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So What is Barbershop?
Barbershop harmony is a musical style which is easily distinguished by most listeners. It has some unusual features, which quickly mark out any barbershop group, whether chorus or quartet.
First, all our music is performed a capella, or unaccompanied. The only instrument used in our performances is the pitch pipe used to give the key note of the song being performed.
Next, barbershop music, whether sung by a chorus or quartet, consist of four (and only four) separate voice parts. Unusually, the melody is not generally carried by the top voice, as in almost every other style of music. With barbershop, the second voice down (called the Lead) carries the tune, while the tenor voice, at the top, provides a descant-like accompaniment. The foundation of each chord is provided by the bass singer, while the baritone normally sings between bass and lead lines.
Barbershop music also makes considerable use of the so-called barbershop seventh, which is really a flat 7th chord. This too gives a particular feel to our music.
The early barbershop singers did not use printed music, but simply invented their parts to make the chords sound right. As a result, barbershop music tends to use simple, easily sung melodies, although there are also many modern songs in our repertoire.