Get ready for a ride, folks, this is a wild one with some very high stakes. Simply put the world of Barbershop Music has been exploding over the past year...on a number of different fronts. I’ll need to start with a quick run-down of the Barbershop world, because it will all be relevant:
What is Barbershop?
When most people who aren’t “Barbershoppers” hear the term “barbershop quartet,” they typically either think of a place you get your hair cut, or they think of a totally dated artform with pinstripe suits, straw hats, and old timey music. And to be fair, that’s basically what it was when it started in the late 1800’s. But the barbershop music subculture is still very much alive, and has continued to modernize over the past century.
Extremely short version; at its core, barbershop is a style of acappella arranging. I'll skip the specifics, but basically you can take almost any song and “barbershop” it. Some work better than others, of course, and it’s extremely effective with the “american songbook” kind of songs written in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. But the style itself is really cool and has nothing to do with the stereotypes I described above. While some quartets still choose to lean into those stereotypes for comedy, here are some examples of modern barbershop quartets.
However, what really differentiates barbershop from the rest of the acapella singing world is the long history of extremely well regulated competitions. Back in the 1930’s, groups of quartets started getting together to compete. Eventually they formed an organization to manage those competitions called the “Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in Amera” (SPEBSQSA). This organization, since shortened to Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), is still around and running these contests to this day. It’s the oldest one of a number of similar barbershop organizations, and it’s made up of tens of thousands of barbershoppers from around the
... keep reading on reddit ➡Hello All! I need help finding a Disney movie I'm thinking of that has old sad barbershop music on it. Something that sounds similar to the song "St. Martin De Porres" by Mary Lou Williams. Can anyone help me?
The song itself wasn't barbershop I don't think but the band members were just wearing white outfits, don't remember much of the song but pretty sure it was about love. The lead singer was caucasian and walking around this indoor set of the outdoors doing various things, think he was also holding a cane at some points. It is like a fairly popular 80s track but kinda not as big as other songs. I don't really know what genre it would be classified as I don't recall the melody. At one point the band members are surrounding a woman doing ballet in a white ballet dress and they were in a gazebo on set I think. Can't really remember much else, anyone have any idea?
Alright so first off, I know it's NOT from the documentary "Alive Inside" though I am a fan of the film.
Today I'm trying to find a video that made it's rounds on the internet in the 2007-2012 window, featuring an old, old man with dementia/alzheimer's, who is briefly interviewed, and then led onto a stage with what used to be his barbershop quartet partners.
He is very unaware of what's going on, and quite confused, up until it's his time to sing, at which point they thoroughly freaking nail it for being 85+.
I temember seeing it after having read a book by Dr Oliver Sacks called Musicophilia, published in 07, but that's the best I have.
I keep trying to remember if the man in the video is black or white. At first, I could have swore he was black, thin, and tall, with a rather impressive head of hair for his age. However, after rewatching "Alive Inside" recently, I'm starting to question if I was getting this guy in the video mixed up with Henry, a featured character in Alive Inside. I'm now pretty sure I was remembering it wrong, and the barbershop quartet guy was a relatively short white man, near bald, with glasses.
Thanks reddit!
The sort of vibe I want is best demonstrated through this song: Crapa Pelada by Quartetto Cetra
The characteristics I like: fast tempo, energetic, minor key, very quick and precise singing, some instrumentals but not full big band, and not in English. That's in order from most to least important characteristics.
I've listened to other songs by this artist and just didn't really like any of them that much. Some other songs that I like but don't fit the vibe I want as much are Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Hello my baby, hello my sunshine but both are much, much slower than I like.
Honestly I'd be happy if anyone just found even another song or two that fit what I'm looking for because I know it's pretty niche. Thanks in advance
Looking for an upbeat indie electro song from the mid to late 2000s. It was simple and had male vocals. The song included lyrics along the lines of "we're all...like a barbershop sign". The video was a cartoon, lots of blue and white with animals(?) going over amusement Park rides(?). I think the helter skelters were barbershop signs. Wasn't a big famous song, it may have been featured on Blalock's Indie Rock playlist or similar.
Any ideas?
Hi friends, so in my mission to archive EVERYTHING barbershop related, I made a request folder on Dropbox for you to submit anything you got. Right now I'm mainly looking for International footage/audio (either the Naked Voice Recordings or the top 20 CDs the Society put out). Currently, the folder has 2 TB of storage so for now, there should be plenty of space. Or preferably, if you want something archived, without using up space in the folder, upload it to your own Dropbox/Google Drive/Whatever folder and share it with me via Discord/Reddit DM or the official Archive email: archive.barbershop@gmail.com. And there, I will take anything. ( Once I've saved what you've sent to me, I will let you know so you can remove what you've uploaded to get back space on your file-sharing site account.) Thanks! https://www.dropbox.com/request/iyppRgZuiXsXXP4xMauK
I'm a teenage dude that likes singing and listening to barbershop. I don't see a lot of people who like vocal music talking about barbershop or even knowing what it is. Its such a shame more people don't know about barbershop music.
