Barbershop music - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Vocal harmony

Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are sung at the same time as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical choral music and opera and in the popular styles from...

, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1940s – present), is a style of a cappella

A cappella

A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

, or unaccompanied vocal music

Vocal music

Vocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...

characterized by consonant

Consonance and dissonance

In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...

four-part chord

Chord (music)

A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...

s for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture. Each of the four parts has its own role: generally, the lead sings the melody, the tenor

Tenor

The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...

harmonizes above the melody, the bass sings the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone

Baritone

Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...

completes the chord, usually below the lead. The melody is not usually sung by the tenor or bass, except for an infrequent note or two to avoid awkward voice leading

Voice leading

In musical composition, voice leading is the term used to refer to a decision-making consideration when arranging voices , namely, how each voice should move in advancing from each chord to the next.- Details :...

, in tags

Tag (Barbershop)

A tag, in barbershop music, is a dramatic variation put in the last section of the song. Its rough analog in Classical music is a coda.Tags are characterized by heightening the dramatic tension of the song, frequently including a hanger, or sustained note . In addition, good tags can be sung as...

or codas

Coda (music)

Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...

, or when some appropriate embellishment

Embellishment

In sewing and crafts an embellishment is anything that adds design interest to the piece.-Common examples of embellishment in sewing and crafts:* appliqué* embroidery, done either by machine or by hand...

can be created. Occasional traveling may be sung by fewer than four voice parts.

According to the Barbershop Harmony Society

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. , is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form. Founded by Owen C...

(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

Circle of fifths

In music theory, the circle of fifths shows the relationships among the 12 tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures, and the associated major and minor keys...

, while making frequent use of other resolutions."

Slower barbershop songs, especially ballads, often eschew a continuous beat, and notes are often held (or sped up) ad libitum

Ad libitum

Ad libitum is Latin for "at one's pleasure"; it is often shortened to "ad lib" or "ad-lib"...

.

The voice parts in barbershop singing do not correspond closely to the correspondingly named voice parts in classical music. 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.

Ringing chords

The defining characteristic of the barbershop style is the ringing chord. This is a name for one specific and well-defined acoustical effect, also referred to as expanded sound, the angel's voice, the fifth voice, the overtone, or barbershop seventh. (The barbershopper's "overtone" is the same as the acoustic physicist's overtone

Overtone

An overtone is any frequency higher than the fundamental frequency of a sound. The fundamental and the overtones together are called partials. Harmonics are partials whose frequencies are whole number multiples of the fundamental These overlapping terms are variously used when discussing the...

or harmonic, although the numbers differ. The first overtone, at twice the fundamental frequency, is the second harmonic, etc. The undertone is the difference between the frequencies of two sung notes and is known as heterodyning

Heterodyne

Heterodyning is a radio signal processing technique invented in 1901 by Canadian inventor-engineer Reginald Fessenden where high frequency signals are converted to lower frequencies by combining two frequencies. Heterodyning is useful for frequency shifting information of interest into a useful...

).

The physics and psychophysics of the effect are fairly well understood; it occurs when the upper harmonics in the individual voice notes, and the sum and difference frequencies

Combination tone

A combination tone, also called a sum tone or a difference tone , can be any of at least three similar psychoacoustic phenomena. When two tones are played simultaneously, a listener can sometimes perceive an additional tone whose frequency is a sum or difference of the two 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

Just intonation

In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval. The two notes in any just interval are members of the same harmonic series...

and balanced. It 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 the 1940s) have self-consciously tuned their dominant seventh and tonic chords in just intonation to maximize 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 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 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

Ragtime

Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...

and jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

forms.

The dominant seventh-type chord 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 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 a grasping at my heart,
Oh Lord play that Barber shop chord!

Averill notes the hints of rapture

Rapture

The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....

, "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 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' a chord, but almost always draw on a discourse of physical work and exertion; thus, they 'hit', 'chop', 'ring', 'crack', and 'swipe.' Vocal harmony is interpreted as an embodied musicking. Barbershoppers never lose sight (or sound) of its physicality."

Historical origins

The first uses of the term were associated with African Americans. Henry notes that "The Mills Brothers

Mills Brothers

The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed as The Four Mills Brothers, were an American jazz and pop vocal quartet of the 20th century who made more than 2,000 recordings that combined sold more than 50 million copies, and garnered at least three dozen gold records...

learned to harmonize in their father's barber shop

Barber

A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....

in Piqua, Ohio

Piqua, Ohio

Piqua is a city in Miami County, Ohio, United States. The population was 20,738 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.Piqua was one of the cities that experienced severe flooding during the Great Dayton Flood of 1913....

. Several other well-known African American gospel quartets were founded in neighborhood barber shops, among them the New Orleans Humming Four, the Southern Stars, and the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartette

The Golden Gate Quartet

The Golden Gate Quartet is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active. It is the most successful of all of the African-American gospel music groups who sang in the jubilee quartet style...

." Although the Mills Brothers are primarily known as jazz and pop artists and usually performed with instrumental accompaniment, the affinity of their harmonic style with that of the barbershop quartet is clearly in evidence in their music and most notably, perhaps, in their best-known gospel recording, "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well," performed a cappella. Their father founded a barbershop quartet, the Four Kings of Harmony, and the Mills Brothers produced at least three records in which they sang a cappella and performed traditional barbershop material.

Barbershop harmonies remain in evidence in the a cappella music of the black church. The popular Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

a cappella group Take 6

Take 6

Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel music sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group sings in a contemporary style, integrating R&B and jazz influences into their devotional songs and has 10 Grammy wins, 10 Dove Awards, one Soul Train Award and two...

started in 1980 as The Gentleman's Estate Quartet with the tight, four-part harmony by which barbershop music is known. Early on, the quartet added a fifth harmonic line, but the group's pedigree, like barbershop music, is traceable directly to the black church—and the jazzy renditions of artists like the Mills Brothers, as well.

Barbershop Harmony Society

The revival of a cappella singing was taken up again when a tax lawyer named Owen C. Cash decided that for the art to die out would be a shame. He garnered support from an investment banker called Rupert I. Hall. Both came from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cash was a true partisan of quartet singing who advertised the fact that he did not want a cappella to fall by the wayside.

Cash had struck a chord, albeit unwittingly, and soon, across North America, men responded in their thousands and later in the same year the "Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America" was set up, known by the abbreviation S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. at a time when many institutions in the United States were in the habit of using multiple initials to denote their function. The group adopted 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.

Sharp Harmony, a Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell

Norman Percevel Rockwell was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening...

painting, appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...

magazine issue dated September 26, 1936; it depicts a barber and three clients enjoying an a cappella song. The image was adopted by SPEBSQSA in its promotion of the art.

Female Barbershop music and "Beautyshop" quartets

Traditionally, the word "barbershop" has been used to encompass both men's and women's quartets singing in the barbershop style. Harmony, Inc. calls itself "International Organization of Women Barbershop Singers" while Sweet Adelines International

Sweet Adelines International

Sweet Adelines International is a worldwide organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performances. This independent, nonprofit music education association is one of the world's largest singing organizations for women...

calls itself "a worldwide organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony."

Organization

Singing a cappella

A cappella

music in the barbershop style is a hobby enjoyed by men and women worldwide. The hobby is practiced mostly within one of the three main barbershop associations, which have a combined membership in the neighborhood of eighty thousand.

The primary men's organization in the US and Canada is the Barbershop Harmony Society

Barbershop Harmony Society

. Women have two organizations in North America, Sweet Adelines International

Sweet Adelines International

and Harmony Incorporated. Sweet Adelines, Inc was founded in 1945 by Edna Mae Anderson of Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

. Harmony, Incorporated was formed in 1959 by 5 chapters that split from Sweet Adelines in 1957 over a dispute regarding admission of non-Caucasian members. SPEBSQSA and Sweet Adelines at that time restricted their membership to whites, but both opened membership to all races a few years later. All three organizations comprise choruses and quartets that perform and compete regularly throughout the US and Canada, and Sweet Adelines International also has a portion of its membership outside North America.

Organizations affiliated with the Barbershop Harmony Society and Harmony Incorporated exist in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, and elsewhere. Some national and regional barbershop groups include:

Sweet Adelines International
Sweet Adelines International
Sweet Adelines International is a worldwide organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performances. This independent, nonprofit music education association is one of the world's largest singing organizations for women...

(SAI) http://www.sweetadelineintl.org
Harmony, Inc. (HI) http://www.harmonyinc.org
Barbershop in Germany
Barbershop in Germany
Barbershop in Germany is the association for barbershop music in Germany. It was founded in 1991 by the members of a small German barbershop fan group, and the organization is an official affiliate of the US-based Barbershop Harmony Society...

(BinG) http://www.barbershop-in-germany.de/en/home/
British Association of Barbershop Singers
British Association of Barbershop Singers
The British Association of Barbershop Singers is a British organization of male barbershop singers. It is affiliated with the Barbershop Harmony Society....

(BABS) http://www.singbarbershop.com/
Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers
Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers
Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers is the largest ladies barbershop association in the UK, this year topping 1800 members....

(LABBS) http://www.labbs.org.uk/
Dutch Association of Barbershop Singers (DABS) http://www.dabs.nl/
Ladies Association of Dutch Barbershop Singers (Holland Harmony) http://hollandharmony.dse.nl/
Spanish Association of Barbershop Singers (SABS) http://www.sabs.es
Society of Nordic Barbershop Singers (SNOBS) http://www.snobs.org
Southern Part of Africa Tonsorial Singers (SPATS)
New Zealand Association of Barbershop Singers (NZABS) http://www.nzabs.org.nz/
Australian Association of Men's Barbershop Singers (AAMBS) http://www.aambs.org.au/
Irish Association of Barbershop Singers (IABS) http://clubwebsite.net/iabs/

A worldwide association for mixed groups, the Mixed Harmony Barbershop Quartet Association http://www.mixedbarbershop.com/, was established in 1995 to reflect the growing popularity of male-female barbershop singing.

Quartets

A barbershop quartet is an ensemble

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

of four people who sing

Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

a cappella

A cappella

in the exacting barbershop music genre.

In North America most male barbershop quartet singers belong to the Barbershop Harmony Society, while most female barbershop quartet singers are in either Sweet Adelines International or Harmony, Inc. Similar organizations have sprung up in many other countries.

Most barbershop quartet singers also choose to sing in a chorus.

The Haydn Quartet
The Haydn Quartet
The Haydn Quartet was one of the most popular recording close harmony quartets in the early twentieth century.Originally Samuel Holland Rous formed a vocal quartet in 1896 to record for Edison’s studios...

, an early 1900s quartet also known as the Edison Quartet
American Quartet
American Quartet (ensemble)
The American Quartet was a quartet of singers that recorded for various companies from 1899 to 1925. The lineup varied over the years, but the most famous lineup recorded for the Victor Talking Machine Company from 1909 to 1913.*John Bieling - first tenor...
The Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills (quartet)
The Buffalo Bills were a barbershop quartet formed in Buffalo, New York, on September 20, 1947. The original members were tenor Vern Reed, an executive for the Tonawanda Boys' Club, lead Al Shea, who was a city of Buffalo policeman, baritone Herschel Smith, a corporate executive, and bass Bill...

, 1950 International Quartet Champions, appeared in stage
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...

and screen
The Music Man (1962 film)
The Music Man is a 1962 musical film starring Robert Preston as Harold Hill and Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo. The film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name by Meredith Willson...

productions of The Music Man, frequently appeared on Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead...

's radio show
The Dapper Dans of Disneyland, regularly appearing at Disneyland and Disneyworld, as The Be Sharps in Season 5, Episode 1 of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

, and as the Singing Busts in Disney's 2003 Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion (film)
The Haunted Mansion is a 2003 American comedy horror family film which is based on The Haunted Mansion attraction at Disney theme parks. The film is directed by Rob Minkoff, and stars Eddie Murphy, Terence Stamp, Jennifer Tilly, Marsha Thomason, and Nathaniel Parker...

movie
The Singing Senators
The Singing Senators
The Singing Senators were a group of U.S. Republican Senators who sang as a barbershop quartet.- Members :Representation as of 2000:* Fmr. Sen. John Ashcroft – Baritone* Fmr. Sen. Larry Craig – Lead...

, a quartet of U.S. Senators
Nightlife
Nightlife (quartet)
Nightlife are a barbershop quartet that won the BHS International Quartet competition in 1996.-Members:Tenor: Rob Menaker Lead: John Sasine Bari: Jeff Baker Bass: Brett Littlefield...

, the 1996 International Champion Quartet of the S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. Inc. from Los Angeles
In the Kidsongs' video: "Sing Out, America", the barbershop quartet sang the first part of You're a Grand Old Flag
You're a Grand Old Flag
"You're a Grand Old Flag" is a patriotic song of the United States. The song, a spirited march written by George M. Cohan, is a tribute to the U.S. flag. In addition to obvious references to the flag, it incorporates snippets of other popular songs, including one of his own...

.

Choruses

A barbershop chorus

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

is a chorus that sings a cappella

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 or Harmony, Inc.

In the Barbershop Harmony Society, a chorus is the main performing aspect of each chapter. Choruses may have as few as 12 or as many as 150 members singing. 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 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. 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 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.

BHS

The Vocal Majority
Vocal Majority
The Vocal Majority is a Dallas, Texas-based men's chorus of over 150 singers, billed as "America's Premier Pops Chorus." The VM is part of the Dallas Metro chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society...

, based in Dallas, TX
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

eleven-time International Chorus Champions
The Masters of Harmony
Masters of Harmony
The Masters of Harmony are a 135-member men's barbershop chorus, based in Santa Fe Springs, California. They are the current SPEBSQSA International Chorus Champions. Founded in 1986 with a few dozen men, they rose to stardom under the tutelage of director Dr. Greg Lyne...

, eight-time International Chorus Champions. Based in Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...

.
The Louisville Thoroughbreds
Louisville Thoroughbreds
The Louisville Thoroughbreds are a men's chorus based in Louisville, Kentucky. They are the first 7-time International Champion chorus of the Barbershop Harmony Society, winning the Gold Medal in 1962, 1966, 1969, 1974, 1978, 1981 and 1984.-History:...

, seven-time International Chorus Champions from Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

.
The Alexandria Harmonizers
Alexandria Harmonizers
The Alexandria Harmonizers are an international champion barbershop chorus based in Alexandria, Virginia. Numbering 95 men in 2009, the chorus is the performing arm of the Alexandria Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, under the direction of Joseph Cerutti, Jr...

, based in Alexandria, VA
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

. four-time International Chorus Champions.
Chorus of the Chesapeake
Chorus of the Chesapeake
The Chorus of the Chesapeake is a men's a cappella chorus, based in Dundalk, Maryland. Chartered in 1957 as the Dundalk chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, the chorus is rich in both history and accomplishment.-Early history:...

, two-time International Champion chorus, based in the Baltimore, MD area.
The Westminster Chorus
Westminster Chorus
The Westminster Chorus is a men's a cappella chorus based in Westminster, California. International Chorus Champions of the Barbershop Harmony Society in 2007 and 2010, they are composed almost entirely of men under the age of 30.-History:The town of Westminster, in Orange County, CA has supported...

, a youth barbershop chorus in California started by young members of the Masters of Harmony are International Chorus Champions of 2007 and 2010.
The Ambassadors of Harmony
Ambassadors of Harmony
The Ambassadors of Harmony is a 160+ member men's barbershop chorus, based in St. Charles, Missouri. The chorus won International Championship gold medals in 2004 and 2009, each time singing two arrangements by David Wright, under the direction of Jim Henry...

, 2004 and 2009 International Chorus Champions. Based in St. Charles, Missouri.
The Toronto Northern Lights
Toronto Northern Lights
The Toronto Northern Lights is a Toronto, Ontario-based men's chorus of about 50 singers drawn from the Ontario District of the Barbershop Harmony Society...

, five-time International Chorus Silver Medalists. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.
The Alliance, 2003 and 2004 International Chorus Medalists. Based in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

.
Southern Gateway Chorus, of Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, has earned 22 medals (including two gold) while competing since 1963 in International contests.
The Great Northern Union
Great Northern Union
is a men's chorus based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. They perform 4-part harmony, particularly in the barbershop style. Officially, they are the Hilltop, Minnesota chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, and are very active in competition...

, based in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, consistent Top Ten finisher and nine-time International Chorus Medalists.

BABS

The Cottontown Chorus - Four times British chorus champions (2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011); three times BABS silver medallists (2001, 2002, 2004) and bronze medallist for 2003; European Barbershop Convention silver medallists for 2005 and 2009; winners of the adult section of BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year for 2008; Irish Association of Barbershop Singers international gold medallist for 2008; winning chorus at the Manchester Amateur Choral Competition for 2008; based in Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...

, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

, England
The Great Western Chorus of Bristol – current British Association of Barbershop Singers chorus champions and winners of a record eight gold medals (1977, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1990, 2008 and 2010); four times BABS silver medallists and five times bronze medallists. The Great Western Chorus hold more chorus competition medals than any other chorus in the association; Radio 3 "Choir of the Year" 2006 Finalists; based in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, England
Cambridge Chord Company – twice European barbershop chorus champions (2001 & 2005) and bronze medalist (2009); four times British Association of Barbershop Singers
British Association of Barbershop Singers
The British Association of Barbershop Singers is a British organization of male barbershop singers. It is affiliated with the Barbershop Harmony Society....

chorus champions (1999, 2002, 2004, 2006); BABS Millennium champions (2000); five time BABS silver medalists (1994, 1997, 1998, 2009, 2010); "Choir of the World" National Eisteddfod of Wales
National Eisteddfod of Wales
The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...

2004; chorus based in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

, England.

Vocal Academy – formed in 2001, winners of British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) most improved chorus award "The Cambridge Scroll" in 2007; based in Huntingdon
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...

, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

Shannon Express
Shannon Express
Shannon Express is a male barbershop chorus based in Potton, Bedfordshire, England. The chorus formed in 1978 and has twice won the British Association of Barbershop Singers gold medal, in 1995 and 1998...

– twice champion chorus formed in 1978 and based in Potton
Potton
Potton is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is 10 miles from Bedford and the population in 2001 was 4,473 people. In 1783 the 'Great Fire of Potton' destroyed a large part of the town. The parish church dates from the 13th Century and is dedicated to St Mary...

, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

, England.
Hallmark of Harmony - 6 times British champions, formed in 1978 and based in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Sweet Adelines International

Harbor City Music Company, 2011 Sweet Adelines International Harmony Classic Champions from Maryland, USA
Pride of Kentucky Chorus, eight-time Sweet Adelines Region 4 Chorus Champions from Louisville, KY
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

.
Gem City Chorus, five-time Sweet Adelines International Chorus Champions from Dayton, OH.
North Metro Chorus, three-time Sweet Adelines International Chorus Champions from Toronto, Ontario.
The Rich-Tone Chorus
The Rich-Tone Chorus
The Rich-Tone Chorus is an all-female, barbershop chorus, located in northern Texas in the United States. The group was founded in 1968 and currently has over 150 members...

, five-time Sweet Adelines International Chorus Champions from Richardson, Texas
Richardson, Texas
Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 99,223. In 2011 the population was estimated to be 107,684. Richardson is an affluent inner suburb of Dallas and home of the Telecom Corridor with a high...

.
Melodeers Chorus
Melodeers Chorus
The Melodeers are an all-female, a cappella chorus based in the metropolitan Chicago area.-History:Founded in 1960 in Deerfield, Illinois, the Melodeers Chorus is an a cappella chorus of female singers who sing in the barbershop style...

, five-time Sweet Adelines International Gold Medal chorus from Northbrook, Illinois
Northbrook, Illinois
Northbrook is a village located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, which is also a North Shore suburb of Chicago. The population was 33,170 at the 2010 census....

.
Lace City Chorus, four-time consecutive Sweet Adelines Region 31 Gold Medal chorus from Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

, United Kingdom.
Surrey Harmony Chorus, five-time Sweet Adelines Region 31 Gold Medal chorus from, United Kingdom.

Australian Association of Men Barbershop Singers

The Blenders from Gold Coast, Queensland, have won the AAMBS Chorus Competition eight times (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007) and runners-up three times (1991, 2009 and 2011).

Irish Association of Barbershop Singers

Ten times male chorus champions The Polyphonics

The Polyphonics

The Polyphonics Barbershop Chorus is a male, a cappella choir specialising in the barbershop style of choral singing. The choir is based in Carrigaline, a satellite town for Cork City and attracts members from Cork City and County....

from Cork.

Typical Barbershop Songs

Barbershop Harmony Society

's Barberpole

Barber's pole

A barber's pole is a type of sign used by barbers to signify the place or shop where they perform their craft. The trade sign is, by a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, a staff or pole with a helix of colored stripes...

Cat Songs "Polecats" — 12 songs which all Barbershop Harmony Society members are encouraged to learn as a shared canon

Canon (music)

In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...

ic repertoire — all famous, traditional examples of the barbershop genre:

"Down by the Old Mill Stream
Down by the Old Mill Stream
"Down by the Old Mill Stream" is a song written by Tell Taylor. It was one of the most popular songs of the early 20th century.It was written in 1908 while Taylor was sitting on the banks of the Blanchard River in Northwest Ohio. Reportedly, Taylor's friends convinced him not to publish the song...

" (Tell Taylor)
"Down Our Way"
"Honey/Li'l Lize Medley"
"Let Me Call You Sweetheart
Let Me Call You Sweetheart
"Let Me Call You Sweetheart" is a popular song, with music by Leo Friedman and lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson. The song was published in 1910 and first recorded by The Peerless Quartet....

"
"Mister Jefferson Lord, Play That Barbershop Chord" (referenced above)
"My Wild Irish Rose" (‘Chauncey’ Alcott)

"Shine on Me"
"The Story of the Rose" ("Heart of My Heart
Heart of My Heart
Heart of My Heart is a popular song. The music and lyrics were written by Ben Ryan in 1926. It reminisces about singing a song called "Heart of My Heart" in a youthful quartet.-History and Origins:...

")
"Sweet Adeline (You're The Flower Of My Heart)"
"Sweet and Lovely" (composer: Norm Starks)
"Sweet, Sweet Roses of Morn
Sweet, Sweet Roses of Morn
"Sweet, Sweet Roses of Morn" was the first official Barbershop Harmony Society arrangement of a barbershop quartet song, in 1941. The arranger was Phil Embury, arranger for the Buffalo Bills and Society president ....

" (Oscar F. Jones and Martin S. Peake 1915)
"Wait 'Til the Sun Shines, Nellie"
"You Tell Me Your Dream (I'll Tell You Mine)"

There are also several other well-known songs in the genre. Some are considered standards, such as "From the First Hello" and "Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby

Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby

"Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby" is a popular barbershop song composed in 1924 by Les Applegate. It is often included in the repertoire of a barbershop quartet...

".

Examples of other songs popular in the barbershop genre are:

"Alexander's Ragtime Band
Alexander's Ragtime Band
"Alexander's Ragtime Band" is the name of a song by Irving Berlin. It was his first major hit, in 1911. There is some evidence, although inconclusive, that Berlin borrowed the melody from a draft of "A Real Slow Drag" submitted by Scott Joplin that had been submitted to a...

"
"Baby On Board
Baby On Board
Baby on Board is the message of a small sign intended to be placed in the back window of an automobile to encourage safe driving. First marketed in September 1984 by Safety 1st Corporation, the sign became a ubiquitous fad, flourishing in 1985...

"
"Bright Was the Night"
"Come Fly with Me
Come Fly with Me (song)
"Come Fly with Me" is a 1957 popular song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn."Come Fly with Me" was written for Frank Sinatra, and was the title track of his 1958 album of the same name...

"
"Darkness on the Delta (When It's)" (Levinson, Neiburg, Symes
Marty Symes
Marty Symes was an American lyricist.Symes was born in Brooklyn New York in 1904. His first significant collaborator was composer Jerry Livingston. In 1932 they wrote "Darkness on the Delta", which became a hit for Mildred Bailey. The next year the Casa Loma Orchestra recorded their "Under the...

)
"From the First Hello (to the Last Goodbye)" (words & music: Johnny Burke
Johnny Burke
Johnny Burke was a Newfoundland songwriter and musician. He was nicknamed the 'Bard of Prescott Street'. He wrote many popular songs that artists in the 1930s and 1940s released.Popular songs by Burke include:* The Night Paddy Murphy Died...

)
"Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby
Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby
"Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby" is a popular barbershop song composed in 1924 by Les Applegate. It is often included in the repertoire of a barbershop quartet...

"
"Hello Ma Baby"
"I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen
I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen
I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen is a popular song written by Thomas P. Westendorf in 1875. In spite of its American origins, it is known and revered as an Irish ballad. Westendorf, a school teacher in Plainfield, Indiana, wrote it for his wife...

"
"Shine On Harvest Moon"
"Sweet Georgia Brown
Sweet Georgia Brown
"Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard and pop tune written in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey .The tune was first recorded on March 19, 1925 by bandleader Ben Bernie, resulting in a five-week No. 1 for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra...

"
"Wedding Bells Are Breaking up That Old Gang of Mine
Wedding Bells Are Breaking up That Old Gang of Mine
"Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up " is a popular barbershop song, also known as just "That Old Gang Of Mine". The song laments the loss of childhood friendships when growing up into adulthood....

"
"When My Baby Smiles at Me
When My Baby Smiles at Me
- Song :"When My Baby Smiles at Me", music by Bill Munro with words by Andrew B. Sterling and Ted Lewis, was published by Von Tilzer Publishing in 1920. It was the first big hit for clarinettist, vocalist and comedian Ted Lewis . Ted Lewis's jazz band recording in 1920, became his signature tune,...

"
"Yes Sir, That's My Baby
Yes Sir, That's My Baby
"Yes Sir, That's My Baby" is a U.S. popular song from 1925.The music was written by Walter Donaldson and the lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was a hit for Ace Brigode in 1925 and for Eddie Cantor in 1930. It was later a hit for Rick Nelson in the 1950s and Frank Sinatra in the 1960s...

"

While these traditional songs still play a part in barbershop today, barbershop music also includes more current titles. Most music can be arranged in the barbershop style, and there are many arrangers within the aforementioned societies with the skills to include the barbershop chord structure in their arrangements. Today's barbershop quartets and choruses sing a variety of music from all eras – show tunes, pop, and even rock music has been arranged for choruses and quartets, making them more attractive to younger singers.

In television

In The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

episode "Homer's Barbershop Quartet
Homer's Barbershop Quartet
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is the first episode of The Simpsons fifth season. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Mark Kirkland. It features The Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet founded by Homer Simpson. The band's story roughly parallels that of The Beatles...

", Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...

, Seymour Skinner
Seymour Skinner
Principal W. Seymour Skinner is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer. Born in Capitol City, he is the principal of Springfield Elementary School...

, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Apu is the proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, a popular convenience store in Springfield, and a friend of Homer Simpson. He is also...

, and Barney Gumble
Barney Gumble
Barnard "Barney" Gumble is a fictional character on the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. The character is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the town drunk and Homer Simpson's best friend. His capacity for...

have their own barbershop quartet called the Be Sharps. They are voiced by the Dapper Dans.
In the King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...

episode "It ain't over till the fat neighbor sings" (season 9, episode 15), Bill Dauterive
Bill Dauterive
Bill Dauterive, born Gillaume Fontaine de la Tour D'Haute Rive is a fictional character on the Fox animated series King of the Hill...

joins a barbershop group called the "Harmonaholics". Dialogue from this episode makes a clear suggestion that the chorus was meant to parody The Vocal Majority chorus from Dallas.
In the third season's episode 12 of the popular TV show Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

, "The One with All the Jealousy", Ross sends a barbershop quartet to Rachel's place of work in an attempt to ward off a male he suspects of being interested in her.
On the television series Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...

, barbershop quartets are sometimes used, and at the same time parodied, in episodes such as Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire and Sibling Rivalry
Sibling Rivalry (Family Guy)
"Sibling Rivalry" is the thirtieth episode of the fourth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 26, 2006. The episode follows Stewie as he battles with his half-brother, Bertram , who is born to two lesbians after Peter donates sperm...

.
One segment of an episode of WordGirl
WordGirl
WordGirl is an American children’s animated television series for children aged 6-12, produced by the Soup2Nuts animation unit of Scholastic Entertainment for PBS Kids...

focuses on the main character's hometown staging a barbershop quartet competition to celebrate their 100th anniversary (possibly of incorporation or founding as a city). The villain enters him and his henchmen for the prize (a giant cheese wheel) at the same time as the title character's adoptive family, as well as their rivals, only to be disqualified for cheating.
In the popular TV show Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...

, four of the employees of the hospital form a barbershop quartet which has been called "Ted's Band", "The Worthless Peons", and most recently, "Foghat". The quartet is played by the real-life group The Blanks
The Blanks
The Blanks are an a cappella group. Most notably, they appeared in the TV series Scrubs in a recurring guest role, under various names such as Ted's Band and The Worthless Peons...

.
In Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....

series 8, episode 7 "Terror from the Year 5000
Terror from the Year 5000
Terror from the Year 5000 is a 1958 American science fiction film directed by Robert J. Gurney Jr. starring Ward Costello, Joyce Holden, John Stratton, Salome Jens and Fred Herrick....

" a host segment features a Barbershop-style song "When I Held Your Brain In My Arms" spoofing the recurring character Brain Guy's species whose members carry their brains in jars.
In The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody is an American sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan. The series premiered on Disney Channel on March 18, 2005 with 4 million viewers, making it the most successful premiere for Disney Channel in 2005. It was one of their first five shows available on the...

, episode 72 "Sleepover Suite" there is a Barbershop quartet convention at The Tipton
The Tipton Hotel
The Tipton Hotel is a fictional hotel from the television series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Most of the action occurs inside the hotel and it is the main setting for the series, particularly the lobby, the basement, the Tipton's 5-star restaurants, the ballroom, the game room, the Martin's...

. The main characters' mother, Carey, is constantly badgered by a quartet to become their fifth singer for the quintet, or to date them, but she refuses both.
In Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...

episode 126 "Rescue Me", Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...

sings with the Mutual Fun barbershop quartet.
In The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack is an American animated television series produced for Cartoon Network that premiered on June 5, 2008 and ended on August 31, 2010...

episode "Shave and a Haircut", Flapjack and his friend Captain K'nuckles are pursued by a barbershop trio who always sang instead of speaking and finished each other's sentences in a rhythmic fashion. Of the many phrases and sentences they sang, the classic phrase "Oh no he didn't!" was executed.
In Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law episode "Identity Theft", Elliott, known as The Deadly Duplicator, accidentally duplicates Judge Mentok the Mindtaker. Now having 4 Mentoks, the original snaps his fingers and the 4 of them are wearing red and white vests and straw hats and break out into a barbershop style song.
In Arrested Development episode 9, "Storming the Castle
Storming The Castle
"Storming the Castle" is the ninth episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:While doing some business work at home, the chair Michael Bluth is sitting in collapses. Michael decides he'll get one from work, which George Michael questions...

," character Tobias Fünke's homosexuality is alluded to as he performs in the gay barbershop quartet, "Whip and Snaps." In reality, the other three are noted singers from real barbershop quartets.
In the Cheers episode 88 "Dark Imaginings" (season 4) cold opening, Norm Peterson
Norm Peterson
Hillary Norman "Norm" Peterson is a character on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by George Wendt. Norm's real first name was revealed to be Hillary, named after his grandfather....

auditions as the bass in a quartet (the 139th Street Quartet) that just had its regular bass quit in a fit of pique. Norm nails the audition, singing a single chorus of Goodnight, Ladies
Goodnight, Ladies
"Goodnight, Ladies" is a folk song attributed to Edwin Pearce Christy, originally intended to be sung during a minstrel show. Drawing from an 1847 song by Christy entitled "Farewell, Ladies", the song as known today was first published on May 16, 1867....

and thereby fulfilling a lifelong dream to sing in a barbershop quartet, and then immediately retires.

In video games

In The Curse of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and the third game in the Monkey Island series. It was released in and followed the successful games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge...

, three pirate hairstylers, Haggis McMutton, Cutthroat Bill and Edward Van Helgen, are looking for a fourth member for their barbershop quartet.
Barbershop quartets appear as enemies in the first episode of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is an episodic action-adventure video game series based on the webcomic Penny Arcade....

.
Barbershop quartets also appear randomly in public places in Volition's Saints Row 2
Saints Row 2
Saints Row 2 is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 systems. It is the second title in the Saints Row series, after the release of Saints Row in 2006. It is succeeded by Saints Row: The...

.
"The worlds deadliest barbershop quartet" is featured in Stubbs the Zombie by Wideload Games.
Trivial Pursuit: Unhinged (Xbox, PC and PS2) features a clip of 1995 International Champ quartet, Marquis. (Published by Atari)
The Haunted Mansion by High Voltage Software, published by TDK, features the 4 singing busts from Disney's The Haunted Mansion. Ghosts are voiced by the Dapper Dans of Disneyland.
In the Ghostbusters video game at Ivo Shandors Island in the Slime labs there are four jars of "singing slime" together filled with psychomagnotheric slime or Mood slime singing in a wordless barbershop harmony.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Ringing chords

Historical origins

Barbershop Harmony Society

Female Barbershop music and "Beautyshop" quartets

Organization

Quartets

Choruses

BHS

BABS

Sweet Adelines International

Australian Association of Men Barbershop Singers

Irish Association of Barbershop Singers

Typical Barbershop Songs

In television

In video games

See also

Further reading

External links