THE BARBERSHOP STYLE
To sing Barbershop means that one sings unaccompanied and in four parts - a melody voice and three harmonizing voices. The songs are sung with great empathy and engagement, ideally emphasized with appropriate choreography, scenic props and costumes.
The primary difference between Barbershop and other choral and quartet styles is that the melody voice is the second from the top and not the highest (corresponds to alto in a mixed chorus or second tenor in a men's chorus). The melody is sung by the voice which is called Lead. The Bass sings the lowest tone in the chord forming the fundament, usually the root or the fifth. The Tenor harmonizes over the Lead, amplifying the overtones which are created by the other voices if they all are precisely in tune and are singing identical vowels. Finally the Baritone fills in the chord with the up to now missing note, sometime over and sometime under the Lead. The audience experiences the resulting sound as being full and homogenous. Well sung Barbershop produces overtones or harmonics, which are notes that are heard even though nobody is actually singing them.
Barbershop singing got it's name from the fact that it was originally sung in barbershops in the USA at the end of the 1800's. Barbershops were popular gathering places and while waiting their turn, people would sing popular melodies and improvise harmony parts to accompany them. During the course of the years more or less formal rules have been developed describing how to harmonize in Barbershop style, using certain types of overtone producing chords.
To sing Barbershop means that one sings unaccompanied and in four parts - a melody voice and three harmonizing voices. The songs are sung with great empathy and engagement, ideally emphasized with appropriate choreography, scenic props and costumes.
The primary difference between Barbershop and other choral and quartet styles is that the melody voice is the second from the top and not the highest (corresponds to alto in a mixed chorus or second tenor in a men's chorus). The melody is sung by the voice which is called Lead. The Bass sings the lowest tone in the chord forming the fundament, usually the root or the fifth. The Tenor harmonizes over the Lead, amplifying the overtones which are created by the other voices if they all are precisely in tune and are singing identical vowels. Finally the Baritone fills in the chord with the up to now missing note, sometime over and sometime under the Lead. The audience experiences the resulting sound as being full and homogenous. Well sung Barbershop produces overtones or harmonics, which are notes that are heard even though nobody is actually singing them.
Barbershop singing got it's name from the fact that it was originally sung in barbershops in the USA at the end of the 1800's. Barbershops were popular gathering places and while waiting their turn, people would sing popular melodies and improvise harmony parts to accompany them. During the course of the years more or less formal rules have been developed describing how to harmonize in Barbershop style, using certain types of overtone producing chords.