Barbershop arranging
Encyclopedia
Barbershop arranging is the art of creating arrangement
s of barbershop music
. The Barbershop Harmony Society
(BHS) has prescribed rules that dictate what is an acceptable arrangement, particularly with regard to singing in competition. This makes barbershop arranging a specialist form of arranging, rarely tackled by those outside Barbershop; likewise, barbershop arrangers tend to be known only for their barbershop arrangements rather than for their work in any other musical form.
indicate technical requirements of a barbershop arrangement for use in a BHS contest:
“Barbershop harmony
is a style of unaccompanied
vocal music
characterized by consonant
four-part chord
s for every melody
note
in a predominantly homophonic texture. Each of the four parts has its own role: the lead sings the melody, with the tenor
harmonizing above the melody, the bass
singing the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone
completing the chord. The melody is not sung by the tenor or bass, except for an infrequent note or two to avoid awkward voice leading
, in tag
s or codas
, or when some appropriate embellishing effect can be created. Occasional brief passages may be sung by fewer than four voice parts.
Barbershop music
features songs with understandable lyrics
and easily singable melodies, whose tones clearly define a tonal center and imply major
and minor chord
s and barbershop (dominant and secondary dominant
) seventh chords that resolve primarily around the circle of fifths
, while making frequent use of other resolutions
. What sets barbershop apart from other musical styles is the predominant use of the dominant-type seventh chords. Barbershop music also features a balanced, symmetrical form and a standard meter. The basic song and its harmonization are embellished by the arranger to provide appropriate support of the song's theme and to close the song effectively.”
So-called barbershop seventh chords should represent at least one third of the song’s duration. As an example of circle-of-fifths resolution, a tonic triad - subdominant progression will often use the tonic 7th instead, if it advances the forward motion of the song.
The quality of musical choices are vital to the success of a barbershop arrangement. A skillful arrangement, well executed, will provide the audience with an emotionally satisfying and entertaining experience.
who can arrange should be able to write a barbershop arrangement. However, an understanding of the art form as it is practised and judged in competition is undoubtedly an advantage. A music category judge can assess an arrangement by ear or eye to test whether it is 'barbershop', and hence valid for use in competition. The BHS and its affiliated associations run courses in arranging at 'Harmony University' (formerly 'Harmony College'), which are open to members.
Relevant manuals: "Theory of Barbershop Harmony", "Barbershop Arranging Manual" and "Contest and Judging Manual" are published by the BHS
.
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s of barbershop music
Barbershop music
Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era , is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture...
. The Barbershop Harmony Society
Barbershop Harmony Society
The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. , is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form. Founded by Owen C...
(BHS) has prescribed rules that dictate what is an acceptable arrangement, particularly with regard to singing in competition. This makes barbershop arranging a specialist form of arranging, rarely tackled by those outside Barbershop; likewise, barbershop arrangers tend to be known only for their barbershop arrangements rather than for their work in any other musical form.
Technical requirements
The following 2 paragraphs from the BHSBarbershop Harmony Society
The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. , is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form. Founded by Owen C...
indicate technical requirements of a barbershop arrangement for use in a BHS contest:
“Barbershop harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
is a style of unaccompanied
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
vocal music
Vocal music
Vocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...
characterized by consonant
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
four-part chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
s for every melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
note
Note
In music, the term note has two primary meanings:#A sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound;#A pitched sound itself....
in a predominantly homophonic texture. Each of the four parts has its own role: the lead sings the melody, with the tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
harmonizing above the melody, the bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
singing the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
completing the chord. The melody is not sung by the tenor or bass, except for an infrequent note or two to avoid awkward voice leading
Voice leading
In musical composition, voice leading is the term used to refer to a decision-making consideration when arranging voices , namely, how each voice should move in advancing from each chord to the next.- Details :...
, in tag
Tag (Barbershop)
A tag, in barbershop music, is a dramatic variation put in the last section of the song. Its rough analog in Classical music is a coda.Tags are characterized by heightening the dramatic tension of the song, frequently including a hanger, or sustained note . In addition, good tags can be sung as...
s or codas
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
, or when some appropriate embellishing effect can be created. Occasional brief passages may be sung by fewer than four voice parts.
Barbershop music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
features songs with understandable lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
and easily singable melodies, whose tones clearly define a tonal center and imply major
Major chord
In music theory, a major chord is a chord having a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a major triad...
and minor chord
Minor chord
In music theory, a minor chord is a chord having a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth.When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a minor triad....
s and barbershop (dominant and secondary dominant
Secondary dominant
Secondary dominant is an analytical label for a specific harmonic device, prevalent in the tonal idiom of Western music beginning in the common practice period...
) seventh chords that resolve primarily around the circle of fifths
Circle of fifths
In music theory, the circle of fifths shows the relationships among the 12 tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures, and the associated major and minor keys...
, while making frequent use of other resolutions
Resolution (music)
Resolution in western tonal music theory is the move of a note or chord from dissonance to a consonance .Dissonance, resolution, and suspense can be used to create musical interest...
. What sets barbershop apart from other musical styles is the predominant use of the dominant-type seventh chords. Barbershop music also features a balanced, symmetrical form and a standard meter. The basic song and its harmonization are embellished by the arranger to provide appropriate support of the song's theme and to close the song effectively.”
So-called barbershop seventh chords should represent at least one third of the song’s duration. As an example of circle-of-fifths resolution, a tonic triad - subdominant progression will often use the tonic 7th instead, if it advances the forward motion of the song.
The quality of musical choices are vital to the success of a barbershop arrangement. A skillful arrangement, well executed, will provide the audience with an emotionally satisfying and entertaining experience.
Learning arranging
Anyone with a knowledge of music theoryMusic theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
who can arrange should be able to write a barbershop arrangement. However, an understanding of the art form as it is practised and judged in competition is undoubtedly an advantage. A music category judge can assess an arrangement by ear or eye to test whether it is 'barbershop', and hence valid for use in competition. The BHS and its affiliated associations run courses in arranging at 'Harmony University' (formerly 'Harmony College'), which are open to members.
Relevant manuals: "Theory of Barbershop Harmony", "Barbershop Arranging Manual" and "Contest and Judging Manual" are published by the BHS
Barbershop Harmony Society
The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. , is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form. Founded by Owen C...
.
Notable barbershop arrangers
- David Harrington a cappella arranger www.studiodh.com
- Phil Embury (Arranged music for the Buffalo Bills (quartet)Buffalo Bills (quartet)The Buffalo Bills were a barbershop quartet formed in Buffalo, New York, on September 20, 1947. The original members were tenor Vern Reed, an executive for the Tonawanda Boys' Club, lead Al Shea, who was a city of Buffalo policeman, baritone Herschel Smith, a corporate executive, and bass Bill...
) - Gene Bender (Director of the Valley Forge Chorus)
- Dave Briner
- Rob Campbell
- Jim Clancy (Director of the Vocal MajorityVocal MajorityThe Vocal Majority is a Dallas, Texas-based men's chorus of over 150 singers, billed as "America's Premier Pops Chorus." The VM is part of the Dallas Metro chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society...
chorus) - Gene Cokeroft
- Renee Craig
- Aaron Dale
- Paul Davies
- Roy Dawson
- Steve Delehanty
- Liz Garnett
- Tom Gentry
- Jay Giallombardo (director of the New Tradition ChorusNew Tradition ChorusThe New Tradition Chorus is a men's barbershop chorus based in Northbrook, IL, in the Chicago area. Founded in 1982, they have competed at the International Chorus Contest of the Barbershop Harmony Society 19 times, winning a medal on every attempt, until the 2009 competition, where they finished...
) - Brent Graham (director of the City of Lakes Chorus)
- Don Gray
- Warren 'Buzz' Haeger (deceased)
- Val Hicks (deceased)
- Clay HineClay HineClay Hine is a barbershop musician and arranger.He is a native Chicagoan, but has lived in the Atlanta Metro area now for 20 years since he graduated from the University of Illinois in 1986 with a degree in electrical engineering. Before college he sang with The West Towns Chorus winning 2...
- John Hohl
- Rob Hopkins
- Fred KingFred KingFred James King was a professional football player who played in the National Football League during the 1937 season. That season he joined the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers. The Dodgers were a team based in Brooklyn, New York....
(deceased) - Joe Johnson
- Walter Latzko (deceased)
- Joe Liles
- Lou Perry (deceased)
- Mo Rector (deceased)
- Burt Szabo
- Greg Volk
- Ed Waesche(deceased)
- David Wright
- Chuck Brooks
- Adam Reimnitz
- Mark HaleMark HaleMark Hale is an American linguistics professor now teaching at Concordia University in Montreal. He studies the methodology of historical linguistics and Austronesian linguistics....
See also
- A cappella musicA cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
- American HarmonyAmerican HarmonyAmerican Harmony is a 2009 documentary film directed and produced by Aengus James, produced by Colin Miller, and edited by Kate Amend.American Harmony, the documentary, was initially screened at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s 2008 International Convention in Nashville.The film is a tribute to the...
Documentary Film about Barbershop music - Barbershop Arrangements
- Barbershop Harmony SocietyBarbershop Harmony SocietyThe Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. , is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form. Founded by Owen C...
- Barbershop musicBarbershop musicBarbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era , is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture...
- Sweet Adelines InternationalSweet Adelines InternationalSweet Adelines International is a worldwide organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performances. This independent, nonprofit music education association is one of the world's largest singing organizations for women...