Barbershop or barbershop harmony is an English-language, originally American acappella music style, which is sung in four-part harmony by male/female/mixed quartets and choirs. This genre of acappella music originated in American barbershops, which were places for social gatherings at the end of the 19th century, where gentlemen occasionally knew how to pass the waiting time with spontaneous improvised songs. Barbershop music has long since become a part of American culture in the USA. But a growing community has also developed in Germany. Find out more at BinG!
Barbershop singing is created by matching the vowels, pitches and volume of the four voices as precisely as possible. A particularly characteristic feature is the close harmony, which enables a homogeneous sound and multiple overlapping of the overtones of the four voices. If this is sung with clean intonation, a particularly rich sound is achieved, which barbershoppers particularly love and which you simply have to experience for yourself.
In barbershop music, the second tenor sings the melody as the lead voice. (These terms are also used for female voices.) The melody is sung by the lead voice, which lies below the tenor. The bass sings the lowest accompanying notes, while the baritone completes the chords. For the benefit of the voice leading, in harmonic embellishments and in the coda (“tag”), the melody can occasionally be taken over by the tenor for a few notes. Short passages may be sung with fewer than four voices.
Why BarberSHIP???
If you know that the word filk comes from folk, then it’s only a very small step from barbershop to barbership 😉 After all, we’re all geeks. And a pretty red-and-white spaceship suits us well.