Barbershop arranging is the art of creating
arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...
s of
barbershop music
Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1930s–present), is a style of a cappella close harmony, or unaccompanied vocal music, characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a primarily ...
. The
Barbershop Harmony Society
The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop ...
(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.
Technical requirements
The following 2 paragraphs from the
BHS indicate technical requirements of a barbershop arrangement for use in a BHS contest:
So-called
barbershop seventh
The harmonic seventh chord is a major triad plus the harmonic seventh interval (ratio of 7:4, about 968.826 centsBosanquet, Robert Holford Macdowall (1876). ''An elementary treatise on musical intervals and temperament'', pp. 41-42. Diapason P ...
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
A chord is in close harmony (also called close position or close structure) if its notes are arranged within a narrow range, usually with no more than an octave between the top and bottom notes. In contrast, a chord is in open harmony (also c ...
prevails and other commons chords include the
diminished seventh
In classical music from Western culture, a diminished seventh () is an interval produced by narrowing a minor seventh by a chromatic semitone.Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I'', p.54. . Specific example of an d7 ...
,
augmented sixth
In classical music from Western culture, an augmented sixth () is an interval produced by widening a major sixth by a chromatic semitone.Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I'', p.54. . Specific example of an A6 not g ...
, and
added sixth chord
The term ''sixth chord'' refers to two different kinds of chord, the first in classical music and the second in modern popular music.
The original meaning of the term is a ''chord in first inversion'', in other words with its third in the bass a ...
s.
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
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.
Swipes are on a single syllable.
[.]
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 tone
A nonchord tone (NCT), nonharmonic tone, or embellishing tone is a note in a piece of music or song that is not part of the implied or expressed chord set out by the harmonic framework. In contrast, a chord tone is a note that is a part of the f ...
s or
suspensions
In chemistry, a suspension is a heterogeneous mixture of a fluid that contains solid particles sufficiently large for sedimentation. The particles may be visible to the naked eye, usually must be larger than one micrometer, and will eventually ...
. This provides rhythmic drive, and may derive from black vocal improvisation.
Learning arranging
Anyone with a knowledge of
music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
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
*
A cappella music
* ''
American Harmony
''American Harmony'' is a 2009 documentary film directed and produced by Aengus James, produced by Colin Miller, and edited by Kate Amend.
''American Harmony'', the documentary, was initially screened at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s 2008 ...
'' Documentary Film about Barbershop music
*
Sweet Adelines International
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbershop Arranging
Barbershop music