///Origins Of Barbershop
Was barbershop harmony actually sung in barbershops? Certainly and on street corners (it was sometimes called "curbstone" harmony) and at social functions and in parlors. Its roots are not just the white, Middle-America of Norman Rockwell's famous painting. Rather, barbershop is a "melting pot" product of  African-American musical devices, European hymn-singing culture, and an American tradition of recreational music   a tradition SPEBSQSA continues today.
Immigrants to the new world brought with them a musical repertoire that included hymns, psalms, and folk songs.

These simple songs were often sung in four parts with the melody set in the second-lowest voice. Minstrel shows of the mid-1800s often consisted of white singers in blackface (later black singers themselves) performing songs
and sketches based on a romanticized vision of plantation life. As the minstrel show was supplanted by the equally popular vaudeville, the tradition of close-harmony quartets remained, often as a "four act" combining music with
ethnic comedy that would be scandalous by modern standards.
The "barbershop" style of music is first associated with black southern quartets of the 1870s, such as The American Four and The Hamtown Students. The African influence is particularly notable in the improvisational nature of the harmonization, and the flexing of melody to produce harmonies in "swipes" and "snakes." Black quartets "cracking a chord" were commonplace at places like Joe Sarpy's Cut Rate Shaving Parlor in St. Louis, or in Jacksonville, Florida, where, black historian James Weldon Johnson writes, "every barbershop seemed to have its own quartet."  

The first written use of the word "barbershop" when referring to harmonizing came in 1910, with the publication of the song, "Play That Barbershop Chord" evidence that the term was in common parlance by that time.  ///Tin
Pan Alley & Edison's talking machine Today, we are accustomed to receiving all forms of music in every home by way of CD, cassette, radio and video.

In the early 1900s, though, pop music success depended on sales of sheet music to the general public.  The song writers of Tin Pan Alley made their living by appealing to the needs and tastes of the recreational musician. To become a sheet-music hit, songs had to be easily singable by average singers, with average vocal ranges and average control. This called for songs with simple, straightforward melodies, and heartfelt, commonplace themes and images. Music published in that era often included an instrumental arrangement for piano or ukulele, and also a vocal arrangement for male quartet.

The phonograph made it possible to actually hear the new songs coming from Tin Pan Alley. Professional quartets recorded hundreds of songs for the Victor, Edison, and Columbia labels, which spurred sheet music sales. For example, "You're The Flower Of My Heart, Sweet Adeline" captured the hearts of harmony lovers, not simply because it easily adapted to harmony, but also because it was heavily promoted by the popular Quaker City Four and other quartets. 

///The jazz era 
The coming of radio prompted a shift in American popular music. Song writers turned out more sophisticated melodies for the professional singers of radio and phonograph. These songs did not adapt as well to impromptu harmonization, because they placed a greater emphasis on jazz rhythms and melodies that were better suited to dancing than to casual crooning.
Radio quartets kept close harmony singing popular with many amateur singers, though and these singers were ready for the revival of barbershop harmony that took place in April, 1938, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

///The Birth Of SPEBSQSA

///O. C. Cash & Rupert Hall
While travelling to Kansas City on business, Tulsa tax attorney O. C. Cash happened to meet fellow Tulsan Rupert Hall in the lobby of the Muehlebach Hotel. The men fell to talking and discovered they shared a mutual love of vocal harmony. Together they bemoaned the decline of that all-American institution, the barbershop quartet, and decided to stem that decline. Signing their names as "Rupert Hall, Royal Keeper of the Minor Keys, and O. C. Cash, Third Temporary Assistant Vice Chairman," of the "Society for the Preservation and Propagation of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in the United States" [sic], the two invited their friends to songfest on the roof garden of the Tulsa Club, on April 11, 1938.  

Twenty-six men attended that first meeting, and returned the following week with more friends. About 150 men attended the third meeting, and the grand sounds of harmony they raised on the rooftop created quite a stir. A traffic jam formed outside the hotel. While police tried to straighten out the problem, a reporter of the local newspaper heard the singing, sensed a great story, and joined the meeting.
O. C. Cash bluffed his way through the interview, saying his organization was national in scope, with branches in St. Louis, Kansas City and elsewhere. He simply neglected to mention was that these "branches" were just a few scattered friends who enjoyed harmonizing, but knew nothing of Cash's new club. 
Cash's flair for publicity, combined with the unusual name (the ridiculous initials poked fun at the alphabet soup of New Deal programs), made an irresistible story for the news wire services, which spread it coast-to-coast. Cash's "branches" started receiving puzzling calls from men interested in joining the barbershop society. Soon, groups were meeting throughout North America to sing barbershop harmony.

SPEBSQSA was born.
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"In this age of dictators and government control of everything, about the only privilege guaranteed by the Bill of Rights not in some way supervised or directed is the art of barbershop quartet singing.  Without a doubt, we still
have the right of peaceable assembly which, we are advised by competent legal authority, includes quartet singing. 
The writers have, for a long time, thought that something should be done to encourage the enjoyment of this last remaining vestige of human liberty." ===================================

///The early years

Operating out of living rooms and garages, the Society was an informal affair in its first years. Memberships could
be had by writing to Cash and Hall and requesting a certificate, which the founders financed out of their own
pockets. The first formal convention, held in Tulsa in June of 1939, brought together 150 men from 17 cities for
a weekend of harmonizing and a contest to crown the "World Champion Quartet" a distinction won by the
Bartlesville Barflies of Oklahoma.
The Society grew rapidly in the post-war years, in 1945 doubling in size from 4,000 to 8,200 members in 200
chapters. By 1957, the Society had grown to 26,000 members in 625 chapters, and an aggressive "Expansion
Program" was initiated to provide educational services and purchase a permanent home for the Society's
administrative staff. A mansion in Kenosha, Wisconsin, became the new base of operations. 
SPEBSQSA had come of age.

///The Buffalo Bills
Our 1950 international quartet champs were something very special. An exceptionally popular show quartet, the
Bills may have done more to raise public awareness of barbershopping than any other group in our history. Their
selection to play the school board quartet in the original Broadway production of The Music Man,  and subsequent
appearance in the film version, brought them many other high-profile opportunities. The Bills became regulars on
the Arthur Godfrey radio and television shows, and compiled a record of performances that may never be topped
by another quartet: 728 concerts, 216 television shows, 1,510 performances on the legitimate stage, 675 radio
shows, 626 conventions, 672 night club appearances, 137 state fairs, and 15 record albums. 
===================================
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The Buffalo Bills, as they appeared in the stage and film productions of The Music Man. Left to right:  Al Shea,
lead; Vern Reed, tenor; Wayne "Scotty" Ward, bari; and Bill Spangenberg, bass.
===================================

///What is barbershop?

SPEBSQSA is devoted to promoting, preserving, and enjoying a special form of harmony known as barbershop.
But what makes a particular song or  arrangement "barbershop-able"? What's the difference between barbershop
and doo-wop, jazz, madrigal, and other a cappella music?
Technically speaking, barbershop harmony is a style of unaccompanied singing with three voices harmonizing to
the melody. The lead usually sings the melody, with the tenor harmonizing above the lead. The bass sings the
lowest harmonizing notes and the baritone provides in-between notes, either above or below the lead to make
chords (specifically, dominant-type or "barbershop" sevenths) that give barbershop its distinctive, "full" sound. 
///Swipes, tags, & overtones
Barbershop is also noted for its extensive use of the musical embellishments that we call swipes and tags. Lacking
instrumental backing or percussion, we use swipes, progressions of two or more chords sung on a single word or
syllable, to add to the forward motion of the lyric.
A tag (or coda) is the ending portion of a barbershop song, the "big ending" in the final six or eight measures that
caps the performance. Many a Barbershopper can sing 10 or 12 tags right off the top of his head whether or not
he knows the songs from which they came! Tag singing is fun in and of itself, because it gives you a chance to
make some big, ringing chords with three other guys right away, without knowing an entire song. Singing tags is
also an excellent way to hear the effect that good vocal technique has in creating a rich, full sound. With only a
few notes and words to remember, you can concentrate on the proper vowel shapes, voice placement, tone
quality and volume relationships that make those chords really lock and ring.
Probably the most distinctive facet of barbershop harmony is the phenomenon known as expanded sound. It is
created when the harmonics in the individually-sung tones reinforce each other to produce audible overtones or
undertones. Barbershoppers call this "ringing a chord." Singing in a quartet or chorus and creating that "fifth voice"
is one of the most thrilling musical sensations you'll ever experience, leading to goosebumps the size of golf balls.
While all this seems very complex and technical, putting it into practice is not. Over time, you gradually will
become aware of when you need to make small changes in pitch to make chords tune properly singing maybe a
quarter-tone sharper than the notes on the paper call for. You don't need to know the technical term for what
you're doing (it's called "enharmonic adjustments in pitch to achieve just intonation"), you just do what comes
naturally and sounds good to you. In barbershop singing, what "sounds good" is usually right. 

///Where do the "old songs" come from?
First and foremost, they are compositions from the early 1900s, the period in which barbershop music originally
flourished. The Society is proud to be the custodian of the largest privately-held collection of sheet music in the
world, the Old Songs Library, located at Harmony Hall in Kenosha. Second in size to only the U. S. Library of
Congress, the Old Songs Library boasts more than 750,000 sheets of music and more than 120,000 titles. The
Library is a valuable research center for music scholars and arrangers, serves as a clearing house for copyright
permissions, and maintains a collection of legal arrangements of copyrighted works.
New songs are still being written in the barbershop style, too. Talented musicians abound in our Society,
composing new "classics" and arranging today's popular music in the barbershop style. The Society's publishing
program makes these new arrangements available in the Harmony Marketplace catalog.

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Copy right, not wrong
From time to time, someone may offer to make photocopies of an arrangement for you to sing, or perhaps just a
tag. Don't take it!   Always purchase your music from SPEBSQSA, the Old Songs Library, or the publisher. If you
write and arrange, be sure to get permission from the copyright holder to make copies, to write a new
arrangement of an existing song, or to alter a copyrighted song. 
The same warning applies to recordings and videos. Unauthorized duplicating of copyrighted material is prohibited
under law.
Copyright laws protect the intellectual property of creators. Violations can be expensive  thousands of dollars per
song.  You might violate the law for years and never be caught, but why take chances? Protect yourself and your
chapter  keep it legal.
===================================

///Contests preserve the style
Competitions are an integral part of the Society's mission to preserve the art form called barbershop. The rigorous
judging system is charged with the duty to both pick a winner, and to ensure that the performances represent the
best of the barbershop style. 
Although by no means mandatory, competition helps chapter choruses and quartets gain a better understanding of
their strengths and weaknesses as performers, so they may better entertain audiences in their communities.
Singers who do not to compete because they do not expect to win, place or show deny themselves an important
opportunity to grow and learn. SPEBSQSA contest judges undergo intensive training and testing before
certification. They practice scoring hundreds of quartet and chorus performance, live and on videotape, and must
demonstrate their ability to conduct constructive evaluation and coaching sessions with competitors following the
contest.

///Picking a winner
When you attend your first barbershop contest, you may well find yourself in the audience, thinking "Why did those
mugs win? I picked the Four Phlats!" Judging criteria for SPEBSQSA competitions have evolved through the years.
Today, the judging system scores contest performances in three categories: The Singing judge adjudicates the
degree to which the performer achieves artistic singing in the barbershop style. The Singing judge evaluates how
well the performer's vocal skill, tuning and consistency of sound create the full, rich, ringing sound characteristic of
barbershop harmony
The Presentation judge evaluates how effectively a performer brings a song to life, both visually and vocally, and
judges the believability and appropriateness of performance elements used to create an emotional impact on the
audience.
The Music judge evaluates the degree to which the song and arrangement as performed display the hallmarks of
the barbershop style, most notably in chord structures, voicing and appropriate embellishments such as swipes and
tags. In addition to these categories, all judges evaluate some "common ground" facets of the performance, such as
self-expressiveness and heartfelt performance, suitability of song to performer, vocal quality and in-tune singing.

///Conventions bring us together
SPEBSQSA conventions are much more than simply venues for contests; they are occasions when
Barbershoppers come together to celebrate the joy of harmony.  The fun centers around the lobby and hospitality
rooms in the headquarters hotel, where, at all hours of the day or night, complete strangers invite one another to
sing old standards, or teach tags to new friends. The sound of a dozen chords being sung simultaneously may be
raucous, but the sensation is sublime.
The Society's 16 districts host conventions in the spring and fall of each year. The spring conventions include
quartet preliminary contests, where quartets qualify for the summer international competition. At the fall
conventions, quartets and choruses compete for district championships, with the winning choruses qualifying to
represent their districts at the next international contest.
The summer international convention is the grand-daddy of them all. During the week surrounding U. S.
Independence Day, approximately 10,000 Barbershoppers and guests gather for a week-long extravaganza of
harmony. As the official business of the Society is transacted in committee and board meetings, tours, shows and
exhibits entertain Barbershoppers and their families. The traditional Massed Sing typically draws more than 5,000
people to an outdoor plaza for an impromptu lunch-hour concert for local residents. Performances by past
international champions highlight the week, which culminates with the finals of the international quartet and
chorus contests.  SPEBSQSA also stages a mid-winter convention the last week of January each year, typically in
a mild climate. The mid-winter convention is more of a business meeting and a relaxing winter vacation, with the
Seniors Quartet Contest and a Show of Champions highlighting the week 
As you might guess, staging conventions for 10,000 Barbershoppers and guests is a monumental task. A volunteer
Convention Management Committee recommends convention sites to the international board of directors, which
makes selections based on competitive bidding. Host chapters organize local committees, requiring the help of
more than 200 volunteers. A full-time Conventions and Meetings department handles ticketing and
accommodations for these affairs, meeting the needs of the attending quartets, choruses, guests and Society
administrators.

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Upcoming International Conventions
1996 Salt Lake City
1997 Indianapolis
1998 Atlanta
1999 Anaheim
2000 Kansas City
Mid-winter Conventions
1995 Tucson
1996 Jacksonville
1997 Sacramento
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///Education programs
Barbershop harmony was originally "ear music," created on the spot by men who got together and simply belted
out songs for all they were worth, with little finesse or emphasis on good quality vocalizing. With luck (and
intuition), they could create a pretty good sound, but this might just as often lead to hoarseness, bad singing, and
an annoyed audience.
With the founding of the Society in 1938, the quality of barbershop singing began to improve. As early as 1942, a
series of articles on "The Mechanics of Barbershop Harmony" was published in the Society's newsletter.
Professional musicians who joined the Society taught Barbershoppers that applying quality vocal techniques from
other kinds of singing (fine art, church, glee club) to barbershop enhanced the sounds they wanted to make.
In the '50s and '60s, formal Harmony Education Programs (HEPs) were founded to train members in the finer
points of our craft. These grew in popularity and variety of offerings, and in 1970, the first week-long Harmony
College was held in Racine, Wisconsin.

///Harmony College: An unforgettable experience
Steeped in tradition, fellowship, and countless tags, Harmony College is barbershop heaven on earth.
Acclaimed by music educators as one of the finest schools in the world for training amateur singers, 
Harmony College today annually attracts more than 600 Barbershoppers, who spend a glorious week learning the
ins and outs of the craft.  The Harmony College faculty is a collection of the world's leading experts in the field of
barbershop harmony: front-line chorus directors, voice teachers, coaches, judges, quartet champions, to name a
few. 
In addition to group classes, many quartets come to Harmony College for intensive coaching by the top men in the
Society. Sometimes whole choruses attend, to grow and develop as a unit, and to share an unforgettable
experience.

///Directors College
In 1990, a second school was inaugurated to meet the special needs of chorus directors. More than 250 men
attend Directors Colleges each year, learning how to help their chorus members sing better as individuals and as a
unit.  
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Harmony College Courses: A partial listing

Theory of Barbershop Harmony
Vocal Techniques
Music Fundamentals
Sight Singing/Sight Reading
Arranging 
Successful Performance
The Physics of Sound
Show Production
Script Writing
Introduction to 
Coaching
Fundamentals of Chorus Directing
How to Be a Great Lead
Basic Public Relations
===================================


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photo caption
Students may elect to take part in the annual Harmony College Show, which is subsequently published with
learning tapes and production notes for use by Society choruses and quartets.
===================================


///District Schools
In addition to Harmony College and Directors College, many districts also host annual schools, under various
amusing names: mini-HEP, Harmony Ranch, the Johnny Appleseed District's Apple Corps, Sunshine Sizzle,
Cardinal Roost, Harmony Pilgrimage and others. These weekend schools usually feature quartet coaching, vocal
training, sight-reading, woodshedding, membership development and more.

///Educational programs & materials

//Chapter Operations Training Seminars
In addition to improving as a singer and musician, your membership in the Society can lead you into exciting new
areas of personal and professional development. Opportunities for achievement and learning abound for men who
have a desire to contribute time, talent and energy to their fellow Barbershoppers.
SPEBSQSA offers training in many of the management skills necessary for successful chapter operation. These
schools, called Chapter Operations Training Seminars (COTS), are taught by Barbershoppers with expertise in
specific areas. Some of the classes are taught by professionals; for example, the treasurer's class is taught by
professional financial managers. As a chapter or district officer, you can develop leadership and organizational
skills that can aid you in your career. There are dozens of jobs in every chapter that require energetic men willing
to help. Expertise is not necessary, just a desire to learn. A bricklayer might serve as bulletin editor; a lawyer might
be the social director. A partial listing of chapter duties reveals the wide range of possibilities: section leader,
community service coordinator, show ticket manager, historian, orientation leader, uniform chairman, public
relations officer, convention housing director, recording secretary, Sunshine man... and that's just the beginning.
Barbershoppers with special zeal and experience often serve as division or area counselors, assisting other
chapters with musical and management needs. Those with more ambition seek office on the district or
international level, helping shape policy and education programs for all Barbershoppers. 
///Instructional materials
A major part of the Society's mission is to provide educational materials that make barbershop harmony available
to the world. Instruction manuals found in your Harmony Marketplace catalog cover all facets of barbershop
harmony, for students of all levels of expertise. From basic note-reading instruction in Music Fundamentals For
Barbershoppers to the definitive, 446-page Barbershop Arrangers Manual, everything you'd ever want to know
about barbershop music is available from the Society.
A number of educational videotapes are also available, on topics covering the gamut of barbershop knowledge.
Keynote addresses from Harmony College, makeup instruction, reminiscences of the early days of the Society,
and much more are available for rental or purchase.
Running a chapter takes more than simply finding a meeting place and getting together. The Society publishes
administration handbooks covering all aspects of chapter operations, including recruiting, financial reporting,
programming for fun and growth, and more.

///Tapes speed learning
As new arrangements are published, they are recorded as barbershop learning tapes. This service makes it possible
to hear how a new song will sound before purchasing sheet music for quartet or chorus. More than 600 songs
have been recorded in this part-predominant format, with each voice part broken out, so the listener can pick out
his own part and sing along. Learning tapes are an easy way for Barbershoppers to learn their parts quickly,
without having to be able to read music. It may be the most valuable service you'll ever utilize. 

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///Music made easy
Manuals available from SPEBSQSA. See your Harmony Marketplace catalog for ordering information.

Music Fundamentals for Barbershoppers
Theory of Barbershop Harmony
Successful Performance for the 
Quartet and Chorus
Sound for Ensemble Singing
Improving Vocal Technique 
through the Warm Up
Barbershop Arranging Manual
Music Reading I & II
===================================


///where the heck Is Kenosha, Wisconsin?

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Harmony Hall, the Society's international headquarters, is a beautiful Tudor-style mansion on the shores of Lake
Michigan. The mansion was built between 1928 and 1933 at a cost of more than $500,000; the Society bought it
"for a song" (about $75,000) in 1957, and established its permanent headquarters in Kenosha, Wisconsin. 
The building is constructed of imported Belgian brick, with interior walls and floors made of stone and concrete 24
inches thick. The mansion is adorned with  beautiful stained glass, hand-carved stone, and detailed, hand-tooled
woodworking. 
Harmony Hall is the home of the Old Songs Library and the Heritage Hall Museum of Barbershop Harmony. It
houses the offices of the Executive Director, the Music Department, the Marketing Department, The Harmonizer,
audio recording and video editing facilities, and secretarial support services. A storefront facility two miles away
was purchased in 1976. The Sheridan Building contains the print shop, the merchandise warehouse, convention
management, and accounting and data processing services.
===================================

When you hear someone say, "Kenosha sent us..." or "I called International...," he's referring to the international
office staff at Harmony Hall, the world headquarters of the 34,000-member Society. Your international dues
support a tremendous range of services, administered by a staff of professionals. Dues make up less than a third of
the $4.5 million annual budget of the Society, with the balance coming from merchandise sales, profits from
conventions, and sources such as the SPEBSQSA credit card. When you consider the range and quality of services
provided, it's amazing how much value you receive for your dues dollar. 

///Music Education & Services
The Music Department is the most visible group of staffers. The Society's music men travel across the continent,
teaching and coaching chapters in the craft of barbershop harmony, and offering advice and training on how to
operate a successful chapter. Ideas and programs for membership development on a chapter level are presented to
existing chapters, as well as to groups of men wishing to charter new chapters.
All educational programs of the Society fall under the purview of the Music Department, including  Harmony
College, Directors College, and COTS. Staffers coordinate the curriculum and faculty for these schools, and are
themselves teachers in a wide variety of courses.
Music Department staffers conduct numerous workshops for directors, coaches and music teachers, "training the
trainers" who will in turn teach other Barbershoppers the finer points of singing, performance, and chapter
administration.
A Music Department staffer's typical travel schedule might include newspaper, radio and television interviews,
Harmony Explosiontm presentations to music educators and students, a few multi-chapter 
meetings for performance coaching or membership, and attending and reviewing a chapter show.  

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Music Education  Services
Harmony College 
Directors College
Chapter Operations Training Seminars 
Music publishing & learning tapes
Harmony Explosiontm
MBNA America College Quartet Contest
Membership 
workshops
New chapter 
formation
Contest & Judging coordination
Chapter programming & administration
Quartet development
Instructional manuals and videos
===================================

///Marketing Department
Barbershop harmony can take place anywhere there are four men who want to sing. So why have an organization
such as SPEBSQSA?
The Marketing Department exists to answer this question, by helping to develop and design the Society's products
to be appealing to a wide range of potential members. Barbershop harmony is the common denominator linking
SPEBSQSA's main products: membership, education, merchandise and conventions. Analyzing the marketplace
and potential consumers of our services and unique expertise, the Marketing Department makes recommendations
on pricing, promotion and delivery strategies for bringing barbershop harmony to millions of people every year. 
///The Harmony Marketplace 
Throughout this orientation booklet, you've seen reference to the Harmony Marketplace catalog, which every
member receives. Merchandise sales account for about a third of the Society's annual income, and help support
the many educational programs of SPEBSQSA.
Take some time to page through the catalog, and you'll discover a huge variety of products that can enhance your
enjoyment of the barbershop hobby: recordings from contests and champion quartets, apparel, jewelry, manuals,
sheet music, computer equipment and more. Take advantage of the discount coupons provided, and help yourself
to some goodies that tell the world you're proud to be a Barbershopper. (Pop quiz: what is the single best-selling
item in the catalog? Pitch pipes, of course!)

///Publishing and public relations
A major role of the Marketing Department is to tell the world about barbershopping, and to tell Barbershoppers
about themselves, through newsletters, fact sheets, press kits, brochures, recruiting materials and other printed
materials 
Probably the most visible membership benefit you receive as a member of SPEBSQSA is your bi-monthly issue of
The Harmonizer, the Society's official publication. Make a practice of reading through the magazine in its entirety
to become better acquainted with this great organization you've joined. Every issue is crammed with news and
information on the wide world of barbershop harmony: news about quartets and chapters across the country and
around the world, registration information for Harmony College and conventions, biographies of barbershop
leaders, ideas from successful chapters, craft articles you name it, if it has to do with barbershop singing, you'll
read about it in The Harmonizer. Additionally, many quartets and choruses advertise their recordings in The
Harmonizer, making it easy for you to obtain and enjoy the very best of barbershop. 
Much of the internal communications for the Society are handled through PROBE, an organization of Public
Relations Officers and Bulletin Editors. PROBE assists chapters in developing better public relations programs for
shows and membership development, and conducts an annual bulletin contest to promote better internal
communications.

///Development programs
The Marketing Department also oversees the fund raising and development activities of the Society, pursuing
corporate sponsorships and memberships, foundation grants, and providing estate-planning programs for
Barbershoppers who wish to make bequests to the Society. If you or your company is interested in exploring these
kinds of opportunities, contact the Director of Development.

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Marketing Department Services
Internal & external communications
Public relations
Publications
The Harmonizer
Merchandising
Print & mailing
Fund raising & development
===================================

Finance & Administration
Barbershop singing is great fun, but the operations of a chapter can be quite complex. As a non-profit
organization, there are a number of legal intricacies which must be negotiated with care. The administrative
support services at the international office assist chapters with the tax laws associated with non-profit
organizations, and helps maintain financial records for all chapters. It arranges liability insurance and bonds for
chapters and other financial services. 
The international office also provides many of the essential supplies for running a chapter  kits for guest nights,
stationery, certificates, ribbons, lapel pins, plaques, books, music, annual show scripts, publicity materials, learning
cassettes and video tapes, convention films, dues receipt books, guest register pages, reporting cards, application
forms, to name a few. These items may all be found in the Harmony Marketplace  catalog. 
///The future of barbershop
It's a truism: no one can be unhappy while singing. Our Society motto, "Keep the Whole World Singing," reflects
our desire to unite all peoples of all nations in song and harmony perhaps the key to peace in our times. Although
barbershop is considered a uniquely American musical form, men around the world have come to love our brand of
harmony, and have formed associations affiliated with SPEBSQSA. Affiliate organizations send representatives to
SPEBSQSA's annual international quartet and chorus contests, and participate in the World Harmony Jamboree,
which features performers from both men's and women's barbershop organizations.
The world of harmony is not limited to men. There are also two separate barbershop organizations for women in
the U. S. and Canada. Sweet Adelines International now numbers more than 29,000 women world-wide.
Harmony Incorporated, has approximately 2,100 members, mostly in the central and eastern U. S. and Canada.
While all three organizations are wholly separate, they do cooperate in some areas through the World Harmony
Council. Further, many men's and women's groups perform on shows together, and, as might be expected, there
are many "barbershop families" in which husband, wife, and children are all members of the various societies.
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A World of Harmony
Australian Association of Men Barbershop Singers (AAMBS)
Barbershop in Germany (BinG!)
British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS)
Dutch Association 
of Barbershop Singers (DABS)
Irish Association 
of Barbershop Singers (IABS)
New Zealand 
Association of Barbershop Singers (NZABS)
Society of Nordic Barbershop Singers (SNOBS)
Southern Part of Africa Tonsorial Singers (SPATS)

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///Youth Outreach: Barbershop's next generation
You joined SPEBSQSA because you like singing. You've probably been a singer of some sort all your life, whether
in a church choir, school chorus, or maybe just in the shower. Singing is a part of you; music is woven into the
fabric of your life.
For many young people today, however, this is not the case. Many people simply don't sing for their own pleasure
anymore. Professional singers on television, radio and concert stage have transformed music in our culture into a
passive form of entertainment which we absorb without active participation.  Youth outreach is an important part
of SPEBSQSA's mission to preserve America's musical heritage. In an era in which arts education budgets are
being slashed, the Society is working to help keep music alive in our schools, and to introduce the simple pleasures
of harmony to a new generation of singers.
Society music staffers regularly make presentations to music teachers and work with groups such as the Music
Educators National Conference (MENC) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) to support music
instruction in schools. If you are a teacher or know of any teachers who might be interested in barbershop for their
students, please contact the Music Department at Harmony Hall.

///Harmony Explosion
Harmony Explosiontm Student A Cappella Clubs, also called HX clubs, are extra-curricular groups of high school
and college men who want to learn more about barbershop singing. SPEBSQSA chapters and quartets are
encouraged to sponsor HX clubs in their community, and many invite HX performers to appear in shows and
other activities with their chapters.
An HX club might be a good way for you to become involved in your son's school, while sharing with him this
great hobby you've discovered. Contact your chapter and district officers if you are interested in helping start an
HX club in your community. 

///MBNA America College Quartet Contest
Inaugurated in 1992, the MBNA America College Quartet Contest annually attracts dozens of quartets from across
the continent to compete for the national championship. Preliminary rounds are held during the spring at sites
throughout North America, with the finals held in conjunction with the SPEBSQSA international convention.


///THE TAG
It's impossible to explain in this small space all the myriad activities that make up the world of barbershop singing.
We hope this brief introduction has whetted your appetite to learn and participate more in your chapter, be it as a
chorus singer, quartet man, or officer.
Your membership in the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in
America will bring you many rewards through the years. In turn, we hope you will make a contribution to your
Society by sharing your love of harmony with as many people as possible. Despite the fact that more than a
million people hear barbershop performances every year, our hobby is still the best-kept secret in the world. 
Wear your lapel pin proudly, and when asked what it represents, use it as an opportunity to introduce another
man to the happiest hobby in the world. You'll be doing him the greatest favor imaginable.
Keep the Whole World Singing!

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AC Area Counselor district officer who helps chapters evaluate the effectiveness of their programs.
A&R  (obsolete: now evaluation) Analysis and recommendation session the post-competition performance review
provided by  the judges. AFTERGLOW  Party after a chapter meeting or show.
AHSOW     Ancient and Harmonious Society of Woodshedders SPEBSQSA subsidiary devoted to preserving the
practice of harmonizing without arrangements; see woodshedding.
AIC  Association of International Champions.
AISQC     Association of International Seniors Quartet Champions. BARBERPOLE CAT SONGS     The 12 songs
every Barbershopper should know. See the Barber-pole 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. COTS Chapter Operations
Training Seminar  a weekend administrative training session.
CQC  MBNA America College Quartet Contest.
DACJC     District Associate Contest & Judging Chairman regional administrator of competitions.
DCO  District Communications Officer.
DISTRICT  One of the 16 geographic and administrative regions of the Society.
DMD  District Director of Membership Development.
DME  District Music Educator.
DO District officer.
DP District president.
DVP  District vice president.
DYNAMO Develop Your Numbers And Musical Organization  program to build chapter musical leadership team.
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 ASSOCIATES    Non-singing supporters of vocal music through the Harmony Fondation and
SingAmerica/SingCanada  
HARMONY HALL   SPEBSQSA international office, located in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
HEARTSPRING    (formerly Institute of Logopedics) An SPEBSQSA unified service project, Heartspring is a
lifeskills learning center in Wichita, Kansas, for children and adults with afflictions that inhibit normal speech. HX
Harmony Explosiontm Student A Cappella Clubs program for high school and college singers.
IBM  International Board Member.
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.
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. 
SINGAMERICA/SINGCANADA   A SPEBSQSA unfied service project that supports vocal music in schools and
communities as an essential part of one's cultural well-being. SP (obsolete) Stage presence visual enhancements
that portray the theme or message of the song, including choreography, facial and body expression, attire and
props 
SWIPE      A progression of two or more chords sung on a single word or syllable;  a 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.
YO Youth Outreach programs.

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LET'S GET FAMOUS!
Brian Lynch, SPEBSQSA Public Relations Manager
6315 Third Avenue  Kenosha, WI 53143
(800) 876-SING || FAX (414) 654-4048
http://users.aol.com/prSPEBSQSA/