© Wight Harmony June 2010 - All Rights Reserved A History Of Barbershop Harmony Music Barbershop harmony is a form of music that is thought to be native to the United States. The barbershop style comes from the combination of chord structure, sound, delivery and interpretation, which locks the chords to produce overtones. In the early years of barbershop music, singers usually improvised the harmonies. This particular style of music emerged in the mid nineteenth century as part of the minstrel and vaudeville shows. At the turn of the century, amateur singers, usually men could often be found “woodshedding” (gathering in groups to practice). Minstrel shows also featured quartets, which sang while the next performer prepared for his presentation. Barbershop Harmony appeared at a time when the barbershop was the social centre of many communities. Growth was encouraged by the types of songs popular between the 1860s and 1920s. These songs, characterised by sentimental lyrics and uncomplicated melodies could be harmonised with a variety of four-part chords. Barbershop harmony's four voice parts are still called by their traditional names - tenor, lead, baritone and bass - whether referring to men's or women's vocal groups. One of the distinctive qualities of barbershop harmony is that the melody, sung by the lead voice, is below the tenor harmony. This follows the pattern of many early American hymns written for men and women, with the melody in the male tenor voice and the women singing harmony above. The barbershop harmony of today is a highly stylised art form requiring the same high degree of singing skill as other types of choral music. As the popularity of barbershop harmony has grown, so has the type of participation. Barbershop Harmony singing is no longer restricted to male quartets; there are many women's quartets, and both men's and women's choruses now enjoy this unique art form. Choruses ranging in size from 15 to 150 or more members have found this singing style a challenging and exciting musical experience. Barbershop Harmony singing has now spread around the World. And the number of choruses and quartets in countries like the UK continues to rise. Many of these countries have their own Associations. In Britain these are; BABS (the British Association of Barbershop Singers) founded in 1974 for men’s vocal groups and, LABBS (the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers) founded in 1976 for women’s vocal groups.