How to watch and judge a barbershop contest
The first contest of the Barbershop Harmony Society, held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June of 1939, was an extremely casual affair. There were no scorecards, no trained judges—in fact, no one’s quite sure how many quartets actually competed. We do know that the Bartlesville Barflies of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, beat the Capitol City Four of Springfield, Illinois, after a “sing-off,” and took home $50 and the coveted title of “World Champion Quartet.” The second contest, held at the New York World’s Fair in 1940, was judged by a panel of dignitaries that included Governor Al Smith, whom one competitor overheard whispering to a fellow judge, “They all sound good to me—who should I vote for?”
The Barbershop Harmony Society’s judging system is far more precise today. Judges today undergo a rigorous three year-training process leading to certification in one of three scoring categories: Singing, Performance, and Musicality.
Singing
In the Singing Category, artistic singing in the barbershop style is judged — listening holistically for ringing in-tune voices that use a free, beautiful and rich vocal quality, which is wonderfully unified and vocally expressive.
Performance
These judges evaluate how effectively a performer brings the song to life. They judge the entertainment value of the performance — the art of the performance.
Musicality
Musicality is defined as the song and arrangement, as performed. The Musicality Category judges the arranger’s skill and the performer’s musicianship in bringing the mood or story of the song to life, and the suitability of the material to the barbershop style.
How contests are conducted
- Chorus and quartet contests are scored under the same Categories.
- In each round, performers sing two songs of their own choosing.
- Each judge may award up to 100 points per song.
- The chorus contest is a single round.
- After each quartet round, cumulative scores determine who will advance.
- In the international contest, the top 20 quartets advance the semi-final rounnd
- 10 quartets advance to the finals
- The quartet amassing the most points in three rounds is declared the International Quartet Champion.