HARMONY

In the past, singing was a popular form of fun and entertainment.  Families and friends would gather around to sing and/or play instruments together and make up harmonies as the melody suggested. Communities would have sing-out nights where everyone would come to sing and perform for each other, and family groups would travel from town to town to perform.  People seemed to just naturally make up their own harmonies around a lovely melody,  This "making of harmony" was called "woodshedding." 
Times have changed and we now listen to music on our phones and ipads, huge concerts replace the small town performances, and singing is done in the car or shower.  It's a time that we now listen to music - rather than make our own.  Sadly, we have become consumers of harmony, rather than being harmony creators.
We found this great YouTube clip of Paul Olguin (who has performed on our shows) giving a class at Harmony University in Nashville, TN.   He's talking about relearning how to become our own harmony creators.  We think you will enjoy watching his class.

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The Four Voice Parts
The Barbershop style of a cappella singing features a distinctive four part vocal arrangement which is the same for both men's and women's groups. Although the names of the voice parts are the same as those used in classical music, they do not correspond in practice.

TENOR  sings the harmony part above the Lead and should have a lighter, clear, sweet sound to her voice with very little vibrato.

LEAD  usually sings the melody and should have a clear, strong, pleasant voice with a good sense of pitch.

BARITONE  sings in the same range as the Lead, moving above or below the Lead line as necessary for her note to complete the barbershop chord. She needs to have a “good ear” for harmony and the ability to adjust her pitch to the other parts.

BASS  sings the lowest note in the harmony part below the lead and should have a deep voice with a mellow timbre.