Barbershop arranging
is the art of creating
arrangements
of
barbershop music
. The
Barbershop Harmony Society
(BHS) and
Sweet Adelines International
(SAI) have prescribed rules that dictate what is an acceptable arrangement, particularly with regard to singing in competition. This makes barbershop arranging a specialist form of arranging, rarely tackled by those outside barbershop; likewise, barbershop arrangers tend to be known only for their barbershop arrangements rather than for their work in any other musical form.
[
citation needed
]
Technical requirements
[
edit
]
The following 2 paragraphs from the
BHS
indicate technical requirements of a barbershop arrangement for use in a BHS contest:
Barbershop
harmony
is a style of
unaccompanied
vocal music
characterized by
consonant
four-part
chords
for every melody note in a predominantly
homophonic
texture. Each of the four parts has its own role: the
lead
sings the melody, with the
tenor
harmonizing above the melody, the
bass
singing the lowest harmonizing notes, and the
baritone
completing the chord. The melody is not sung by the tenor or bass, except for an infrequent note or two to avoid awkward
voice leading
, in
tags
or
codas
, or when some appropriate embellishing effect can be created. Occasional brief passages may be sung by fewer than four voice parts.
Barbershop music features songs with understandable
lyrics
and easily singable melodies, whose tones clearly define a
tonal center
and imply
major
and
minor chords
and barbershop (
dominant
and
secondary dominant
)
seventh chords
that resolve primarily around the
circle of fifths
, while making frequent use of other
resolutions
. What sets barbershop apart from other musical styles is the predominant use of the dominant-type seventh chords. Barbershop music also features a balanced, symmetrical form and a standard meter. The basic song and its harmonization are embellished by the arranger to provide appropriate support of the song's theme and to close the song effectively.
So-called
barbershop seventh
chords should represent at least one third of the song’s duration. As an example of circle-of-fifths resolution, a tonic?subdominant progression will often use the tonic 7th instead, if it advances the forward motion of the song.
Close harmony
prevails and other commons chords include the
diminished seventh
,
augmented sixth
, and
added sixth chords
.
[1]
The quality of musical choices are vital to the success of a barbershop arrangement. A skillful arrangement, well executed, will provide the audience with an emotionally satisfying and entertaining experience.
Terms
[
edit
]
A
swipe
is when one or more parts change pitch while the other parts hold their pitch. This provides rhythmic drive and either a chord change or a filling out of one chord.
[2]
Swipes are on a single syllable.
[3]
For example, a filling out:
Triad
-->
7th chord
-->
Triad
T Third = Third = Third
L Root = Root = Root
Bar. Fifth --> Seventh --> Fifth
B Root --> Fifth --> Root
A
tiddly
is an embellishment in one or two voices over one chord, resembling
neighbor tones
or
suspensions
. This provides rhythmic drive, and may derive from black vocal improvisation.
[2]
Learning arranging
[
edit
]
Anyone with a knowledge of
music theory
who can arrange should be able to write a barbershop arrangement. However, an understanding of the art form as it is practised and judged in competition is undoubtedly an advantage. A music category judge can assess an arrangement by ear or eye to test whether it is 'barbershop', and hence valid for use in competition. The BHS and its affiliated associations run courses in arranging at 'Harmony University' (formerly 'Harmony College'), which are open to members.
Relevant manuals: "Theory of Barbershop Harmony", "Barbershop Arranging Manual" and "Contest and Judging Manual" are published by the
BHS
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Apel, Willi (1969).
Harvard Dictionary of Music
. p. 78.
ISBN
9780674375017
.
- ^
a
b
c
McNeil, W. K. (2005).
Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music
. p. 25?26.
ISBN
9780415941792
.
- ^
Horn, David; Laing, Dave; Oliver, Paul;
Wicke, Peter
(2003).
Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World
. Vol. 1 Performance and Production. p. 10.
ISBN
9780826463227
.
.