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                                        Glossary of BarbershopTerms

Afterglow

Party after a chapter meeting or show.

Barberpole cat songs

The 12 songs every Barbershopper should know. See the Barberpole Cat songbook in your new member kit.

Barbershop seventh

The cornerstone chord of the barbershop style, consisting of the root, the Major third above, the perfect fifth above, and the minor seventh above, as in a chord consisting of F, A, C, E-flat.

Bell chord

A musical arranging device in which a chord is sung as a succession of notes by each voice in turn.

BOTY/BOTM

Barbershopper of the Year/Month—award presented by many chapters and districts recognizing outstanding efforts.

C&J

Contest & Judging program, which trains judges for singing competitions.

CBQC

Bank of America Collegiate Barbershop Quartet Contest.

CDD

Chorus Director Development

CDWI

Chorus Directors Workshop Intensive

COTS

Chapter Operations Training Seminar —a weekend administrative training session.

CSLT

Chapter Support and Leadership Training

District

One of the 16 geographic and administrative regions of the Society.

DP

District President.

Evaluation

Analysis and recommendation session—the post-competition performance review provided by the judges.

Fifth-wheeling

Joining in without invitation when a quartet is singing; a breach of manners. Wait for the quartet to finish, then ask if you can sing along.

Frank H. Thorne Chapter-at-Large

An “international” chapter for men who are not active in a SPEBSQSA chapter.

Gang singing

Informal group singing.

Harmony college

Week-long summer educational program for Barbershoppers, held at Missouri Western State College.

Harmony Hall

Barbershop Harmony Society headquarters, located in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Nashville in late 2007)

Harmony Foundation

A separate, but related organization to SPEBSQSA, the Foundation raises funds for Society programs, seeks grants and sponsorships for worthwhile barbershop projects; and maintains an endowment fund for the Society.

HX

Harmony Explosion Camps for high school and college singers.

Lead

The man who sings the melody part. The lead line is the melody of a song.

Overtones

Tones of higher pitch that are present in every musical sound and whose presence determines the quality of the musical sound. Chords locked in tune and proper volume relationship “ring” with reinforced overtones.

PROBE

A SPEBSQSA subsidiary organization of Public Relations Officers and Bulletin Editors. See www.spebsqsa.org/PROBE

Registered quartet

A quartet whose name and personnel have been catalogued at Harmony Hall. Registration gives the quartet exclusive use of its name. Only registered quartets may sing in competition. www.spebsqsa.org/quartet

Swipe

A progression of two or more chords sung on a single word or syllable; hallmark of the barbershop style.

Tag

A coda; the ending of a song, often repeating the final words and designed to make a complete and satisfying arrangement.

Tune

As a noun, the melody of a song; as a verb, to blend and make a more accurate or pleasing sound.

Woodshedding

Impromptu quartet singing without arrangements; singing by ear.

                            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.

ACDA

American Choral Directors Association

ACDP

Archives Collection and Display Project

AHSOW

Ancient And Harmonious Society Of Woodshedders—Barbershop Harmony Society subsidiary devoted to preserving the practice of harmonizing without arrangements; see woodshedding.

AIC

Association of International Champions.

AISQC

Association of International Seniors Quartets Champions

ASCAP

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers

BHS

Barbershop Harmony Society

BMAL

Board Member-At-Large

BMC

Board Management Council

BMI

Broadcast Music, Inc.

C&J

Contest and Judging

CAPAC

Canadian Association of Publishers, Arrangers, and Composers

CAR

Cardinal District

CDDC

Chorus Director Development Committee

CDWI

Chorus Director Workshop Intensive

COTS

Chapter Operations Training Seminar

CSD

Central States District

CSLT

Chapter Support and Leadership Training

CVP

Chapter Vice President

DACJC

District Associate Contest and Judging Chairman

DIX

Dixie District

DVP

District Vice President

DVP-CDD

District Vice President for Chorus Director Development

DVP-CSLT

District Vice President for Chapter Support and Leadership Training

DVP-CJ

District Vice President for Contest and Judging

DVP-MP

District Vice President for Music and Performance

DVP-MS

District Vice President for Member Services

DVP-YMH

District Vice President for Youth In Harmony

EVG

Evergreen District

EVP

Executive Vice President

FWD

Far Western District

HEP

Harmony Education Program

HF

Harmony Foundation, the Society’s charitable arm

HOD

House of Delegates

IPP

Immediate Past President

IPT

Integrated Product Team

ILL

Illinois District

JAD

Johnny Appleseed District

L&R

Laws and Regulations

LOL

Land O’Lakes District

M&PR

Marketing and Public Relations

M-AD

Mid-Atlantic District

MENC

Formerly Music Educators National Conference. Now known as MENC:The National Association for Music Education

NED

Northeastern District

ONT

Ontario District

OT

Operations Team

PIO

Pioneer District

PPDG

Planning and Program Development Group

PR

Public Relations

PROBE

Public Relations Officers and Bulletin Editors

RMD

Rocky Mountain District

SCJC

Society Contest and Judging Committee

SLD

Seneca Land District

SPEBSQSA

Legal name for the Barbershop Harmony Society. Stands for Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing In America, Inc.

SUN

Sunshine District

SWD

Southwestern District

WHC

World Harmony Council

WHJ

World Harmony Jamboree

WP

Work Plan

YIH

Youth in Harmony