What should I sing?

[Lord Manhammer]

Ok folks, I’ve become very fond of you and really enjoy our discussions

I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and am crossing something off of my bucket list. I am joining a barbershop quartet.

What should we sing first?

 

[Dan Murphy]

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Is the quartet already established and you're replacing a member? Or are you and three other people forming it from scratch?

 

[SteveH]

Just tossing this out there, but how about Haircut 100, "Love Plus One". Or maybe “Don’t Cut Your Hair” by The Pretenders, or as a third option how about “Get A Haircut” by George Thorogood & The Destroyers.

Enjoy your new gig no matter what you sing... or don't sing from my list.

 

[Smugpugmug]

"Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" from the Carousel of Progress.

 

[princesscinderella]

Ok folks, I’ve become very fond of you and really enjoy our discussions

I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and am crossing something off of my bucket list. I am joining a barbershop quartet.

What should we sing first?

I love the Jimmy Fallon barbershop quartet bits on his show and one of my favorites was when he did Shaggy’s, It wasn’t me.

 

[PollyannaMom]

 

[PollyannaMom]

 

[LuvOrlando]

Very cool, I always enjoy a barbershop quartet in person but have never considered the tunes since it is the style of singing I like most. Good luck & enjoy!

 

[disney4us2002]

Basically anything that can be four-part harmony. I heard a quartet sing The Star-Spangled Banner and it was awesome.

I thing Cohen's Hallelujah would also be beautiful in harmony.

 

[Jennasis]

Baby on Board by The B-Sharps (The Simpson)

 

[Micca]

Crazy Little Thing Called Love, or any Beach Boys song

 

[tvguy]

 

[easyas123]

Is the quartet already established and you're replacing a member? Or are you and three other people forming it from scratch?

That would be my question - if you are joining you may not get a say right away on what the first song you sing is.
No idea what the politics of a Barbershop Quartet is, I'm just thinking that anyone joining any group as a new member may not get to make all the decisions just yet!

 

[Wiltony]

Start with the basics. All barbershop quartets should know the polecat songs.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

That would be my question - if you are joining you may not get a say right away on what the first song you sing is.
No idea what the politics of a Barbershop Quartet is, I'm just thinking that anyone joining any group as a new member may not get to make all the decisions just yet!

Is the quartet already established and you're replacing a member? Or are you and three other people forming it from scratch?

Very good questions. No we are starting from scratch so we all have equal say. All of us are fans of the genre so we are familiar with much of the barbershop repertoire but I was curious if there were any ideas that we missed. A friend of mine sent me this great rendition of Be Our Guest which I'll share with you.

 

[Micca]

No idea what the politics of a Barbershop Quartet is,

I don't either but I'd watch that on Meet The Press!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Very good questions. No we are starting from scratch so we all have equal say. All of us are fans of the genre so we are familiar with much of the barbershop repertoire but I was curious if there were any ideas that we missed. A friend of mine sent me this great rendition of Be Our Guest which I'll share with you.

If you're all beginning barbershoppers, I would recommend starting out with one of the easiest four-part pieces you can find. It's a tricky style that requires precise tuning to get the chords right. You might even decide on your voice parts, but learn after some rehearsal that you might be better off switching. Look up the Barbershop Harmony Society and see if you can find any resources for beginning quartets. If you can find a local chapter, it might be worth going to a meeting, listen to them sing and get a better feel for the style. You might even meet someone who would be willing to teach or coach you. I watched my husband sing barbershop for over 25 years and learned quite a bit about it. You want to get a solid foundation of the basics before attempting anything too involved or difficult. Otherwise, it can get very frustrating.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Let me see if I can find the song for you. OK got it.

 

[Wiltony]

I've been part of barbershop choruses and quartets in the past. I enjoyed my time and participation and thought I'd share a few thoughts:

• Barbershop singers are usually dues-paying members of the Barbershop Harmony Society (barbershop.org)
• It seems that most participants are older (55+). Younger people are more prevalent in the large choruses in large metro areas, however.
• Most quartets are "hosted" by a chorus (the members usually participate in the local chorus) but this isn't necessary.
• I enjoyed singing in quartets more than choruses, and enjoyed singing "tags" (usually the last 8-16 bars of a song) even more.
• There is something call the "barbershop polecat songbook" that every respectable barbershopper should memorize. Because of their ubiquity, the songs in this book can be easily sung by any four barbershoppers anywhere, regardless of where they're from. The polecat songs make for a great base-level of repertoire that is transferable. It's super valuable to learn.
• In that same vein, I was able to sing a polecat with the Dapper Dans at Magic Kingdom one time. Most of them knew all the songs also, so I picked one, and they let me stand in for my part. I have a video. It was fun!
• Many quartets and choruses work toward participating in their regional (and then on to national) barbershop competitions. There is a national conference every year right around Independence day.
• There are tons of videos online to learn parts, listen to tags, watch performances, or hear new arrangements of different songs. Watching these might make you feel inadequate really quickly, but remember not to be too hard on yourself as these are polished performances, and most non-live produced-videos are auto-tuned, with much of these guys doing this for a living. Us hobby-level people just like to sing a little and enjoy the company of others, too.
• The Barbershop scene is quite the brotherhood, with a very "elks lodge" kind of feel to it. Lots of camaraderie, friendships, etc. It's a really healthy, uplifting social support system for men. I miss it!
• They have been working to open it up to women, too, starting to advocate for mixed quartets and such. Though there is already a sister-organization called the Sweet Adelines that is essentially "barbershop for women" organization.
• While I enjoyed it, barbershop music is a very narrow and prescribed genre, and I eventually tired of the lack of variety and so I don't participate anymore. I also tired of the constant focus on competition preparation, which too-often came at the expense of fun. Most barbershoppers I met had great senses of humor and we'd all just be cracking up during rehearsals, and the director would get mad because we weren't getting "show ready" lol!

Good luck, hope you enjoy it, I sure did!