What is barbershop music? What are chords? Which types of chords give barbershop harmony its distinct sound? All of these questions will be answered shortly, but together, they ultimately point to the more important and all-inclusive question. How is it relative to my life and why should I care? If you are a fan of music in any way, shape or form the answer is simple. Barbershop harmony is one of the only forms of truly American music. Unlike most other forms of music it does not have roots in Europe, Africa, or even Asia. It is part of what can truly be considered American history. During the late 1800's and early 1900's men used to gather at local barbershops, much like the youth of today congregate at Starbucks. Instead of talking about what new movie just came out or discussing going to a concert later in the weekend, these men would stand around and sing the popular songs of the day. As time passed it developed into four part chords in order to include more harmonies, and eventually into barbershop singing, as we know it today.
The types of chords that truly give barbershop its unique sound are called dominant 7th chords. Many types of music use these chords. Although they are not so common in today’s popular music they are very prevalent in many types of classical music, blues, hymn-style songs, and jazz. Barbershop, however, contains primarily dominant 7th chords, often times in place of other types of chords.
Classical music, for example, usually follows a pattern called the circle of fifths that dictates how chords follow the melody of the piece. Barbershop also follows this same circle of fifths, but instead of having all of the chords happen naturally, it will often add a 7th to a chord even if it wouldn’t have been there according to the rules of classical chord structure.
This was originally done in order to include all four singers on their own note in the chord. But the sound was so different from other styles of music that it developed into its own style. At that point in time people basically just added as many dominant 7th chords as they could. Currently, one third of the chords in a song have to be dominant 7th chords in order for the piece to be considered barbershop. That is not to say that a song cannot be in a barbershop style with less dominant 7th chords, but it would not be truly a barbershop song.
It is worthwhile to note that these men meet regularly enough to develop a style of music just because they enjoyed singing and making music. It is obvious that they all enjoyed each other’s company. Had they not, they simply would have chosen to spend their time elsewhere. They kept meeting because they shared a sense of fraternity.
This Fraternity is now known as the Barbershop Harmony Society. It was originally founded by a man named O.C. Cash, under the acronym of SPEBSQSA. The acronym was so lengthy to serve as a jab at President Franklin D. Roosevelt who had developed many social programs during the depression era that all had acronyms to refer to their lengthy titles. SPEBSQSA stands for the Society for Preservation and Encouragement of BarberShop Quartet Singing in America.
Since its establishment in the early 1940’s, the society had at one point grown to over 30,000 members. The society still boasts over 20,000 members, but had seen a steady decline in the past few decades. When people refer to the society dying out they mean it in a completely literal way. Most of the members are above the age of 65 and there are more deaths of active members each year than there are new members who have joined the society.
There is hope, however, as younger people are starting to form their own choruses and become members of the society. The pioneers of this recent trend formed a chorus under an existing chapter’s charter in 2002. This chapter was the Westminster Chapter, and the New Westminster Chorus, replaced the Westminster Harmony Showcase Chorus as the performing chorus of the chapter. This is a perfect example of how many of the dwindling numbers could be rejuvenated using young members as the basis for replenishing membership throughout the society. The older members don’t necessarily have to stop performing, this was just a special case.
At the time these young men approached the older members of the chapter. There were only eight men left. These men didn’t even meet regularly and when they did, they didn’t always even have enough parts to sing through songs. They certainly were not able to put together a chorus capable of performing and competing and had no real draw to recruit new members with other choruses and chapters not far away.
When presented with the opportunity of being part of the foundation for a young group of guys to start a new chorus they leapt at the chance, and it certainly has paid off. This chorus has become the crown jewel of the society and a model for instituting youth programs and young choruses all over the county. It has been less than five years, but the membership of the chapter is over 60 and will likely be in the 80’s by the time the next International Convention comes around in July of ’07.
There are many chapters who do not need this kind of system in order to survive due to their physical location and their ability to consistently draw younger members (at least younger than their average age). But for the many chapters with dwindling numbers and choruses that are not strong enough to perform with the small numbers and the lower level of singing and musicianship they will be able to kill two birds with one stone.
By allowing and encouraging young men to come sing with them or even in their place they are planning for the future of the society. Also it can serve as a musical outlet for many young men who, for example, might not have a place to sing once they have left their high school or college level choir. Musically inclined people all share a deep necessity to have an outlet for musical expression. Barbershop can serve as that outlet as well as be a place of brotherhood.
