I’m excited to share with you what barbershop harmony is all about, because it’s something we absolutely love in our chorus. Barbershop harmony is a style of unaccompanied singing (a cappella) in four-part harmonyanchormen.ca. That means we sing without any instruments – just voices blending to create rich, ringing chords that can send tingles down your spine. It’s often said that barbershop is one of the few uniquely American musical art forms, born around the same time as jazz in the early 1900sbarbershop.org. But most of all, barbershop is fun! There’s nothing quite like the thrill of locking chords with friends and hearing that beautiful overtone ring in the air.

Why is it called "Barbershop"?

You might be wondering about the name – do you really have to sing in a barbershop? 😄 The name “barbershop” comes from the genre’s origins over a century ago. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, barbershops were popular social hangouts. While folks waited for a haircut, they would pass the time by singing together in harmony. In fact, “in the late 1800s and early 1900s, every barbershop had its own quartet”behrendblog.com. Barbershops became community gathering places where people could harmonize on popular songs, and the style of music took on the name of the venue. The term “barbershop” for this kind of close-harmony singing was first documented in 1910 with the publication of the song “Play That Barbershop Chord”behrendblog.com – proof that by then, everyone knew what a barbershop chord meant. So, while we don’t actually sing in barber chairs today, the name stuck as a tribute to those musical beginnings!

(Fun fact: The classic image of striped vests and straw hats was more of a Hollywood invention – in reality, barbershop music was a melting pot of musical influences and was sung by people of all backgrounds in those early days.)

The Four Voice Parts in Barbershop

One thing that makes barbershop harmony special is how four different voice parts work together to create one beautiful sound. In barbershop singing, songs are arranged for four voice parts: Lead, Tenor, Baritone, and Bass – and each part has a unique role in making those chords so satisfyinganchormen.ca:

• Lead – This is the part that sings the main melody. The lead is the second-highest voice and usually carries the tune that you would hum.
  
  

• Tenor – The tenor is the highest voice part, singing harmonies above the lead. Tenors often sing in a light, pure tone (sometimes falsetto) and add sparkle to the chord.
  
  

• Baritone – The baritone sings in the middle range and often has the “trickiest” job. Baritones weave their notes either above or below the lead’s melody to complete the chord. They fill in those missing puzzle pieces of the harmony.
  
  

• Bass – The bass is the lowest voice part, singing the deep notes that form the foundation of each chord. The bass provides the vocal “bottom end,” like a human bass fiddle, making the sound rich and full.
  
  

When these four parts come together on every chord, the result is that classic barbershop sound – chords that ring and seem to hang in the air. Barbershop arrangers love to use a particular kind of chord called the “barbershop seventh” (a type of seventh chord) which gives our music that iconic crunchy harmony and zinganchormen.ca. Those crunchy chords are what make barbershop songs instantly recognizable and uniquely enjoyable to sing. When we lock and tune a barbershop seventh just right, you can hear overtones (extra ringing tones) that almost sound like a fifth voice – it’s an amazing feeling!