Barbershop singing is great fun, and if you can carry a tune you can sing it!

What is it?
Barbershop singing is four-part unaccompanied close harmony with three of the voices harmonising the melody. Its unique sound is created by using a predominance of specific chords in the arrangements, which are usually of popular songs from the 20th century. The four parts are known as lead, bass, tenor and baritone, whether in men's or ladies' barbershop. Barbershop is performed in two variations, either in a quartet with one voice for each part, or in a chorus with several voices making up each part.
The use of matching vowel sounds and careful balance of the volumes of the different voice parts reinforce the harmonic overtones to produce the characteristic 'expanded' sound of barbershop. There is also an emphasis on interpretation and delivery, with costume and choreography adding to the overall style.
If all this sounds very complicated, don't worry! We have a very knowledgeable chorus director and a wealth of experience within the club to make sure that we not only understand what we are doing but get it right! We do take our singing seriously but have a great deal of fun at the same time.

How It Came About
It actually began in the barber shop, in the 16th century, by customers waiting their turn, or the barbers themselves waiting for customers. The songs chosen would have been popular ones which were easy to harmonise to. By 1890 it had found its way onto the street corners, and into the pool halls and saloons of America. At the height of its popularity no minstrel or music hall show was complete without a barbershop quartet. However, from 1918 the barbershop quartet became almost extinct due to the change in life styles and the coming of movies, dance bands and radio. Song styles changed and these tunes were not so easy to harmonise to. Owen C Cash decided to remedy this situation after a chance meeting in a hotel bar with another great fan of the barbershop chord. They staged a revival and in 1939 Cash became the first President of the "Society for the Encouragement and Propagation of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America" ( SPEBSQSA). He had a great sense of humour and thought this grandiose title would suit his fledgling organisation! The word Propagation was later changed to Preservation once the Society was firmly established. It started to hold annual contests for quartets and in 1953 barbershop choruses became fully recognised and were given their own annual contest. The Society continues to thrive today.

Barbershop In The UK
In the late 1950s Harry Danser from Crawley, Sussex, visited the USA and found to his delight a large society of barbershop devotees - he had sung in a barbershop quartet during the music hall days. On his return home he formed the Barbershop Four quartet which performed in his locality and gained a great deal of interest from the public. In 1964 the Crawley Barbershop Harmony Club was born. Ten years later The British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) was formed.
In America, ladies who wanted to be part of this great hobby founded Sweet Adelines International in 1945. Another ladies' organisation, Harmony, Inc., began in 1959.
In 1976, ladies in this country formed their own association, the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers (LABBS ). It currently has 46 clubs throughout the UK and a membership of around 1600.

World-Wide
Barbershop harmony for both ladies and men is popular in countries such as Ireland, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Southern Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Tokyo. There are annual national and international competitions.