ABOUT LADIES BARBERSHOP

What Is Barbershop?

Barbershop Harmony is simply a style of unaccompanied four-part singing with three parts harmonising with the melody line. It originated in the USA in the 1890's when men would sing while waiting in a queue to get their hair cut. They would sing popular songs of the day and others would harmonise in their own particular fashion. 

Many people still think that Barbershop is sung only by men, whereas in fact the Ladies Association, the  Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers (known as LABBS ) has been in existence for some 26 years. It was formed by a small group of "Barbershop Widows" who were so fed up with their husbands going off to their Choruses that they decided to start up on their own. Most of these Ladies' Choruses are still going strong today! 

Barbershop is fun and is a surprisingly easy and enjoyable past-time that allows you to become involved in a musical hobby without having a trained voice. 

What Are The Four Voice Parts?

The four parts that make up the barbershop Harmony are Tenor, Lead, Bass and baritone.

The TENORS sing above the melody line and should be able to sing to Top G without any vocal vibrato. 

The LEADS carry the melody line which usually has a vocal middle range starting from just below Middle C (G) to the D above Middle C. 

The BASS line gives a good solid pitch and their range is in the lowest register with the lowest note being the D below Middle C. 

The BARITONES have the same vocal range as the Leads - some members think they sing the left-over notes! But this part is the most interesting and challenging. 

The Entertainment Factor

In addition to singing we use facial and body expression and movement to enhance the feeling of the song in order to provide the audience with a satisfying and entertaining experience - and we always perform without any music on stage with us! As well as the more traditional Barbershop songs, we sing a mixture of ballads and modern up-tempo numbers such as "Bye Bye Love" and "Barbara Ann" and songs from the shows. 

As well as the musical harmony, barbershop singing stands for friendship which supports it's chorus members through difficult times and shares with them their happy times. You are never alone if you are a Barbershopper!