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Subject: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Mike Miller Date: 22 Jul 07 - 01:11 AM I have, always, kind of wondered why "folkies" embrace some traditions and pay short shrift to others. While shape-note singing is, both, acceptable and worthwhile, barbersop quartet harmony is virtually ignored and trivialized. Bluegrass is in, polka bands are out. With banjos, it's 5 strings, good, and 4 strings, bad. I think the choices are as political as they are generational. We tend to get into mindsets. I hated brussel sprouts and beets since I was a kid but, now, I, only, hate beets. (Winnie Winston loved brussel sprouts. He made me try them again). I joined a barbershop chorus. It was the most fun I have had, singing. You guys ought to try it. I started playing tenor banjo for jobs. A tenor is a great strolling instrument. It is festive, it can be heard, it is as defining as a costume. No one, ever, asks a tenor banjo player to play the latest rock hit. I am not in a polka band, more's the pity. I am in a bluegrass trio and we do Pennsylvania Polka and Clarinet Polka, on request. They make great bluegrass numbers. Mike |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Big Mick Date: 22 Jul 07 - 01:23 AM Mike, I am a huge fan of Barbershop, and the other singer in our Irish band comes from a Barbershop background. Makes for some excellent harmony in our songs. I'm with you on this one. Mick |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Peace Date: 22 Jul 07 - 01:27 AM "What's so wrong about Barbershop?" Nothin'. But that's speakin' for me. I ain't a folkie. "You guys ought to try it [barbershop]." How do you know we haven't? |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 22 Jul 07 - 01:49 AM I have always loved the techniques. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Little Robyn Date: 22 Jul 07 - 04:52 AM Barbershop style of singing is fine and fun but it's the choice of songs that I don't enjoy. The same with 4 string banjo - if they're being used for the music I like, that's fine, but if you were to play tin pan alley stuff or pop songs on a fiddle or pipes or concertina, well, I won't be staying around to listen. Robyn |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Marje Date: 22 Jul 07 - 05:00 AM I have listened to barbershop concerts and tried to think why I don't entirely enjoy it. I can see that it's skillfully done and that the singers are really having fun as well as working hard to communicate and entertain. So why doesn't it work for me? I think it's something to do with the sentimentality of the delivery - all that exaggerated changing of tempo and volume, combined with the choreography, which just makes me uncomfortable. By contrast, traditional/folk music is often done in a very unsentimental way (more so in the UK than in the US I think) which I find far more affecting and engaging. That's how I feel; of course there are other issues like the close-harmony style that defines barbershop - you either like it or you don't. The repertoire tends to be grounded in American popular music of the mid-20th century, which may not appeal to everyone. And then there's the dress code, which is quite at odds with the sorts of style favoured at folk events. I'm sure that there are plenty of people who like both, while some of us just respond better to folk music. And for that matter, I expect there are barbershop enthusiasts who just don't "get" folk music when they hear it - they probably find it a bit rough and earthy, too earnest, too casual in its presentation and not polished enough. But I agree we should keep an open mind and not dismiss whole areas of music without giving them a try. Marje |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: GUEST Date: 22 Jul 07 - 05:10 AM There's something about barbershop that annoys me - There is a certain monotony in the dynamics that bugs me.
Thanks. -Joe Offer, Forum Moderator- |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: John MacKenzie Date: 22 Jul 07 - 05:22 AM Enjoy a couple or three numbers and that's enough for me, but WHY oh WHY do they have to dress up like that? G. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Ernest Date: 22 Jul 07 - 05:51 AM "Barbershop" sounds dangerous if you like a beard like many folkies do... ;0) And for the tenor banjo: in irish music it is more often heard than the 5-string. Sounds like you have it seen only in connection with (dressed-up?) dixie bands. So here`s the next kind of music for you to explore... Best Ernest |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: paddymac Date: 22 Jul 07 - 05:55 AM I snag barbershop for twenty years. It was great fun when it worked. The form is gradually spreading around the world. There was also a Sweet Adelines (women singing in the barbershop style) chorus in town, and we frequently did shows/concert together. The men's group could be a bit stodgy and anal retentive about questions of repetoire, while the women's group was for more progressive in that area. THe group (SPEBSQA) loved to party. We had two annual national/international conventions, two state level conventions, a special "summer school" with superb instructors on all manner of relevant topics, and a very popular Labor Day weekend retreat. The "meeting" aspect of these gaterings was minimal. Most of the time was spent in more collegial activities, like tune swaps, parodies, and tag singing. Great fun. I left it when I went back to school and just didn't have the time for it any more. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Dave Hanson Date: 22 Jul 07 - 06:03 AM In the UK you hear as many tenor banjos as 5 strings in folk music. Barbershop as a tradition doesn't appear to have much of a pedigree, whereas folkmusic and song go back forever. eric |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: George Papavgeris Date: 22 Jul 07 - 06:31 AM I love the harmonies; I find the majority of the songs "twee", and the get-up and whole presentation reminds me of the worst sort of the old kind of seaside comedians, all lame suits and false smiles. But I luuuurve the harmonies. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: MartinRyan Date: 22 Jul 07 - 07:00 AM Similar experience. Sang in a chorus for a few years. Enjoyed it and found it benefited my singing all round - better breathing, better sense of pitch, more reliable harmonies. BUT - the songs themselves are ultimately boring! Regards |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Linda Goodman Zebooker Date: 22 Jul 07 - 07:44 AM Some years ago in Chautauqua NY, our mainly classical community choir did a program in conjunction with our big local men's barbershop group. In the nine years I was with the Jamestown Choral Society, that concert is one of my absolute favorites. I still listen to a tape I made of one the rehearsals. Our choir did a very straightforward arrangement of "Annie Laurie", which I've since sung at an Open Sing and people have thanked me for doing it -they like the song so much. We also all sang "God Bless America"- the performance was right after the Oklahoma City bombing, and that sentimental, patriotic song suddenly seemed very appropriate and healing. Best of all was performing the song "Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You" from the musical "The Music Man". While the ladies in my choir sang "Will I Ever Tell You", we were wooed by our men singers and thirty guys in green satin jackets and bow ties singing "Lida Rose". My heart is still a'flutter at the memory! It's like any music, if you put in overly sentimental elements, it gets cloying. If you put your heart into it, and the emotions are genuine, then it resonates. --Linda |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Azizi Date: 22 Jul 07 - 07:58 AM "Barbershop as a tradition doesn't appear to have much of a pedigree, whereas folkmusic and song go back forever".-eric the red With regard to the history of barbershop singing, you might be interested in this article that I found on the barbershop.org website: "The historical roots of barbershop harmony" By Dr. Jim Henry, bass, The Gas House Gang, 1993 International Quartet Champion Here's a longish excerpt from that article: "...Barbershop quartets often are characterized as four dandies, perhaps bedecked with straw hats, striped vests and handlebar mustaches. These caricatures of the barbershop tradition are not only a quaint symbol of small-town Americana, but have some historical foundation. Barbershop music was indeed borne out of informal gatherings of amateur singers in such unpretentious settings as the local barber shop. But modern scholarship is demonstrating with greater and greater authority that while the stereotype seems to have successfully retained the trappings of the early barbershop harmony tradition, it breaks down on one key point. If you visualized the characters described above as you were reading, you probably pictured them -- like Rockwell did over sixty years ago -- as white men. And therein lies barbershop music's greatest enigma: it is associated with and practiced today mostly by whites, yet it is primarily a product of the African-American culture. Historical evidence The African-American origins theory is not new. Several of our early Society members and recent historians have made the assertion, or at least suggested an African-American influence upon barbershop harmony. But it was a non-Barbershopper, Lynn Abbott, who in the Fall 1992 issue of American Music published, "'Play That Barber Shop Chord': A Case for the African-American Origin of Barbershop Harmony," presented the most thoroughly documented exploration into the roots of barbershop to appear up to that time. In that writing, Abbott draws from rare turn-of-the-twentieth-century articles, passages from books long out of print, and reminiscences of early quartet singing by African-American musicians, including Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong, to argue that barbershop music is indeed a product of the African-American musical tradition... The earliest white quartet recordings are rife with minstrel show conventions which included negro dialect and other parodies of the African-American culture, suggesting an African-American association with the music. Early musicians associated barbershop music with blacks ... Among Abbott's findings are specific early musical referecnes [sic]that suggest that barbershop was once acknowledged as African-American music... and the earliest known reference to barbershop music is associated with black quartets... It is unknown exactly when or why barbershop music became associated with whites. Abbott cites African-American author James Weldon Johnson who, in the introduction to his Book of American Negro Spirituals, published in 1925, offers a hint at how the association might have shifted: It may sound like an extravagant claim, but it is, nevertheless a fact that the "barber-shop chord" is the foundation of the close harmony method adopted by American musicians in making arrangements for male voices. ... "Barber-shop harmonies" gave a tremendous vogue to male quartet singing, first on the minstrel stage, then in vaudeville; and soon white young men, where four or more gathered together, tried themselves at "harmonizing." There is additional support for the effluence of barbershop music from black neighborhoods into the white mainstream, as suggested by Johnson, in its parallel with other forms of African-American music..." http://www.barbershop.org/web/groups/public/documents/pages/pub_cb_00167.hcsp And the beat goes on. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Leadfingers Date: 22 Jul 07 - 08:13 AM A couple of years back , I spent some time looking for three other guys to form a vocal group to sing fancy harmonies at open air cooking parties - We were going to be called a Barbecue Quartet . OK - I'll get my coat ! |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: John MacKenzie Date: 22 Jul 07 - 08:18 AM You haven't got enough time, RUN! G |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Mike Miller Date: 22 Jul 07 - 08:59 AM I am pleased to hear from so many barbershop polecats. I am, somewhat, surprised that some of you differentiate between barbershop and folk. I don't care what your defination of folk is, barbershop, definitelt, qualifies. Of course, the repitore tends to be limited. So does every genre of traditional music. The songs are, indeed, American classics from the gilded age and the costumes, which are not unlike music hall garb, are comparable to such recreation mindsets as Morris dancing or historical reenactment. The formality of the costuming harkens back to a time when performers understood that their appearence was an important aspect of their presentation. There can be no doubt that, musically, barbershoppers live in the past and, if that doesn't qualify them as traditional, I don't know what does. Mike |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Dave Hanson Date: 22 Jul 07 - 09:08 AM I can't agree, ' barbershop ' is a precisely arranged music, which most folk music traditions are not. eric |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Joe Offer Date: 22 Jul 07 - 09:31 AM Sometimes, Barbershop sounds a bit to "packaged" to me. It can lack the human touch, since they practice so hard to get an almost military precision to their harmonies and costumes and hand motions and all. The competition can be a bit much, too. But most of the time, I think it's a lot of fun. I haven't done it much, but I enjoy the opportunity to sing barbershop when I can. I've noticed that barbershoppers seem to be dong a lot more doo-wop songs lately, and I really love doo-wop. I went to a barbershop competition a few years back, and I'd say the majority of the finalists were doing doo-wop instead of the older "Down By the Old Mill Stream" type of songs. I could sing "Duke of Earl" all day long. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Azizi Date: 22 Jul 07 - 10:21 AM It seems that people posting to this thread don't care to talk about the origin and history of barbershop quartet music. Admittedly, the history of this musical genre is not the topic of this thread, but still... And some people wonder why Mudcat has so few people of color... |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Marje Date: 22 Jul 07 - 10:27 AM I should have made it clear that I was speaking from a UK perspective. We do have an active and enthusiastic barbershop movement in this country, but songs/tunes that were composed in the 20th century wouldn't be regarded as traditional, especially when they have known lyricists and composers, and the core barbershop repertoire would never be described as "folk songs" in the UK. As Eric says above, the precision of the arrangements and staging of barbershop songs is at variance with the folk tradition and processes. For some reason, singers' appearance as part of the presentation has never been regarded as important in folk. Showy dress is a normal feature of folk dance/morris groups, mummers, etc, but not of singing or instrumental groups. There are sound historical reasons why this is the case in folk and not in barbershop, and it's just one of the things that separates the two kinds of music. I'm not saying any of this makes barbershop a less valid or appealing kind of music, I'm just trying to explain how it differs from folk/traditional music as I understand the terms. Now, how long before someone comes up with the quote about the horse? Marje |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: John MacKenzie Date: 22 Jul 07 - 10:39 AM Sorry Azizi but that's a sweeping statement if ever I heard one. I was one of those who posted in this thread, and I know NOTHING about the history of Barbershop, but I assume from your post it is not to your liking. It is open to you to enlighten those of us who know nothing about it, rather to snipe at those you assume DO know the history. On the other hand I think the thread is about barbershop as an art form and not as an object lesson. Giok |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Uncle Boko Date: 22 Jul 07 - 10:40 AM It sounds so bloody awful, that's what is wrong with it. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 22 Jul 07 - 10:46 AM Pleeeeze, not that stupid ancient wheeze about the horse! Which is always offered with the implication that it's something fresh and clever, which only makes it worse. Dave Oesterreich |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Amos Date: 22 Jul 07 - 12:02 PM Barbershop is a loverly art, when well done, and a testimony to the beauty that can be achieved with the human voice in a formal disciplined coordination. So, indeed, is opera. It would not make much sense to argue, therefore, that opera is folk. Even though, in some cultures and some places, spontaneous exchanges of arias occurs. Barbershop is arranged music, carefully orchestrated. Folk music, in the most ordinary use of the term, is neither arranged nor orchestrated, although it can be transferred into tight orchestration. But doing so tends to lose some of the naive vitality which makes it folk music. Glee clubs aren't folk music, either, even when singing "Old Black Joe" or "Shenandoah". The reason some folkies, myself included, disliked the preppy squads of the Folk Scare, such as the Kingston Trio and a few others, is that they were more formed in the tradition of the glee club, and less actual roots music. Their acts were pleasant enough in themselves, but they were polished for performance in a way that lost the flavor of the original context. And to me, real folk music is about the context. I could write a lot more about why this is, but in a sense its like jazz; if ya gotta ask... A |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Azizi Date: 22 Jul 07 - 12:11 PM John 'Giok' MacKenzie, I did not mean to imply by either of my post to this thread that I liked or disliked Barbershop music. In my first post to this thread, in response to a statement that eric the red made, I attempted to share information about the origin and history of barbershop music. In my second post to this thread I noted that no one who had posted to this thread acknowledged or commented about the post I had made about that history-presumably because no one was interested in that aspect of the discussion. My last statement of my second comment reflected my opinion regarding why this forum has so few Black people or other people of color. I made two assumptions in that statement- 1. If there were an online folk/blues discussion forum somewhat like Mudcat [in which members and guests could create threads and posts about folk/blues subjects and non-folk/blues subjests] that had more Black posters, some of those posters would have commented about a comment which shared information about the African American history and origin of barbershop quartet music 2. If there were more discussion of subjects about or related to Black origins of barbershop music and other Black musical genres than maybe there would be more Black posters and posters who were people of color on Mudcat. I don't know if either of these assumptions are true. I know that particularly the last assumption isn't the whole story. But my last comment was decidedly off topic. I'm sorry for including in this thread. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Marje Date: 22 Jul 07 - 01:06 PM I did read your first post, Aziz, and found it both interesting and credible, but I had nothing much to say about it because I know comparatively little about the origins of barbershop. Much of American popular music has origins and links with music of black origin, and although what you said surprised me at first, it made perfect sense when I thought about it. So there you are - you've made one person stop and think a bit more. So there's no need to sulk or get paranoid. How do you know that blacks are under-represented here? I have no idea what colour most of the posters in Mudcat are - the main issue for me is working out which side of the Atlantic they're from, which often has a bearing on the discussions here. I think most members will, like me, have found your post interesting but only of slight relevance to the original question of why "folkies" tend to ignore barbershop, and that's the most likely explanation for the lack of follow-up. Marje |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Uncle Boko Date: 22 Jul 07 - 01:13 PM "So, indeed, is opera" - rubbish, I have never heard so much out of tune garbage, emperor's new clother reigns supreme!!! |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Bill D Date: 22 Jul 07 - 01:37 PM It's ok, in its place, but it flatly AIN'T folk! It has its own 'tradition', but not folk tradition. You can't jam everything under one roof. Barbershop, like Bluegrass, seems to assume almost everything can be adapted to their style... "Sweet Adeline" is fine, but this morning I heard a very Barbershop version of "Time Has Made a Change in Me"...the tune was sorta recognizable, but the harmonies altered things a lot!...and the 'feel' of the song was sacrificed for sound and rhythm. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: GUEST,meself Date: 22 Jul 07 - 03:02 PM "the 'feel' of the song was sacrificed for sound and rhythm" - ? I would have thought the 'feel' of the song was inseparable from 'sound and rhythm' ... |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Bill D Date: 22 Jul 07 - 03:21 PM not necessarily...if the sound & rhythm doesn't fit the message in the lyrics, you can lose the point. Try singing "Bonnie Susie Cleland" to a bouncy, cheerful little rhythm...(which I have also heard..) |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Big Mick Date: 22 Jul 07 - 03:32 PM I'm just popping in for a minute, but this one touches a nerve. There are several versions of "Hard Times Come again No More" out there where folks do it with a bouncy beat, and one guy was using a drum machine and chorus. He is a pretty good performer, and was at a major venue. I guess my face betrayed me because he asked me what I was thinking. I couldn't help myself, so I asked him if he actually listened to the words he was singing, or if he just liked the tune. He chuckled (thanks be) and said that he has heard it before from good singers. But he just felt it fit. Go figure. I really appreciate the technique involved, and I believe all singers can benefit from this type of training. Don't care much for the showbiz presentation, but in singarounds, these folks really add a lot to the fullness of any sound. Mick |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Dazbo Date: 22 Jul 07 - 04:21 PM I posed a similar question a few years ago. Personally, I can't stand babershop and couldn't understand why as most unaccompanied singing I usually really enjoy. Here's the thread |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Ebbie Date: 22 Jul 07 - 04:25 PM Is Barbershop the US version of Morris Dancing? *g* There are times when I enjoy a few songs done in barbershop style but never for very long. I like the harmonies and I like old songs - a lot of them - but I'm with those who are under the impression that the lyrics i Barbershop matter not a whit. And lyrics and their message come first, to my mind. It is the same objection I have to our local Pride Chorus. They are very good and their harmonies are often spine- tingling but why can't they come up with meatier themes? And more demanding arrangements? I went to a Folk Song ensemble a few weeks ago- it was a group of about 25 (about the same size as our Pride Chorus) - but the songs were engaging and fresh. I mentioned that to a member of the Pride and she said that they have a problem with scheduling enough rehearsal time. But I'll bet if they came up with good songs they'd show up for rehearsal. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Fred Maslan Date: 22 Jul 07 - 05:26 PM I enjoy listening to Barbershop, but I guess I'm a wild harmonizer, never do it the same way twice. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: pattyClink Date: 22 Jul 07 - 05:37 PM Great insights in this thread. I just wrapped up several years of barbershopping, gonna take a break. They wear costumes and do all the showmanship because of the stupid competition criteria. There are some ancient crones judging these contests who think the more you look like Doris Day circa 1956 in a sequin factory, the better. I have seen some original awesome 'theme' costumes that have been wonderful to see, but most of it is just a lot of overdressing. The more out of style this becomes, the more they cling to it because many of them dearly love to 'dress up'. They do sing a lot of insincere songs with thoughtless lyrics. Unfortunately the main mine of singable material is still Tin Pan Alley and that's how they wrote most of them. They desperately need new arrangers to do songs post-Pat Boone, so if anybody arrangingly inclined wants a new subinterest in music, go for it, you can make some money doing arrangements. Like everybody else, I love the harmony and have learned how to be a better all around singer, solo or ensemble. But the Stepford aspects were really gettin' me down. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Greg B Date: 22 Jul 07 - 05:42 PM One of my colleagues young (13 years) son is a multi-faced musician who, among his other interests, loves singing barbershop with the local club. He drew his dad in as well. It seems to build character and musicianship. Barbershop is certainly distinctly American, and distinct from 'four square' British harmony. As such, it incorporates what African Americans brought to the American music hall. However, the citations brought out earlier strike me as one of those attempts to credit the entire Industrial Revolution to the inventor of the cotton gin. Thirds and major and minor sevenths and diminished ninths did actually exist in music theory even prior to the triangle trade. Barbershop is a melding of traditions, all of which converged in the burgeoning US and peaked in the 'gay 90s'. No one tradition can claim it. But it's great good fun for those who do it--- sort of like singing shanties has become a century later. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Azizi Date: 22 Jul 07 - 06:02 PM "Barbershop is a melding of traditions, all of which converged in the burgeoning US and peaked in the 'gay 90s'. No one tradition can claim it."-Greg B I agree. That melding of traditions happened with R&B music too. ** Btw, Greg, I believe that involvement in most types of musical groups can build good character and improve musicianship. And I like your use of "Stepford aspects" -though I don't like the concept of the lock step Stepford wives {or stepford anything}. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Azizi Date: 22 Jul 07 - 06:15 PM Opps, sorry for that wrong attribution. pattyClink, I like you use of Stepford aspects. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Azizi Date: 22 Jul 07 - 06:18 PM Oops again. I wrote "you use of Stepford aspects" and meant "your" use but I also meant that I like the phrase and not that you actual use stepford aspects... |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Mike Miller Date: 22 Jul 07 - 06:21 PM Sure, Barbershop is arranged and carefully presented. So, were the Weavers, the Copper Family,The Dubliners and every other successful singing group. One could make a good case for excluding arranged music from "folk" but we seem to be a lot more tolerant toward some groups and styles. Certainly, we know who wrote most of the Barbershop classics. We, also, know who wrote "Silent Night", "Oh, Susanna" and "This Land is Your Land". Barbershop harmony was the DooWop of one hundred years ago. It may be formalised, today, but its roots are as humble as Old Timey. I am glad we are having this discussion. I didn't start this thread to increase the audience for Barbershop. I am suggesting that more of us should be singing in Barbershop choruses because it's fun. I have been a soloist all my professional life and I wanted to learn how to. better, blend with other voices. Boy, what I learned. I learned about breathing, about extending vocal range, about the different voices I had. Before each rehearsal, the chorus stands on the risers and does vocal excercises, conducted by real vocal coaches. I tell you, I had been singing for my supper for thirty years before I joined The Mainliners. I am a much better singer, today, because of what I was taught. (By the way, the Sweet Adelines are just as good, or better) Mike |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Dave the Gnome Date: 22 Jul 07 - 06:31 PM It's American shite. Nearly as bad as blues and jazz. End of story. :D |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Don Firth Date: 22 Jul 07 - 06:35 PM For me, I enjoy a whole variety of music. Opera (sorry, Uncle Boko, but "out of tune?" Gotta be something wrong with your ear. But chaque un à son gout), Broadway show tunes, a lot of pop songs from yesteryear, country, blues, and yes, some barbershop, too. Too great a variety to list. I must admit that I don't enjoy much in the way of rock (but some!), and rap sort of sets my teeth on edge. There's darned little classical music that I don't like. But as for what I perform myself, I stick pretty close to traditional songs and ballads, and a few other selected songs. I also play (play at) classical guitar, with an occasional whack at flamenco. Why not barbershop? Well, doing the sort of stuff I like to do, I don't have to look up three other guys to do it. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Cluin Date: 22 Jul 07 - 08:23 PM Barbershop is great! For about three songs or so. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: chazkratz Date: 22 Jul 07 - 08:58 PM I stopped going to barber shops because nobody ever sang in any one I ever patronized. Or maybe it was because it cost too much... I could never handle the tight harmonies of the music; I have enough trouble with folk harmonies--I can find the tenor harmonies, which is too bad--as I'm a baritone. Charles |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: katlaughing Date: 23 Jul 07 - 12:49 AM My last statement of my second comment reflected my opinion regarding why this forum has so few Black people or other people of color. That is your biggest assumption. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: EuGene Date: 23 Jul 07 - 12:50 AM Well, I don't know very much about barbershop history and tradition, but I have enjoyed listening to them sing and harmonize together. Most of them do go for the cookie cutter dress, but I guess that's required for competition. One of the best barbershop quartets I ever heard was singing around in the Washington DC/Montgomery County, MD area in the 1960's, and they generally wore matching slacks and white shirt (and occasionally blue jeans and white shirt) They also sang a duke's mixture of stuff, all harmonized in the barbershop style . . . "Down By The Riverside", "Wedding Bells Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine", "I Want a Girl . . .", "This Old House", "Billy Boy", "Sidewalks of New York", "While Strolling in the Park", "My Merry Oldsmobile", "Side by Side", "Ivy Will Cling", etc. I guess some of that stuff is Barbershop, some is Tin Pan Alley, and the rest is whatever. Anyhoo, they harmonized it all as well as anyone, and their slacks/blue jeans didn't throw 'em off key one whit! Golly, maybe a person can ride a horse without a proper habit or Stetson hat . . . well, that might be going a bit too far from the accepted norm, and the horse will likely either balk or buck! Eu |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: Jim Lad Date: 23 Jul 07 - 02:45 AM I like Barbershop. How could I not? I enjoy listening to people sing and the words are much more important to me than musical arrangements. The Peach Chords (A Cape Breton group) joined me on stage a few times in Sydney for a couple of impromptu numbers and we all had a great time. They even invited me to sit in on their practices. Sadly, I had to decline. Having said that; It's not my bag & I can't make a living in a group but if I walked into a venue and a Barber Shop Quartet was singing, I'd stay. Blues?.... Not so much. "My last statement of my second comment reflected my opinion regarding why this forum has so few Black people or other people of color."... You know... I have absolutely no idea who is Black, White, Aboriginal, Wheelchair Bound, Cancer Stricken, Blind, Deaf, Chinese, Caring for the sick and dying, Sick and dying themselves, Married, Single, Divorced, Old, Young, Rich, Poor, Gay, Straight or in many cases, who is Male or Female.(I don't even know if it's politically correct to use half of those words.) Except for you, Azizi because every time you come on, you tell me. So here's a newsflash. We are all people of colour. Every single one of us and it may even surprise you to find that one way or another, some of us are even more coloured than you are. We just don't feel the need to complain about it. |
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Subject: RE: What's so wrong about Barbershop? From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 23 Jul 07 - 02:51 AM Thanks Jim Lad - I'm glad I didn't open my mouth on THIS thread... |
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