Official Rules for the International Youth Barbershop Chorus Festival (IYBCF)


 


 

 



 

I. Purpose and Philosophy of the International Youth Barbershop Chorus Festival

 

1. To expose young men to the pleasures of barbershop harmony in support of the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Mission: 

 

    • We perpetuate and celebrate the barbershop harmony style.
    • We serve each new generation of singers through support of vocal music education.
    • We serve audiences through an uplifting, wholesome variety of a cappella musical entertainment.
    • We serve our members by sharing fellowship, performance skills, and leadership development.
    • We help build better communities and a better world, bonding diverse people through the pure fun of a cappella harmony as we “Keep the Whole World Singing!”
  

2. To provide an equitable festival that: supports these aims; provides an educational opportunity in the barbershop style through performance; and recognizes the achievement of newcomers to barbershop harmony.

3. To maintain and nurture that interest by encouraging participants to continue singing barbershop harmony, and to spread that excitement to their fellow students, schools, friends, families and communities. 

4. To educate and enrich all singers through performance, participation, and evaluation.

 

The rules of the IYBCF are few. When eligibility questions arise, they will be interpreted by the IYBCF Coordinator at the Barbershop Harmony Society (hereinafter Society) office.
 
 

II. General Rules

 

 

1. Two (2) songs in the barbershop style (see Article IV) and one (1) song in any a cappella style must be sung in the Festival. 

2. Certified Society judges will adjudicate all festivals using current Society Contest and Judging Rules for the two barbershop songs.  The third song will be judged using the same rules, with allowances for musical and stylistic features not characteristic of the barbershop style. 

3. All participating choruses will be awarded a rating based on the overall score from the judging panel.  Choruses may also elect to be ranked against other choruses, and only the scores of choruses choosing to be ranked will be available to the public.   

4. All arrangements performed by choruses must be obtained in accordance with international and USA copyright law.  

5. Choruses are responsible for their own travel, food and other expenses incurred while participating in the festival. 

6. Choruses wishing to participate in the IYBCF must have their chorus names approved by the Society IYBCF Coordinator prior to registering for the Festival, so as not to conflict with names already selected and reserved by registered Barbershop Harmony Society chapters or other IYBCF participants. Approved IYBCF participant chorus names will be reserved for as long as the chorus is active in its community or a participant in the Festival. Such choruses that cease to be active and cease to participate in IYBCF events will have their names reserved for not longer than two (2) years after participating in their last IYBCF event.  IYBCF Plateau Champion chorus names will be retired if the chorus ceases to exist, and the name will not be available to other IYBCF participants or to Society chapters. 

 

III. Eligibility

 
  

1. The International Youth Barbershop Chorus Festival is for male choruses, comprised of 12 or more singers, including the director, singing in the barbershop style. 

2. The festival is open to young men and boys who are 30 years of age or younger, on the date of the international festival.  The average age of all the singers in the chorus must be less than 25 years old on the date of the international festival. 

3. No more than two-thirds (2/3’s) of the singers in any participating chorus can be current or past Barbershop Harmony Society members.  Exceptions to this rule are made if any individual joined the Society since the previous Youth Chorus Festival. 

4. Each participating chorus will be assigned into a category termed “plateau”.  The plateau to which each chorus is assigned will be based on the average age of the singers in the chorus.  “Plateau A” will be the designation for choruses with an average age of less than 19 years.  “Plateau AA” will be the designation for choruses with an average age of less than 22 years, and not less than 19 years.  “Plateau AAA” will be the designation for choruses with an average age of less than 25 years, and not less than 22 years. 

5. Singers may sing with more than one chorus, but the number of singers two choruses share shall not exceed 25% of the smaller chorus. 

6. Choruses interested in participating at the IYBCF must register with the IYBCF Coordinator by November 1 of the year preceding the festival. The final roster of the chorus is due to the Society office by the first business day in December of the year preceding the festival.  

7. Upon registration for the International IYBCF, each participating chorus must declare the district, chapter, or school that it will represent. Questions concerning "home" districts should be directed to the International IYBCF Coordinator at Society headquarters. 

8. The order of appearance will be determined by the IYBCF Coordinator approximately one month prior to the festival.  

9. Standard choral risers will be provided for each chorus.  Any special staging or amplification needs (i.e. microphone for solos, etc.) must be communicated in written form to the IYBCF Coordinator at least 30 days before the festival.

 

IV. The Barbershop Style

 


Basic characteristics of barbershop harmony: 

 

• Four unaccompanied male voices. 

• Melody in the second voice down (lead, or second tenor). The melody lies within the good quality range for the average lead singer and is free of awkward skips that make it difficult to sing accurately. 

• Consonant four-part chords on all notes of the melody, almost completely in root position and second inversion. 

• Use of embellishments of many kinds, such as swipes, key changes, echoes, bell chords, etc. to enhance the lyric material of the song. 

• A predominance of dominant seventh-type (barbershop seventh) chords, revolving around the circle of fifths. 

• The use of barbershop sevenths on roots other than I, IV and V. 

• Easily understandable lyrics which are in good taste. 

 

V. Judging Criteria


For information concerning the current rules refer to the Contest and Judging Handbook found in the Document Center on the Society website (www.barbershop.org)
A chief characteristic of the barbershop style is its wholesome, "G-rated" entertainment values. Forfeiture, though, may result from one or all judges for: 

 

• Anyone other than chorus members or the director appearing on stage during the performance. 

• Actions by any contestant that are deemed suggestive, vulgar, or otherwise not in good taste, as determined by acceptable, contemporary community standards.  The two songs in the barbershop style must be neither primarily patriotic nor primarily religious in intent.  The third song may be from any genre, as long as it is performed a cappella. 

• Any spoken words deemed excessive or detrimental to the performance.  Participating choruses should not introduce their selections. 

• Use of contestant’s own electronic sound equipment.

• Instrumental accompaniment, including instrumental introductions, interludes, or conclusions.

 

 

For more information, call or write:


Barbershop Harmony Society
attn: James Estes
 Collegiate Program Development & IYBCF Coordinator
110 7th Avenue North
Nashville, TN  37203
800-876-SING (7464) Ext. 4124
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it