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In So You Want to Sing Barbershop, veteran barbershoppers Billy J. Biffle of the Barbershop Harmony Society and Diane M. Clark of Sweet Adelines International provide a practical handbook for singers at all levels who want to learn about the American art form known as barbershop singing. Clark and Biffle explore the history of the style, survey the international organizational structure of the twenty-first century barbershop world, and outline techniques to develop the necessary vocal skills for the style. Guest authors Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne provide valuable information on vocal anatomy and vocal health.
The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Barbershop features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.
List of contents
Introduction - Who Needs Barbershop?
Chapter 1 - The Barbershop Family Tree: A Brief History of Barbershop
Chapter 2 - Singing and Voice Science, Scott McCoy
Chapter 3 - Vocal Health for the Barbershop Singer, Wendy LeBorgne
Chapter 4 - The Barbershop Style: "Let's Bust a Chord!"
Chapter 5 - Barbershop Singing Technique: From Shower to Spotlight
Chapter 6 - Barbershop Ensembles: You Can't Do It Alone
Chapter 7 - Singing as One Voice: Techniques for Achieving Unit Sound
Chapter 8 - Standards for Barbershop Singing: Here Comes the Judge
Chapter 9 - Becoming a Better Barbershopper: Education in the Craft
Conclusion - The Barbershop Culture: Hobby or Lifestyle?
Appendix A - Resources
Appendix B - How to Locate a Barbershop Chapter or Chorus
Appendix C - International Quartet and Chorus Champions
Appendix D - Choral Warm-Ups-the Perfect Fifth-The Magic Interval, Val Hicks
Appendix E - Ten Steps to a Better Singing and Performing Chorus, Greg Lyne
Appendix F - How to Learn a Song, Paula Davis, Carolyn Sexton & Jay Giallombardo
About the author
By Diane M. Clark and Billy J. Biffle
Summary
So You Want to Sing Barbershop offers a close look at barbershop quartets and choruses and explores the techniques required to sing in the style. It also surveys the history and current popularity of barbershop societies. Guest authors offer chapters on vocal science and health and a supplemental website offers additional resources.
