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63-617: Sweet Adelines International was established in 1945 by Edna Mae Anderson of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The aim was to teach and train its members in music and to create and promote barbershop quartets and other musical groups. She gathered a group of women who wanted to participate in the "chord-ringing, fun-filled harmony" that their husbands, members of the men's Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA), were singing. SPEBSQSA has since changed its name to

126-425: A cappella forms of traditional black gospel and white gospel . The modern era of barbershop music is accepted to have begun with a 1940s revival, though opinions as to the genre's origins vary with respect to race, gender, region, and context. Other researchers argue that today's barbershop music is an invented tradition related to several musical features popular around 1900, including quartet singing and

189-451: A cappella to prevent the distracting introduction of equal-tempered intonation, and because listening to anything but the other three voices interferes with a performer's ability to tune with the precision required. Barbershop arrangements stress chords and chord progressions that favor "ringing", at the expense of suspended and diminished chords and other harmonic vocabulary of the ragtime and jazz forms. The dominant seventh-type chord

252-555: A cappella song. The image was adopted by SPEBSQSA in its promotion of the art. In late 2004, the Society established Barbershop Harmony Society as its new "brand name", with a logo and identity program released in 2005. The legal name remained SPEBSQSA, Inc. A key aspect of the Society's mission is in the preservation of barbershop music. To this end, it maintains the Old Songs Library. Holding over 100,000 titles (750,000 sheets) this

315-460: A chord". This was acknowledged as early as 1882, when a New York Age writer traced the development of this singing as a home-grown amusement, arising from the exclusion of Black people from theaters and concert halls. Jazz musician Louis Armstrong told of having harmonized on New Orleans street corners as a boy, and NAACP executive secretary James Weldon Johnson "grew up singing barbershop harmony". Later, white minstrel singers adopted

378-416: A chord, but almost always draw on a discourse of physical work and exertion; thus, they 'hit', 'chop', 'ring', 'crack', 'swipe', and 'bust.' Vocal harmony is interpreted as an embodied musicking . Barbershoppers never lose sight (or sound) of its physicality." English "barber's music" was described in the 17th century by Samuel Pepys as amateur instrumental music. The Encyclopædia Britannica considers

441-473: A continuous beat, and notes are often held (or sped up) ad libitum . Except for the bass , the voice parts in barbershop singing do not correspond closely to their classical music counterparts; the tenor range and tessitura are similar to those of the classical countertenor , the baritone resembles the Heldentenor or lyric baritone in range and a tenor in tessitura, and the lead generally corresponds to

504-439: A grasping at my heart, Oh Lord play that Barber shop chord! Averill notes the hints of rapture , "quasi-religion" and erotic passion in the language used by barbershoppers to describe the emotional effect. He quotes Jim Ewin as reporting "a tingling of the spine, the raising of the hairs on the back of the neck, the spontaneous arrival of goose flesh on the forearm ... the fifth note has almost mysterious propensities. It's

567-577: A group forum. A contest was held for the best female barbershop quartet in Tulsa, Oklahoma . The winners that first year were the Decaturettes from Decatur, Illinois . The members were Viola Phillips singing Tenor, Mary Minton singing Lead, Myrtle Vest singing Baritone, and Eva Adams singing Bass. In 1973, the organization held its first international chorus competition in Washington, D.C. The contest presented

630-481: A new and exciting experience for all competing Sweet Adelines. With 64 members on stage singing Heart of My Heart/That Old Gang of Mine medley and There's a New Gang on the Corner , Racine Chorus from Racine, Wisconsin were the first chorus to receive the "international champion chorus" title. With Racine Chorus' international win, chorus director Jarmela Speta, member of 1955 International Champion The Nota-Belles, became

693-542: A new headquarters location, the Society sold both Harmony Hall, a historic lakefront mansion in Kenosha, Wisconsin , and its nearby facility (known as Harmony Hall West) located in a strip mall which the Society purchased in 1976 and renovated. HHW had housed finance, merchandising, IT and membership. Operations and staff from both buildings were consolidated into a remodeled HHW. In 2006 the Society announced plans to move its headquarters to Nashville, Tennessee . In August 2007,

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756-528: A primarily homorhythmic texture. Each of the four parts has its own role: generally, the lead sings the melody, the tenor harmonizes above the melody, the bass sings the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone completes the chord, usually below the lead. The melody is not usually sung by the tenor or baritone, except for an infrequent note or two to avoid awkward voice leading , in tags or codas , or when some appropriate embellishment can be created. One characteristic feature of barbershop harmony

819-525: A quartet wins the international gold medal, the foursome is considered champions forever and may not compete again. A chorus that wins the gold must sit out only for the next two competitions. In 2020, the society inaugurated an annual Awards Gala to "amplify and celebrate" those who have impacted the barbershop genre via excellence and service. Award nominations are accepted from January into February, selected nominees announced in April, and winners made known during

882-400: A replacement from the ranks of the chorus. Choruses can also provide "spare parts" to temporarily replace a quartet member who is ill or temporarily out of town. Unlike a quartet, a chorus need not have equal numbers singing each voice part. According to BHS, the ideal balance in a chorus is about 40% bass, 30% lead, 20% baritone and 10% tenor singers. Filling the gap between the chorus and

945-440: A shared canonic repertoire—all famous, traditional examples of the barbershop genre: The Barbershop Harmony Society announced on May 28, 2015, that the "Polecat" program would be expanded to include the following songs: Examples of other songs popular in the barbershop genre are: While these traditional songs still play a part in barbershop today, barbershop music also includes more current titles. Most music can be arranged in

1008-459: A worldwide organization of women singers, was established in 1945 by Edna Mae Anderson of Tulsa, Oklahoma . The aim was to teach and train its members in music and to create and promote barbershop quartets and other musical groups. By year's end, the first chapter incorporated in Oklahoma with Anderson as its president. Sweet Adelines went international on March 23, 1953, when the first chapter outside

1071-521: Is an extreme emphasis on them that tends to override other musical values. For example, favored chords in the jazz style are characterized by intervals which do not audibly ring, such as diminished or augmented fifths. For another example, Barbershop music is always a cappella, because the presence of fixed-pitch instruments (tuned to equal-temperament rather than just temperament), which is so highly prized in other choral styles, makes perfect just tuning of chords impossible. The physics and psychophysics of

1134-486: Is confusing to those with musical training. Averill suggests that it was "a shorthand for chord types other than major triads", and says that the use of the word for "dominant seventh-type chords and diminished chords" was common in the late nineteenth century. A 1910 song called "Play That Barber Shop Chord" (often cited as an early example of "barbershop" in reference to music) contains the lines: 'Cause Mister when you start that minor part I feel your fingers slipping and

1197-408: Is generally used elsewhere. In reference to the acronym SPEBSQSA, The Society has said "attempts to pronounce the name are discouraged". Unofficially, it is sometimes pronounced as if it were spelled "Spebsqua". Sharp Harmony , a Norman Rockwell painting, appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post magazine issue dated September 26, 1936; it depicts a barber and three clients enjoying

1260-411: Is not heard in chords sounded on modern keyboard instruments, due to the slight tuning imperfection of the equal-tempered scale. Gage Averill writes that "Barbershoppers have become partisans of this acoustic phenomenon" and that "the more experienced singers of the barbershop revival (at least after 1938) have self-consciously tuned their dominant seventh and tonic chords in just intonation to maximize

1323-403: Is so important to barbershop harmony that it is called the "barbershop seventh". BHS arrangers believe that a song should contain dominant seventh chords anywhere from 35 to 60 percent of the time (measured as a percentage of the duration of the song rather than a percentage of the chords present) to sound "barbershop". Historically barbershoppers may have used the word "minor chord" in a way that

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1386-598: Is so that whenever any barbershoppers meet they will always have something ready to sing. The society has also published collections such as Strictly Barbershop . Harmony Foundation International, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, was incorporated in 1959 as a charitable subsidiary of the Barbershop Harmony Society; it raises financial support for the society's programs. 36°9′36″N 86°46′52″W  /  36.16000°N 86.78111°W  / 36.16000; -86.78111 In 2003, in preparation for

1449-451: Is the largest sheet music collection in the world excepting only the Library of Congress . The " Barberpole Cat Program" is a collection of 12 songs (commonly known as "polecats") that are considered standard repertoire for every barbershopper (" Let Me Call You Sweetheart ", "My Wild Irish Rose", etc.) Every member receives a booklet upon joining the society. The purpose of this collection

1512-419: Is the use of what is known as "snakes" and "swipes". This is when a chord is altered by a change in one or more non-melodic voices. Occasional passages may be sung by fewer than four voice parts. Barbershop music is generally performed by either a barbershop quartet , a group of four singers with one on each vocal part, or a barbershop chorus , which closely resembles a choir with the notable exception of

1575-544: The American Quartet , and the Peerless Quartet . Modern barbershop quartets often costume themselves in gaudy versions of the vaudeville dress of this time, with boaters and vertically striped vests. Composer and pianist Scott Joplin incorporated a barbershop quartet into his 1911 opera Treemonisha . The genre gradually faded into obscurity in the 1920s, although barbershop-style harmonies remained in evidence in

1638-612: The Barbershop Harmony Society . By year's end, the first chapter incorporated in Oklahoma with Anderson as its president. It had 85 members and a chapter name, Atomaton (for "an atom of an idea and a ton of energy") that recognized the Atomic Age . Sweet Adelines went international on March 23, 1953, when the first chapter outside the U.S. was chartered in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Even though there were international chapters, it

1701-506: The black tie gala held early in the week of the international contests. Awards are given for the Barbershopper, Quartet, Ensemble, Arranger, Innovator, Ambassador, Album, and Video of the Year, as well as Lifetime Achievement for an Arranger. Several pre-existent awards and honors are also now announced at the gala, including Hall of Fame, Honorary Membership, Harmony Fellows (50-year members) and

1764-456: The tenor of classical repertoire, with some singers possessing a tessitura more similar to that of a high baritone . Barbershop singing is performed both by men's and women's groups; the elements of the barbershop style and the names of the voice parts are the same for both. The defining characteristic of the barbershop style is the ringing chord, one in which certain overtones of the four voices reinforce each other, sometimes so strongly that

1827-415: The 19-century origins of the quartet style as "obscure", possibly referring back to barber's music, or dating to when barbershops served as community centers, where men would gather for social and musical activities with barbers traditionally being musicians. Historical memoirs and journalism indicate a strong tradition of quartet singing among young African American men, gathering informally to "crack up

1890-430: The Barbershop Harmony Society, a chorus is the main performing aspect of each chapter. In competition, choruses may have as few as 12 members singing, with no upper limit. Choruses normally sing with a director, as distinct from quartets. It is not uncommon for a new quartet to form within a chorus, or for an established quartet affiliated with a given chorus to lose a member (to death, retirement, or relocation) and recruit

1953-508: The Joe Liles Lifetime Achievement Award (for a chorus director). With the inaugural year's international convention canceled due to COVID-19, a virtual awards event was held on September 14, 2020. Since 2004, the society's Hall of Fame recognizes quartets and individual members who have made exceptional contributions to barbershop as a whole. For purposes of administration, particularly of local education and contests,

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2016-518: The Society completed the relocation to 110 Seventh Avenue North, in Nashville. In June 2018, the society announced it would allow women to join as full members, with each chapter deciding whether to remain all-male or add a mixed or all-women's chorus. Since 2009, women had been allowed to join as associates. To promote and improve barbershop singing, the society annually runs international and district-level contests for choruses and quartets . When

2079-530: The Society for the Preservation and Propagation of BarberShop Quartet Singing in the U.S. is available to male singers. Similar organizations exist in other continents and countries. A barbershop chorus sings a cappella music in the barbershop style. Most barbershop choruses belong to a larger association of practitioners such as the Barbershop Harmony Society, Sweet Adelines International, LABBS (Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers), BABS (British Association of Barbershop Singers) or Harmony, Inc. In

2142-631: The U.S. was chartered in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Even though there were international chapters, it was not until May 1991 that the name officially changed to Sweet Adelines International. It has a current membership of 23,000 and holds an annual international singing competition. In 1957, several members of Sweet Adelines International (SAI) broke from the organization in protest of the policy limiting membership to Caucasian women. In 1958, chapters from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Orillia, Ontario, also left SAI to form Harmony, Incorporated. (Sweet Adelines changed their policy in 1966). Harmony, Inc.

2205-515: The US, the vast majority of regions are allocated to geographic areas of the US. This is followed by five regions allocated to Canada, one each to Australia and New Zealand, one each to Great Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands, and Finland and Sweden. A final "satellite" region is reserved for anywhere else in the world. In 1947, the organization held a convention as a means to gather all members together in

2268-556: The United Kingdom, Spanish Association of Barbershop Singers (SABS) and Society of Nordic Barbershop Singers (SNOBS). A barbershop quartet is an ensemble of four people who sing a cappella in the exacting barbershop music genre. In North America, the Barbershop Harmony Society hosts contests for all singers. Female barbershop quartet singers can also compete in Sweet Adelines International or Harmony, Inc., and

2331-648: The United States organizations listed above or by the World Harmony Council. Some are gender exclusive organizations while some are mixed. They include; British Association of Barbershop Singers , Barbershop Harmony Australia (BHA), Barbershop Harmony New Zealand (BHNZ), Barbershop in Germany (BinG), Finnish Association of Barbershop Singers (FABS), Holland Harmony (HH), Irish Association of Barbershop Singers (IABS), Ladies Association of Barbershop Singers (LABBS) in

2394-552: The United States, there are three major organizations which are intended to preserve the style of Barbershop music: The Barbershop Harmony Society, a historically men's organization until 2018, Sweet Adelines International, a women's organization and Harmony, Incorporated which splintered off from Sweet Adelines in 1959. A minor organization began in 2014 called the Mixed Harmony Barbershop Association to promote mixed harmony barbershop quartets and choruses within

2457-401: The alternate name "Barbershop Harmony Society" early in its history. While its legal name has never changed, it changed its official brand name to "Barbershop Harmony Society" in 2004. For the majority of its history, the society had all-male membership. It was all-white until 1963 when it allowed black members, and since 2018, it allows women to join as members. Sweet Adelines International,

2520-427: The consummation devoutly wished by those of us who love Barbershop harmony. If you ask us to explain why we love it so, we are hard put to answer; that's where our faith takes over." Averill notes too the use of the language of addiction, "there's this great big chord that gets people hooked." An early manual was entitled "A Handbook for Adeline Addicts". He notes too that "barbershoppers almost never speak of 'singing'

2583-479: The criteria set forth by the organization. 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. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form. Founded by Owen C. Cash and Rupert I. Hall in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1938,

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2646-466: The effect are fairly well understood; it occurs when the upper harmonics in the individual voice notes, and the sum and difference frequencies resulting from nonlinear combinations within the ear, reinforce each other at a particular frequency, strengthening it so that it stands out separately above the blended sound. The effect is audible only on certain kinds of chords, and only when all voices are equally rich in harmonics and justly tuned and balanced. It

2709-646: The first of only six Sweet Adelines to win gold medals as both a chorus director and a quartet member. Sweet Adelines International set the Guinness World Record for Largest Singing Lesson on October 24, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. The record-setting event coincided with the 63rd annual International Convention and Competition held at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee . Music professional and past Sweet Adelines International Quartet Champion Peggy Gram led

2772-401: The four voices simultaneously creates the perception of a "fifth voice" while at the same time melding the four voices into a unified sound. The ringing chord is qualitatively different in sound from an ordinary musical chord e.g. as sounded on a tempered-scale keyboard instrument. Most elements of the "revivalist" style are related to the desire to produce these ringing chords. Performance is

2835-465: The genre of music. According to the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), "Barbershop music features songs with understandable lyrics and easily singable melodies, whose tones clearly define a tonal center and imply major and minor chords and barbershop (dominant and secondary dominant) seventh chords that resolve primarily around the circle of fifths , while making frequent use of other resolutions." Slower barbershop songs, especially ballads, often eschew

2898-566: The globe. The organization includes women from a wide range of backgrounds who love to sing. In 2012, Sweet Adelines International claimed a membership of 24,000 women, all singing in English, includes choruses in most of the fifty United States as well as in Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, Wales and the Netherlands. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma,

2961-408: The lesson by demonstrating inspiring techniques for integrating the voice into the art form. The venue was filled with sound as 6,651 singers practiced the demonstrated techniques and sang simultaneously for the duration of the 10-minute lesson. Guinness World Records official adjudicator Danny Girton Jr. presided over the certificate ceremony to validate the record and confirm that the achievement met

3024-546: The organization encompasses more than 1,200 registered quartets and 600 choruses. For organizational purposes, all choruses and quartets affiliate to SAI as members of a geographic "region", each region being approximately the same size in terms of total SAI members. The number and boundaries of the regions are adjusted periodically and as of 2015 there are 28 active regions numbered 1–35. (Region numbers 7, 18, 20, 24, 27–29, and 33 no longer exist, and were merged into neighboring regions.) Corresponding to its popularity and origin in

3087-404: The organization has published a bi-monthly magazine titled The Harmonizer . The original name SPEBSQSA was intended as a lampoon on Roosevelt's New Deal alphabet agencies . Because of the name's length and the difficult-to-pronounce acronym, society staff and members often refer to SPEBSQSA as The Society . For decades, SPEBSQSA was the official name, while the Barbershop Harmony Society

3150-507: The organization quickly grew, promoting barbershop harmony among men of all ages. As of 2014, just under 23,000 men in the United States and Canada were members of this organization whose focus is on a cappella music. The international headquarters was in Kenosha, Wisconsin for fifty years before moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 2007. In June 2018, the society announced it would allow women to join as full members. A parallel women's singing organization, Sweet Adelines International (SAI)

3213-412: The overlap of common overtones." However, "In practice, it seems that most leads rely on an approximation of an equal-tempered scale for the melody, to which the other voices adjust vertically in just intonation." What is prized is not so much the "overtone" itself, but a unique sound whose achievement is most easily recognized by the presence of the "overtone". The precise synchrony of the waveforms of

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3276-529: The overtone is perceived by the listener as a distinct tone, even though none of the voices are perceived as singing that tone. This effect occurs when the chord, as voiced, contains intervals which have strongly reinforcing overtones (fifths and octaves, for example) that fall in the audible range; and when the chord is sung in perfect just tuning without excessive vibrato. Both of these characteristics are important in many styles of singing, but in Barbershop there

3339-545: The quartet is what is known as a VLQ or Very Large Quartet, in which more than four singers perform together, with two or more voices on some or all of the four parts. A VLQ possesses greater flexibility than a standard quartet, since they can perform even with one or more singers missing, as long as all four parts are covered. Like a normal quartet, a VLQ usually performs without a director. Barbershop Harmony Society 's Barberpole Cat Songs "Polecats"—12 songs which all Barbershop Harmony Society members are encouraged to learn as

3402-444: The society is organized into 17 geographical districts as follows. (Chapter quantities are as of April 2024.) There are currently two chapters ( Hell's Kitchen, New York and Loveland, Colorado ) that are not part of any district. Barbershop music Barbershop vocal harmony is a style of a cappella close harmony , or unaccompanied vocal music , characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in

3465-469: The style, and in the early days of the recording industry their performances were recorded and sold. Early standards included songs such as " Shine On, Harvest Moon ", " Hello, Ma Baby ", and " Sweet Adeline ". Johnson noted in the 1920s how the genre had already crossed racial barriers. Barbershop music was very popular between 1900 and 1919, and some of the most popular quartets were the Haydn Quartet ,

3528-498: The three major organizations and internationally. The Society for the Preservation and Propagation of BarberShop Quartet Singing in the U.S. (SPPBSQSUS) formed in 2018 as a fraternal organization to preserve and perpetuate the all-male barbershop quartet. The revival of a cappella singing took place circa 1938 when tax lawyer Owen C. Cash sought to save the art form from the threat of radio. He garnered support from investment banker Rupert I. Hall. Both came from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cash

3591-449: The use of the barbershop chord, but effectively created during the 1940s in the ranks of the Barbershop Harmony Society whilst creating a system of singing contests and its contest rules. Barbershop music is promoted through the use of competition for quartets and choruses run by not-for-profit organizations. Barbershop organizations often provide judging, education, coaching and promotion services for local choruses and quartets. In

3654-413: Was a partisan of quartet singing who advertised the fact that he did not want a cappella to fall by the wayside. Thousands of men responded. Later the "Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America" was established, known by the abbreviation S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. at a time when many institutions in the US used multiple initials to denote their function. The group adopted

3717-486: Was an officially recognized and sanctioned alternate. Members were encouraged to use the alternate name, because it was felt that the official name was an in-joke that did not resonate outside the Society. In mid-2004, faced with declining membership, the Society adopted a marketing plan that called for using "Barbershop Harmony Society" consistently and retaining the old name for certain legal purposes. The old official name spelled "barber shop" as two words, while barbershop

3780-464: Was founded in 1945. A second women's barbershop harmony organization, Harmony, Incorporated , broke from SAI in 1959 over an issue of racial exclusion , with SAI (like SPEBSQSA and many other organizations) being white-only at that time; SPEBSQSA officially lifted the requirement in 1963. Several international affiliate organizations, in countries around the world, add their own flavor to the signature sound of barbershop harmony . Since November 1941,

3843-613: Was incorporated in the State of Rhode Island on February 26, 1959. The founding member chapters of Harmony, Inc. were the Melody Belles of Providence, Rhode Island; Sea Gals of New Bedford, Massachusetts; The Harmonettes from North Attleboro, Massachusetts; Harmony Belles of Barrie-Orillia, Ontario; and the Harborettes from Scituate, Massachusetts. In 1963, a Sweet Adeline chapter in Ottawa, Ontario

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3906-420: Was not until May 1991 that the name officially changed to Sweet Adelines International. In 1957, Harmony, Incorporated split from Sweet Adelines over a dispute regarding admission of Black members. SPEBSQSA and Sweet Adelines at that time restricted their membership to whites, but both opened membership to all races a few years later. Today, Sweet Adelines International has a very diverse membership that spans

3969-645: Was threatened with expulsion after accepting a black woman, Lana Clowes, as a member. As a result, Ottawa's Capital Chordettes left SAI to become the seventh chapter to join Harmony, Incorporated. In 2013, Harmony, Inc. announced the creation of the Affiliate membership category, extending membership to men involved with the organization. After the establishment of the above organizations, other countries have begun their organizations to promote Barbershop music. These international organizations are often affiliated with one of

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