Free Resources for Music Educators from Sweet Adelines International!
Sweet Adelines International is committed to elevating women singers through education, performance, and competition in barbershop harmony and a cappella music. As part of that commitment, the organization has created the Young Women in Harmony (YWIH) Program. Designed for women age 25 and younger, YWIH provides music educators complimentary resources to incorporate barbershop harmony in their school’s choral repertoire.
Why is Barbershop Harmony Relevant?
Barbershop harmony is sung by nearly 100,000 men and women of all ages in 14 countries throughout the world. While barbershop harmony was actually sung in barbershops, it started on neighborhood street corners in America in early 2oth century. Thanks to the investigative work of music historian Lynn Abbott (“Play That Barber Shop Chord: A Case for the African-American Origin of Barbershop Harmony”), we know that early barbershop singing, like jazz, blues and gospel, was deeply interwoven with African-American culture. Ironically, many songs that were popular for barbershop style singing in the early 20th century had lyrics that were overtly racist and are now considered offensive. Barbershop harmony organizations around the world are taking aggressive steps to purge this music from their music libraries in an effort to create cultures of equity and inclusion for all singers. The goal of these efforts is to preserve and increase this inspiring and joyful style of singing that is a truly a unique American music art form.
How is barbershop harmony different from SSAA?
Most of us are familiar with the SATB or SSAA choral music, where the melody is usually in the First Soprano line, above all others. The voice parts in barbershop harmony for women have different names and functions than they do in other SATB or SSAA vocal styles. The TENOR part, which sings the highest note in the chord, sings harmony, and is equivalent to a lyric soprano. The LEAD voice, which generally sings the melody, is below the highest harmony, and is equivalent to the second soprano. The BARITONE part fills in the all-important third harmony note in a chord that may be above or below the melody and is equivalent to the alto. The BASS part supplies the harmonic foundation (generally the root or fifth) of the chord and is equivalent to a contralto.
Traditional barbershop music features songs with understandable, often rhyming lyrics and easily singable melodies. Barbershop songs are usually a simple song form such as AABA and are predominantly in major keys with an emphasis on dominant seventh chords that resolve primarily around the circle of fifths. Slower barbershop songs, referred to as “ballads,” make heavy use of ad lib interpretation. Modern barbershop arrangements incorporate a somewhat wider variety of chords, voicings, and structure to accommodate the implied harmonies and styles of popular music. Thousands of barbershop arrangements are available, from easy to very difficult skill levels, representing nearly every era and style of music.
The Barbershop Cone
Barbershop harmonies have a different overall balance than the traditional cylindrical balance of SATB or SSAA ensemble music. The bass provides a robust, dominant sound and the foundational overtone for ringing chords. The lead, though not dominant, is naturally set apart by singing the familiar melody with authority and style. The baritone plays an important role in chord balance by singing more tenor-like when above the lead, and more bass-like when below the lead. The tenor part carries the least amount of weight but sings with bell-like clarity and sufficient maturity of sound to complement the other voices. Understanding and magnifying the unique skills of the various voice parts is an important aspect of developing the true barbershop style.