Sweet Adelines International
Pride of Toledo Chorus
About Barbershop
What is Barbershop?
Barbershop harmony is a style of unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture. The melody is consistently sung by the lead, with the tenor harmonizing above the melody, the bass singing the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone completing the chord.
Standard choral music uses the Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass (SATB) designations. SATB arrangements attempt to balance sound equally across all four of the parts. On the other hand, barbershop uses the original men’s voicing of Tenor, Baritone and Bass with the addition of a Lead part, or melody. Barbershop attempts to balance the sound in a cone shape with the bass having the strongest sound, giving the chord a firm foundation. The lead usually sings the melody, with the tenor harmonizing above the lead. The bass sings the lowest harmonizing notes and the baritone sings either above or below the lead to make chords that give barbershop its unique, full sound
The Four Parts:
LEAD is the melody and is sung in the range between A below middle C, and C above middle C.
TENOR is a harmony part sung consistently above the lead. Although tenor is the highest voice in barbershop harmony, it should not be confused with soprano of conventional choral singing. The tenor should have a light, sweet, pure tone that will compliment but not overpower the lead voice.
BARITONE covers approximately the same range as lead. The baritone harmony notes cross the lead notes, sometimes sung below and sometimes above. Baritones must constantly adjust their balance to accommodate their position in the chord.
BASS singers should have a rich, mellow voice and be able to sing the E flat below middle C easily. Basses should not be confused with the alto of conventional groups. Many altos can sing the bass part, but others are better suited to lead or baritone.
Probably the most distinctive facet of barbershop harmony is expanded sound. It is created when the harmonics in the individually sung tones reinforce each other to produce audible overtones or undertones. Barbershoppers call this "ringing a chord." Singing in a quartet or chorus and creating that fifth voice is one of the most thrilling musical sensations you’ll ever experience! It’s the goal of every barbershop group, and it’s sure to bring on the goose bumps and the applause!
The Lingo
Like most groups, Sweet Adelines have a language all their own. As someone new to our hobby these terms can be confusing when you hear them at a rehearsal. To help you we have listed some of the common ones below.
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A cappella: Vocal music performed without instrumental accompaniment.
Baritone (Bari): The harmony part sung both above and below the lead line but rarely below the bass or above the tenor. Bari notes are found in the bass clef, above the bass line, sung an octave higher than written.
Bass: In terms of range, the lowest singing voice part. Bass notes are written in the bass clef, lower than the baritones, and sung an octave higher than written.
Bridge: The main body of a song, after the intro and before the tag.
Competition: Competition is not an unfamiliar term, but it helps to know we compete at two levels - both the regional level (once a year, in the spring) and the International level (every other year, in the fall).
Cone: Harmonic balance in barbershop is stacked in a cone shape, not a cylindrical shape, as with traditional choral music.
Crescendo: A gradual increase in volume.
Decrescendo: A gradual decrease in volume.
Diphthong: Get acquainted with this term as soon as possible. It's vital! Dipthongs are vowel sounds with two distinct parts: the primary vowel and secondary vowel. It's as if the word has two syllables. For example, boy = bo-ee, my = mah-ee, eyes = ah-eez, etc.
Dual member: A member who belongs to two or more Sweet Adeline choruses, generally but not limited to the same region.
Dynamics: A combination of contrasting volumes, choreography, and facial characteristics used to deliver the emotional content of the story to the audience. (But also the name of one of our quartets)
Lead: The singer of the melody line, almost one hundred percent of the time.
Overtone: An audible note that is higher than, and different from, the four pitches being sung by a chorus or quartet. Its amazing!
PVI: An acronym for Personal Vocal Instruction. A personal lesson that help reinforce vocal skills as well as review music and work through any rough spots a member may be experiencing with a particular song in the repertoire.
Region: Pride is part of Region 17. Region 17 is Northern ohio, Parts of Pennsyvania , Indiana and Michigan.
Ring: The brilliant, bright "forward" sound in the voice that must be present to generate an overtone.
Risers: The metal, stair-like structure that the chorus rehearses and performs upon.
Sectionals: A mini-rehearsal for a specific voice part organized by the section lead outside of weekly rehearsals.
Section Leader: Section leaders are members of the music team that oversee the education and training of each voice part. There are one to two experienced members leading each section.
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Sweet Adelines: A worldwide organization of singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performance.
Tag: The climax or ending of a barbershop arrangement. Tag is also used as a verb to describe learning a short phrase of a song with all other voice parts present.
Tenor: The highest part in barbershop singing, not to be confused with a soprano of SATB music. See our barbershop page for more information.
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Quartet: A group of 4 singers which include a Tenor, Lead, Baritone, and Bass.
