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What’s a Barbershop Song?
“A barbershop arrangement, well written and artistically performed is MUSIC; it is music of a special type, with unique stylistic features that set it apart from all other styles of MUSIC. As a style of MUSICal expression, barbershop MUSIC is just as valid as the Baroque musical style of a Bach cantata, a Gesualdo madrigal, or a Mozart piano sonata.” – Dr. Burt Szabo The Barbershop Arranging Manual was prepared under the supervision of the Department of Music Education and Services of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quart Singing in America, Inc. and was printed in 1981. Dr. Robert Johnson, Robert Johnson, Director of Music Education and Services credits the following contributors: Dennis Driscoll, Russ Foris, Tom Tom Gentil, Ed Gentry, Don Gray, Dr. Val Val Hicks, Mac Huff, Joe Liles, Dr. Greg Lyne, Lou Perry Perr y, Dr. Jim Richards – along with Dave Stevens and Dr. Burt Szabo who compiled and edited the material presented.
The 7 Elements of a good “Barbershop Song”: 1. Melody 2. Lyric 3. Harmony (suggested or implied by the melody). 4. Rhythm 5. Meter 6. Form 7. Harmonic Rhythm
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What’s a Barbershop Song?
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Melody 1. Should be within the range of the average, male lead singer. (Generally agreed to be Eb or D below middle C to F a fourth above). 2. Should lie primarily on the scale line of the song’s key, and be more conjunctive than disjunctive. (An interval is the distance between any two pitches. A melody that moves in small, connected intervals is conjunct , while one that moves by leaps is disjunct .) 3. Should use a minimum of chromatically altered notes on stress beats (the raising or lowering of a musical tone by a half step on a stress beat). 4. Should probably have more ascending phrases than defending phrases. 5. Sol to Sol melodies are better vehicles for barbershop that Do to Do. 6. Should not use a lot of low tonics, thirds, or sevenths.
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Lyric 1. It should be in good taste by any standard. 2. It should be language generally associated with the period 1890 to 1930. Archaic or “pre-period” songs, and those which are freely modern, hippie, or over-sophisticated do not relate well to barbershop. 3. It should be a lyric which reflects an ingenuous quality —sincere, simple, and straightforward, universal, and unsophisticated.
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Harmony (suggested or implied by the melody) 1. A good barbershop melody implies chords based on the Barbershop Chord Vocabulary and the melodic line suggests harmonies that follow the Circle-of-fifths progression. 2. The most characteristic harmonic structure is the barbershop seventh. Melodies which do not suggest frequent barbershop sevenths are not good barbershop melodies, 3. Inappropriate use of the barbershop seventh, or forcing nonbarbershop song types into barbershop harmony inevitably results in a flagrant case of stylistic incompatibility. 4. Many melodies do not suggest enough variety of chords for good barbershop, while others demand complex sounds out of the scope of barbershop.
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What’s a Barbershop Song?
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Minor chords and harmony are part of the barbershop style, but songs which are predominantly minor are not good barbershop songs. Songs clearly recognizable as being in “other” styles are going to sound out of place when forced into barbershop.
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Rhythm 1. Rhythmic patterns generally "in vogue” from the turn of the century into the ’20s are characteristic of good barbershop. The influences of early Jazz, Dixieland, and Ragtime are found in songs of this period and are part of the barbershop tradition. Songs written since, including no w, which utilize representative rhythmic patterns qualify as barbershop songs — at least in the area of rhythm. 2. The more complex rhythm devices which developed after the ‘20s and are characteristic of the large, sophisticated instrumental bands, or of more jazz/swing groups are not consistent with our style. The “exotic” rhythms, and those rhythms which developed largely from other cultures are not representative of barbershop. 3. Many songs turn out to be good vehicles for barbershop if some of the rhythmic camouflage can be appropriately simplified. 4. The rhythmic structures of good barbershop melodies offer opportunities for interpretive liberties and room for embellishing devices.
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Meter 1. Barbershop songs are usually in “simple” meter of two-four, four-four, three-four, and cut time. 2. Most “compound” meters are not representative of the style, and complex or constantly changing meters are inconsistent with good barbershop. 3. Many good barbershop songs were written in a certain meter because of what was popular at the moment. The discerning arranger looks for the true feel of the song, and may decide, if appropriat e, that it can be more effective in a different meter.
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Form 1. Song form refers to horizontal rather than vertical structure, and is the division of the duration of the song into progressively smaller units of time. A verse and chorus is “two-part” form. Further, each part is divided into phrases and sub-phrases.
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What’s a Barbershop Song?
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Good songs for barbershop generally have verses of two (or four) phrases, and a chorus of four (or eight) phrases, and the phrases are usually four or eight in length, never three, five, or seven. The most appropriate form of the chorus is ABAB or ABAC, and AABA, the letters representing like or unlike thematic material. A good refrain reveals a balance between these phrases of unity and contrast.
Harmonic Rhythm 1. The term HARMONIC RHYTHM may be misleading because “rhythm” is expressed by using notes of various durational values (half, quarter, and eight notes) and has nothing to do with harmonic rhythm. The piano man who plays by ear — and who plays the RIGHT chords at the RIGHT time — has the perception of primary harmony He may “embellish” the basic harmony called for by the melody, but he never fails to make the essential chord changes at the right places. The barbershop ear singer who seems to feel “what’s coming next” has the perception of the correct harmonic rhythm. He too may add other chords to the basic chord changes called for by the melody, but he always “makes the right move at the right time.”
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So understanding harmonic rhythm — how OFTEN chord changes occur-we must at the same time be aware that some harmonic changes are required while some are added to increase interest or excitement. Since required harmonic changes are chord root changes, it is the PERCEPTION of these primary “pillars” or harmonic signposts that is essential to the arranger.
TO SUM IT ALL UP The best BARBERSHOP SONG is simple and ingenuous, with an air of sophisticated innocence. Most of all, it is meant to be sung with affection and an understanding heart.
