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Essentials in
Press Kit
An outline for your 90 minute barbershop presentation
A brief educational presentation on the Barbershop Harmony Society, utilizing a speaker, live quartet and audio and video playback
Updated: 9/20/2004 5:00:00 PM
An outline for your 90-minute barbershop presentation
A brief educational presentation on the Barbershop Harmony Society, utilizing a speaker, live quartet and audio and video playback
General remarks:
The most important part of presenting barbershop harmony to a general audience is to keep it moving! Regardless of the fact that you're presenting an “educational program,” it is imperative that you be as entertaining as possible.
Of course, the best way to keep it moving is to make sure there is plenty of music and plenty of interaction with the audience. The more singing they do, the more fun they will have—and the easier it will be to illustrate your primary message:
• Barbershop harmony is easy
• It's fun.
• You can do it, too!
1. Quartet opener
A good show opener, followed directly one or two more good up-tempo songs. Keep the patter to a minimum—there's going to be more than enough talking in this presentation.
2. What is barbershop?
a) Four-part, a cappella, close-harmony singing. The melody is carried in the second part, called the lead. The tenor harmonizes above the melody, the bass sings the low notes, and the baritone sings the “other harmony,” sometimes above and sometimes below the melody.
b) Demonstrate with quartet singing “My Wild Irish Rose” or other simple, familiar song. Sing lead alone, add tenor above, add bass below, then have baritone sing his part alone. Garbage notes, huh? But listen how well they fit in...
c) Note how well everything is balanced, and how the quartet knows how to blend themselves to achieve optimal sound.
d) Quartet song—a ballad will work well here, showing just how well they can blend it.
3. Where does barbershop come from?
a) It's a uniquely American art form, sprung from the ear-harmonizers or “woodshedders” of turn-of-the-century America.
b) It's largely “the old songs” because the kinds of melodies that accommodate themselves best to barbershop were those written in the heyday of Tin Pan Alley, from 1890 to 1920. These were songs that the average singer could sing easily, had natural implied harmonies, and were of simple, genuine human emotions: love, moon and June, friendship, mother, etc.
c) Play selection from “Close-Harmony Pioneers” tape
d) Yes, it really was sung in barbershops—and on front porches, and in churches and vaudeville. It is a supremely populist art form, and performed wherever there are four guys who want to have fun. Recent research points to black quartets in the South as being a major influence in the development of the particular chord structure that we think of as barbershop harmony.
e) Refer to You Are Now A Barbershopper pages 2-3 for more historical detail.
f) Quartet can sing the most hard-core barbershop harmony in its repertoire—and say, “now, THAT'S BARBERSHOP!”
g) It's both quartet singing and chorus singing. (We have more than 800 chapters and approximately 2000 registered quartets.) Chapter choruses are where most men learn how to harmonize and serve as the melting pot where quartets are formed.
h) Play audio- or videotape of a championship chorus—preferably an uptune.
4. Group sing
a) “I've already been talking too much—let's hear you do some singing instead. Who remembers the old Bouncing Ball? Sing along with Mitch? Well, here's a chance to do some crooning with us.”
b) Choose simple, fun music from Sing Along Songs. Vary among patriotic, standards, rounds, etc. Do “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” without the pronouns.
c) “What you just did—singing for the fun of singing—that's what barbershop is all about. Regular folks, making music with their friends. Everything else is just a refinement of that basic principle.”
5. What is the Barbershop Harmony Society?
a) A North American organization of nearly 31,000 men in the United States and Canada. The Society is the umbrella structure for more than 800 chapters across the continent.
b) The Society provides education services, publishing, conventions and contest administration, and public relations services to all members.
c) Has published more than 900 printed arrangements of barbershop music.
d) The Old Songs Library at Harmony Hall is the second-largest collection of sheet music in the world. (Largest is the Library of Congress.) It houses more than 750,000 sheets of music and more than 100,000 titles.
e) The Heritage Hall Museum of Barbershop Harmony houses memorabilia and research materials on the history of barbershop harmony and of the Barbershop Harmony Society.
6. Schools and Harmony College
a) Chapter Officer Training Seminars (COTS) provide education in the many facets of running a chapter: tax law for treasurers, leadership for presidents, marketing for membership vice presidents, etc. At least 16 schools held each year.
b) Harmony College—a full week of classes in vocal technique, music theory (from do-re-mi to writing barbershop arrangements), show production, chorus directing, clog dancing (!), intensive coaching in quartet singing.
c) Numerous workshops and coaching sessions available year-round from Society staff.
7. Is there barbershop besides the Barbershop Harmony Society?
a) Two international organizations for women: Sweet Adelines International (approx. 30,000 members), and Harmony, Inc. (2700 members).
b) Affiliated organizations in eight countries:
• British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS)
• Dutch Association of Barbershop Singers (DABS)
• Society of Nordic Barbershop Singers (SNOBS) – Sweden
• Southern Part of Africa Tonsorial Singers (SPATS) – South Africa
• New Zealand Association of Barbershop Singers (NZABS)
• Australian Association of Male Barbershop Singers (AAMBS)
• Barbershopping in Germany (BING!)
• Irish Association of Barbershop Singers (IABS)
c) Play a recording of a women's quartet or a foreign affiliate—or live
8. Tell us about your local chapter
a) Diversity of ages and occupations of your members
b) Tenure of membership—this is a lifelong love affair
c) What's a typical meeting like?
• Chorus rehearsal
• Quartet singing
• Show preparation
d) Activities in which your chapter participates
• Public performances
• Annual show
• Charitable activities , including Harmony Foundation
• Support for community activities
9. Tell us about the contest and conventions
a) Excitement of conventions
• How many attended your last District convention
• 10,000+ Barbershoppers at international conventions, 5,000 at the massed sing
• Tag singing with strangers in the lobby—the ultimate thrill.
b) Show convention video “around town” scenes
10. The contest system
a) Purpose:
• to provide fair and objective analysis of performances by quartets and choruses, so they can improve their singing for the public
• to preserve our style of music, by maintaining standards as to what constitutes barbershop
• Exhaustive training of judges—multi-year process
• Judging categories: Music, Singing, Presentation
b) Quartet can sing a hardcore contest number, explain what qualities make it especially well-suited to contest.
11. Youth Outreach Services
c) The Society is a strong supporter of music education in our elementary, middle and high schools. Arts programs are among the first to get cut when budgets get tight, but so important to development of well-rounded individuals. Barbershop music is well-suited to young singers.
d) Barbershoppers provide coaching and other assistance to schools interested in starting barbershop programs.
e) Endorsed by MENC: The National Association for Music Education and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). International staff makes presentations to these groups annually, conducts seminars and workshops for educators.
f) 2003 MBNA America College Quartet Contest—60 expected competing quartets
• Begun in 1992
• Open to men under the age of 25.
• Prizes
• Regional preliminary contests
g) Harmony Explosion Clubs
• Informal singing clubs for high school and college men
• Opportunity to have an enjoyable musical hobby in addition to the more formal school program
• Opportunities for involvement in local community as performers
12. Quartet show
Let the quartet stretch out a little here—really strut their stuff.
13. How Do I Join the Barbershop Harmony Society/the local chapter?
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