What is barbershop?

Barbershop harmony is a style of a cappella music (without accompaniment or instruments) sung in four parts: lead, bass, baritone, and tenor. The lead is usually the melody line, the main melody of the song. The bass is the lowest harmony line. The tenor is the highest harmony part, sailing high above the lead's melody. The baritone dances above and below the lead's melody to round out the four-part chords. If barbershop singers sing the words in the same space (i.e., space in the mouth and throat) and with similar phonetics (singing the consonants and vowels alike), the chords will "lock and ring," the dream of all barbershoppers! For when the chord rings, a fifth pitch is created that soars high above the tenor part -- an overtone! Barbershop singers work tirelessly to master their singing skills so that they can produce overtones when they sing. For more information on barbershop basics, visit the Sweet Adelines International Education website.

Pitch Pipe Magazine

If you want to stay informed of the all the happenings of the female barbershop music scene, subscribe to Pitch Pipe, which is put out by Sweet Adelines International each quarter. It's full of news, reviews, and previews of coming events and competitions. For more information, click here.

 

 

History of Sweet Adelines International

After World War II, barbershop singing was growing increasingly popular for men. In 1945, a small group of women wanted to participate in the chord-ringing, fun-filled harmony that the men were singing. So these women organized "Sweet Adelines in America." From its humble beginnings in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Sweet Adelines International, as it is now called, has grown to a membership of almost 30,000 women in countries all across the globe.