What is “The Barbershop Style?”

Here is the official version.

Definition of the Barbershop Style

(from the BHS Contest and Judging Handbook)

Barbershop harmony is a style of unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture. The melody is consistently sung by the lead, with the tenor harmonizing above the melody, the bass singing the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone completing the chord. Occasional brief passages may be sung by fewer than four voice parts.

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 often resolve around the circle of fifths, while also making use of other resolutions.. Barbershop music also features a balanced and symmetrical form, and a standard meter. The basic song and its harmonization are embellished by the arranger to provide appropriate support of the song’s theme and to close the song effectively.

Barbershop singers adjust pitches to achieve perfectly tuned chords in just intonation while remaining true to the established tonal center. Artistic singing in the barbershop style exhibits a fullness or expansion of sound, precise intonation, a high degree of vocal skill, and a high level of unity and consistency within the ensemble. Ideally, these elements are natural, unmanufactured and free from apparent effort.

The presentation of barbershop music uses appropriate musical and visual methods to convey the theme of the song and provide the audience with an emotionally satisfying and entertaining experience. The musical and visual delivery is from the heart, believable, and sensitive to the song and its arrangement throughout. The most stylistic presentation artistically melds together the musical and visual aspects to create and sustain the illusions suggested by the music.

But what is it, really?

Perhaps it’s better to see and hear it for yourself.

Here is Ambassadors of Harmony directed by Jim Henry, recorded at the 2009 International Barbershop Convention

Here, in the more traditional version of barbershop harmony is the same Jim Henry, bass for Crossroads, International champion quartet in 2009.

So how does it work?

The Lead sings the melody. In the quartet above he is the second from the left. His part is the most important as it’s the actual tune and lyric of the song and everyone else tunes off his sound.

In most ensemble work, traditional choirs etc. the melody in the highest voice. In barbershop, however, the highest voice is called the tenor, more of a counter tenor perhaps, who sings a sparkling harmony and very rarely gets more than the occasional note or phrase of the tune. In a chorus there is about one tenor in every ten singers but the effect is much greater than that would indicate.

The foundation of the sound is the Bass who generally sings the lowest notes. Sometimes the melody is passed to the bass for a section of the song but usually this singer provides the base on which the sound is built.

But what of the fourth singer? As all the parts are sung by men (or all by women), the whole of the song is packed in to a small sound space described as close harmony. The baritone sings notes around the lead, sometimes above, sometimes below and almost always above the bass. This is quite akin to a musical jigsaw where the baritone fits his pieces in wherever they will go.

The ringing chord

Because barbershop singing is a cappella, the lack of supporting instruments allows the singers to tune each chord (set of notes sung at the same time) such that all their overtones interlock. This is different to being in tune as defined by a piano, say. The listener will be aware of a new, fifth note which no-one is singing, created out of the combined overtones.

The judging

Quartets and choruses attend conventions, part of which is given over to competition.

There are three categories of judge, music, singing and presentation. Each awards a score out of 100 and a percentage is then struck.

81-100% “A” grade

61-80% “B” grade

41-60% “C” grade