Glossary
of BarbershopTerms
Additional Vocabulary “Bright” - is singing using a bright airy sound which comes from the resonators in your head. There are five resonators, namely, the tongue and teeth (front of the mouth) uvula (the little hanging bean at the back of the throat), nose or front of face, forehead, and crown or upper back of the head. Consistent and balanced use of these five resonators, and a minimum of the other two resonators, will give your singing a very bright sound which helps give your quartet or chorus a good smooth blend. This has nothing to do with the pitch being sung. “Dark/Brown”
- is singing with a deep full solo quality voice. This type of sound is
produced using mainly the two remaining body resonators, namely, the larynx
(deep in the throat behind the Adam’s apple), and the Chest or Diaphragm area.
Using mainly these two resonators with a minimum of the head resonators will
give your voice a very dark sound. This dark sound only blends well if all four
of the quartet or all four parts of the chorus use them. If only one of the
parts uses a dark quality the sound will be unbalanced and will not ring
consistently. This also has nothing to do with the pitch being sung. “spots”
- Endearing term for sheet music (spots on a page).
Many Barbershoppers do not read music, but learn from learning tapes and
practice. “Ring or Locking” - a chord is said to ring when a fifth and sometimes sixth voice or note is clearly heard above the four notes being actually sung by the quartet or chorus. These extra voices are the “harmonics” or “overtones” present in all notes. There are several important factors that reinforce these harmonics so that they can be clearly heard. Among these factors are consonant harmony (a hallmark of the Barbershop style), exact tuning, identical vowel sounds by all four parts, proper timbre (bright or dark), and proper relationship in volume by all four parts (balance). The two most important factors are exact tuning of the notes in the chord, and vowel matching for each word being sung. “lead”
-
One of four parts of a Barbershop song, usually (but not always) the
melody. Lead voices should be able
to sing a high F as the highest note without strain and as low as D. “bass”
-
One of four parts of a Barbershop song, usually (but not always) the
lowest note and often the first and fifth of a chord.
Bass voices should be able to sing a low F as the lowest note without
strain and as high as C. “tenor”
-
One of four parts of a Barbershop song, usually (but not always) the
highest note and often the third of a chord.
Tenors often sing in their “falsetto” voice register.
Tenor voices should be able to sing a high C as the highest note without
strain and as low as G. “bari”
-
Short for Baritone and one of four parts of a Barbershop song.
The Bari notes are normally (but not always) below the lead note and
fills in the chord. Bari voices
should be able to sing a high E (perhaps in “falsetto” voice) as the highest
note without strain and as low as C. “root”
-
The root of a chord is the core note of the chord.
It is also known as the “first” note.
Typically, when a “key” is set by blowing a note on the pitch pipe,
the note blown is the “root” of the “key”. ”third” - The third of a chord is, as it states, three whole musical notes above the root. In barbershop the third is sung slightly higher in pitch than we know or hear it on a piano or keyboard. The reason for this is that barbershop is sung and tuned to a mean tempered scale as opposed to the piano which is tuned to an even or “well” tempered scale. In order for the chord to ring the singer must adjust the third of the chord slightly sharper than normal. This note must be sung slightly softer than the root or the fifth of the chord in order for the chord to be in balance and ring. ”fifth” - The “fifth” of a chord is the note 4 full steps and one half step above the root. In barbershop the fifth is sung exactly in pitch in order for the chord to ring. ”seventh” - The “dominant or diminished seventh” of a chord is the note one full step down from the root. This is barbershop’s favorite chord in many songs! It is also the leading tone for the next chord in the cycle of fifths. In barbershop the seventh is sung somewhat lower in pitch for the same reason the third is sung slightly higher. This note must be sung slightly softer than the root or fifth of the chord in order for the chord to be in balance and ring. ”harmony”
- In
barbershop, harmony is that state of singing where only four separate notes are
being sung (that means, in a chorus, no individual is singing the wrong note)
and those notes are forming a perfect chord.
When a chord is “just right” it will “ring” (vibrate with
overtones) and one can here notes (overtones) created by the resonance of
several of the other notes being sung. ”chord” - A combination of three or more notes sounded together in harmony.
“Ringing chords” - are the joy of barbershop singing !!! ”sharp”
-
A sharp symbol (#) in music tells the singer to sing a note ˝ step
higher. However, singing a note
“sharp” unintentionally causes the harmony to be lost! ”flat”
-
A flat symbol (b) in music tells the singer to sing a note ˝ step lower.
However, singing a note “flat” unintentionally causes the harmony to
be lost! ”pitch”
-
Pitch is the frequency (high or low) of a note being sung. The phrase “stay on pitch” tells the singer to raise or
lower the pitch until the correct note is being sung. ”overtone”
- An overtone is a
higher note not being sung, but being constructed from the resonance of lower
notes being sung. This is also
known as a “ringing” chord. ”key” - is the tonal center of the song, the song usually begins on the tonal center of the key, but always ends on the tonal center of the key. The tonal center or key can change when an arrangement uses modulation to sing in a new key, when this is done the song will always end in the tonal center of the new key.
Acronyms
The alphabet soup of initials which form the Society’s official name were founder O.C. Cash’s way of poking fun at the numerous initialed agencies of FDR’s New Deal. The Society continues the tradition of obfuscatory fun by perpetuating numerous abbreviated designations.
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