and in the screen adaptation.
  • Popular American rock band, Phish, would often display barbershop styles during live shows, with songs such as "Hello! Ma Baby", "Carolina", "Memories", "Sweet Adeline", "Amazing Grace" and even a barbershop version of "Freebird".
  • In the movie, The Haunted Mansion, a quartet of singing busts distracts Jim Evers and his children as they attempt to find the Mansion's mausoleum by the instructions of the spirit Madame Leota.
  • A barbershop quartet appears in the Cyanide and Happiness videos.
  • The Gregory Brothers include a brief, creditable parody of barbershop singing in Autotune the News 13.
  • The animated series Doug featured barbershop background music, sometimes combined with instrument music.
  • In the movie The Muppets, Beaker, Link Hogthrob, Sam the Eagle and Rowlf the Dog sing a barbershop quartet version of Smells Like Teen Spirit.
  • The lyrics of the song "On Moonlight Bay" include the phrase "You could hear the voices ringing" (referring to ringing chords).

In television [edit]

  • In The Simpsons episode "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", Homer Simpson, Seymour Skinner, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, and Barney Gumble have their own barbershop quartet called the Be Sharps. They are voiced by the Dapper Dans.
  • In the King of the Hill episode "It ain't over till the fat neighbor sings" (season 9, episode 15), Bill Dauterive joins a barbershop group called the "Harmonaholics". Dialogue[which?] from this episode makes a clear suggestion[according to whom?] that the chorus was meant to parody The Vocal Majority chorus from Dallas.
  • In the third season's episode 12 of the popular TV show Friends, "The One with All the Jealousy", Ross sends a barbershop quartet to Rachel's place of work in an attempt to ward off a male he suspects of being interested in her.
  • On the television series Family Guy, barbershop quartets are sometimes used, and at the same time parodied, in episodes such as Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire and Sibling Rivalry.
  • One segment of an episode of WordGirl focuses on the main character's hometown staging a barbershop quartet competition to celebrate their 100th anniversary (possibly of incorporation or founding as a city). The villain enters him and his henchmen for the prize (a giant cheese wheel) at the same time as the title character's adoptive family, as well as their rivals, only to be disqualified for cheating.
  • In the popular TV show Scrubs, four of the employees of the hospital form a barbershop quartet which has been called "Ted's Band", "The Worthless Peons", and most recently, "Foghat". The quartet is played by the real-life group The Blanks.[23]
  • In Mystery Science Theater 3000 series 8, episode 7 "Terror from the Year 5000" a host segment features a Barbershop-style song "When I Held Your Brain In My Arms" spoofing the recurring character Brain Guy's species whose members carry their brains in jars.
  • In The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, episode 72 "Sleepover Suite" there is a Barbershop quartet convention at The Tipton. The main characters' mother, Carey, is constantly badgered by a quartet to become their fifth singer for the quintet, or to date them, but she refuses both.
  • In Diagnosis: Murder episode 126 "Rescue Me", Dick Van Dyke sings with the Mutual Fun barbershop quartet.
  • In The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack episode "Shave and a Haircut", Flapjack and his friend Captain K'nuckles are pursued by a barbershop trio who always sang instead of speaking and finished each other's sentences in a rhythmic fashion. Of the many phrases and sentences they sang, the classic phrase "Oh no he didn't!" was executed.
  • In Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law episode "Identity Theft", Elliott, known as The Deadly Duplicator, accidentally duplicates Judge Mentok the Mindtaker. Now having 4 Mentoks, the original snaps his fingers and the 4 of them are wearing red and white vests and straw hats and break out into a barbershop style song.
  • In Arrested Development episode 9, "Storming the Castle," character Tobias Fünke's homosexuality is alluded to as he performs in the gay barbershop quartet, "Whip and Snaps." In reality, the other three are noted singers from real barbershop quartets.[24]
  • In the Cheers episode 88 "Dark Imaginings" (season 4) cold opening, Norm Peterson auditions as the bass in a quartet (the 139th Street Quartet) that just had its regular bass quit in a fit of pique. Norm nails the audition, singing a single chorus of Goodnight, Ladies and thereby fulfilling a lifelong dream to sing in a barbershop quartet, and then immediately retires (although he actually sings the melody an octave low, rather than an actual bass part).
  • In a 2012 TV advert for Quidco, Barbershop-o-gram became The Quidco Quartet singing 'Get Paid To Shop', a song written by Pete Baikie and arranged by Barbershop-o-gram for the advert.

In video games [edit]

  • In The Curse of Monkey Island, three pirate hairstylers, Haggis McMutton, Cutthroat Bill and Edward Van Helgen, are looking for a fourth member for their barbershop quartet.
  • Barbershop quartets appear as enemies in the first episode of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness.
  • Barbershop quartets also appear randomly in public places in Volition's Saints Row 2.
  • "The worlds deadliest barbershop quartet" is featured in Stubbs the Zombie by Wideload Games.
  • Trivial Pursuit: Unhinged (Xbox, PC and PS2) features a clip of 1995 International Champ quartet, Marquis. (Published by Atari)
  • The Haunted Mansion by High Voltage Software, published by TDK, features the 4 singing busts from Disney's The Haunted Mansion. Ghosts are voiced by the Dapper Dans of Disneyland.
  • In the Ghostbusters video game at Ivo Shandors Island in the Slime labs there are four jars of "singing slime" together filled with psychomagnotheric slime or Mood slime singing in a wordless barbershop harmony.
  • The 2013 video game Bioshock Infinite features the quartet A Mighty Wind (named The Bee Sharps in-game) appearing on an airship; the songs they perform, however – including "God Only Knows", a song written by The Beach Boys  – are deliberately prochronistic.

See also [edit]

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ "Definition of the Barbershop Style, from the Contest and Judging Handbook". Barbershop Harmony Society. 2002-07-11. Archived from the original on 7 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-06. 
  2. ^ a b c Averill, Gage (2003). Four Parts, No Waiting: A Social History of American Barbershop Harmony. Oxford University Press. p. 164 and 166. ISBN 0-19-511672-0. 
  3. ^ Muir, Lewis (music); Tracy, William (lyrics) (1910). Play That Barber Shop Chord. New York: J. Fred Helf. 
  4. ^ "Take 6". Primarily A Cappella. 
  5. ^ Abbott, Lynn (1992). "Play That Barber Shop Chord: A Case for the African American Origin of Barbershop Harmony". American Music (University of Illinois Press) 10 (3): 289–325. doi:10.2307/3051597. JSTOR 3051597. 
  6. ^ Henry, James Earl (2000). The Origins of Barbershop Harmony: A Study of Barbershop's Links to Other African American Musics as Evidenced through Recordings and Arrangements of Early Black and White Quartets. Washington University. 
  7. ^ "History of the Barbershop Quartet, A Time-Honored Tradition". May 8, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2012. 
  8. ^ http://www.barbershop.org/about/who-is-the-barbershop-harmony-society.html
  9. ^ Sweet Adelines International
  10. ^ Harmony, Inc.
  11. ^ Barbershop in Germany
  12. ^ British Association of Barbershop Singers
  13. ^ Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers
  14. ^ Dutch Association of Barbershop Singers
  15. ^ Ladies Association of Dutch Barbershop Singers
  16. ^ [1]
  17. ^ Spanish Association of Barbershop Singers
  18. ^ Society of Nordic Barbershop Singers
  19. ^ New Zealand Association of Barbershop Singers
  20. ^ Barbershop Harmony Australia
  21. ^ Association of Barbershop Singers
  22. ^ Zagofsky, Al (April 14, 2004). "Bound by barbershop quartet". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved June 7, 2012. 
  23. ^ Blais, Patrick (2004-04-28). "Scrubbing out the high notes". The Stoneham Independent. Woburn Daily Times Inc. Retrieved 2008-05-17. 
  24. ^ "Arrested Development". A Cappella News. November 29, 2003. Retrieved 8 September 2009. 

Further reading [edit]

External links [edit]

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