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.
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![]() The melody is not sung by the tenor except for an infrequent note or two to avoid awkward voice leading, in tags and codas, or when some appropriate embellishing effect can be created. Occasional brief passages may be sung by fewer than four voice parts. ![]()
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, while making frequent use of other resolutions. Barbershop music also features a balanced and symmetrical form, and a standard meter.
The basic song and its harmonization are embellished by the arranger to provide support of the song's theme and to close the song effectively. Barbershop singers adjust pitches to achieve perfectly tuned chords in just intonation while remaining true to the established tonal center.
The presentation of barbershop music uses appropriate musical and visual methods to convey the theme of the song and provide the audience with an emotionally satisfying and entertaining experience. The musical and visual delivery is from the heart, believable, and sensitive to the song and its arrangement throughout. The most stylistic presentation artistically melds together the musical and visual aspects to create and sustain the illusions suggested by the music.
History of Sweet Adelines International After World War II, barbershop singing was growing increasingly popular for men. In 1945, a small group of women wanted to participate in the chord-ringing, fun-filled harmony that the men were singing. So these women organized "Sweet Adelines in America." From its humble beginnings in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Sweet Adelines International, as it is now called, has grown to a membership of almost 30,000 women in countries all across the globe.
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Check It Out!!
Go to our Events Calendar for information about our upcoming activities and performances. Congratulations! Pam Knighten 2019-2020 SOS Sweet Adeline of the Year!
Pam joined Song O' Sky Chorus in 2013 as a lead, but later changed to tenor. She feels that this was a perfect fit! She is currently serving as Membership and also Management Team member. She leads physical warm-ups as well as a myriad of other roles. She brings her gracious charm as well as her sense of hilarity. We are truly fortunate to have her and we offer our thanks and congratulations to Pam as Song O' Sky's 2019-2020 Sweet Adeline of the year! What is Barbershop? Find out about this dynamic art form and the international organization of women barbershoppers on our pages Join and What is Barbershop.
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Abba Dabba Honeymoon
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Join Us! Want to sing with a bunch of enthusiastic harmony-loving women? Want to learn how to ring chords in classic barbershop-style songs? Come to the Join Us section to find out how you can get involved.
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