Barbershop singing

Barbershop harmony is a style of unaccompanied vocal music featuring songs with understandable lyrics and easily singable melodies. The melody is sung by the lead, with the tenor harmonising above the melody and the bass singing the lowest harmonising notes. The baritone completes the chord.

To sing in the barbershop style demonstrates a fullness of sound, precise intonation, a high degree of vocal skill and a high level of unity and consistency within the rest of the ensemble. Ideally, these elements are natural, unmanufactured and free from apparent effort.

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; it is believable and sensitive to the song and its arrangement throughout. The presentation artistically melds the musical and visual aspects to create and sustain the illusions suggested by the music.

It is believed that barbershop singing originated in the African-American South at the turn of the twentieth century, when barbershops were key social gathering places. The tight, four-part harmony has its roots in the black church, where close harmony has a long tradition.

How do I get involved?

There are three barbershop organisations in the UK – one men’s and two ladies’ – with a joint membership of approximately 6,000 people. Each Association has its own website which features a section that allows you to find a barbershop chorus near you:

British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS)
Druids Lea
Upper Stanton Drew
Bristol
BS39 4EG
Email: ask@singbarbershop.com
Website: www.singbarbershop.com

Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers (LABBS)
112 Hillside
Banstead
Surrey
SM7 1HA
Website: www.labbs.org.uk

Sweet Adelines International (SAI)
Region 31
8 Acorn Drive
St Austell
Cornwall
PL25 3GU
Website: www.sweetadelines.org.uk