Barbershop
harmony is vocal harmony produced by four parts: tenor, lead,
baritone, and bass. It is performed a cappella — without
any instrumental accompaniment. Barbershop has its roots in the
American gospel and minstrel quartets of the last century. It is
one of the recognized indigenous American musical genres, along
with country-western, dixieland jazz and the American spiritual
Barbershop-style harmony is different from any other kind of
choral or group singing. It is characterized by a “cone-shaped
sound” where the broadest strength is at the lowest part of the
chord and the lightest is at the top. Specific chord structures,
delivery and interpretation all contribute to the “lock-and-ring”.
This sound is created by a perfectly balanced and in-tune chord,
which produces harmonic overtones. Listen closely to a
barbershop-style song and you will often hear a note (or notes!)
“ringing” above the highest tone – without anyone singing them!
Southern
Harmony chorus is a member of
Sweet Adelines International
(SAI),
headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
SAI was
founded in 1945 and has grown to be one of the largest women
singers' organizations in the world, committed to advancing the
musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and
performance. More than 25,000 members sing in either choruses or
quartets located in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Japan,
New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Wales and almost
every state in America.
