Barbershopers singing at an open house

These pictures are somewhat old but they reflect the spirit of Barbershop.  They are from an old open house of the North Brookhaven Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society formerly known as the S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A.  The chapter’s chorus is known as the Harbormen.

The basic unit of Barbershop is the quartet; four men each with their own part.  (You can have four women as well.  There are also mixed quartets.)  The melody, for the most part is sung by the lead.  Above the lead is the tenor.  Below the lead is the bass.  Now there is a lot of music where this would be plenty.  Barbershop singing wants more, and so we have the fourth person who sings that certain special, dare I say, odd, note.  That’s the baritone.

A chorus is a collection of leads, baritones, tenors and bass.  Like an orchestra you need someone in charge to make sure we all sing in the same tempo.  That’s the director.  The director faces the chorus and has his back to the audience.  Some directors think they are in charge, much to the annoyance of the music committee.  Some music committees think they are in charge, much to the annoyance of the director.  Everyone knows who is really in charge; who really has the final say. THE AUDIENCE!