Barbershop Theory #1 Chord Voicings
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
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In this new series called "Barbershop Theory", I dive into different topics when it comes to the theory behind barbershop singing. Want to learn about the theory that goes into making barbershop sound the way it does? Then this is for you.
First episode: "Chord Voicings".
In this episode, I look into some of the different chord voicings you are likely to come across when singing barbershop. I'll tell you a bit about why they sound like they do, which ones works best at different situations, and, of course, which one is my favorite!
Enjoy!
Want me to talk about a certain barbershop theory topic? Let me know in the comments below!
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Yeah I dont think you realize how high quality your videos actually are. I wouldve thought you had 50k subscribers with how great your videos are ! Keep up the good work! I love it
Woah, Thank you so much!! So happy to hear you enjoy the videos! I try my best to constantly improve the quality of my videos, so I’m really happy to hear that!
Oh boy, I would have never thought of searching YT for barbershop music theory. I'm glad YT suggested your channel to me.
So happy to hear that!! Welcome to my little barbershop-universe
The Treble clef should have 8va at the bottom to indicate the notes sound 1 octave lower in the male vocal range.
Thanks for the heads up! I forgot to add that this time around.
Great vid! My personal favourite (that didn't make the cut) is (bottom up) 5-1-3-7. Rings so well! And the 5th being in the bass leaves room for an undertone tonic to come through, if you tune it well.
Thanks! Oh man, how could I forget to put that sweet sweet voicing in there! I too love a nicely tuned 5-1-3-7!! Don’t know how that one slipper my mind!
And you’re right about the undertone. Same with 5-1-3-1 endings actually - experienced a huge undertone last week myself when singing with my quartet!
This is a great resource, I'm glad I found it! A small correction: at 0:42 the chord is in 2nd inversion, being over its fifth, where the 3rd inversion is over it's seventh.
Thank you so much Daniel - glad you found it too! I hope you check out the other barbershop Theory videos!
Aaaaah, you’re absolutely right. I think I mixed up inversion with it being the 3rd version of that chord, if you count 135b7 as 1, 35b71 as 2 and 5b713 as 3 😂 My mistake!
This is fascinating. I’d love to see a longer video exploring each one with song examples.
Thank you so much! Oh, yeah - that sounds like fun!
Loving the effort you put into these videos! High quality barbershop content.
Thank you so much man! Really appreciate the kind words!
this is mad, i love this, so clear and concise, is that you singing. the b7 in the bass is my fave, but yh i see what you mean about it being hard to balance. Damn videos like this make me want to do a bit of barbershop again
So glad you like the clear and “cut to the chase” format!! Yeah, it’s me doing all the singing. I agree on the b7 in the bass - has used it many times when arranging barbershop.
I’m SO thrilled that you’re thinking about getting back into the hobby! If my video can inspire people like you to get invested in barbershop, then I’m all set in life!
Really appreciate your comment!
I really enjoy this and this helps a lot, please keep making these instructive and super helpful videos! 😍
Thank you so much! I’m really glad to hear that! More of these types of videos to come!
First time veiwer and I have to say, this is some high quality content. I’ll be subscribing so I don’t miss the next vids in this series :)
Thank you so much!! I’m really happy to hear that!
Excellent job with this video and very well explained. Personally, I'm not crazy about the 7th in the bass but I do agree with your stated exception for doing so.
Thanks Ron! Glad you liked it. Yeah, that voicing is a bit special, but I find that it works for some situations and songs.
OMG this is EXACTLY what I've been looking for... for SO MANY YEARS! A simplified breakdown of common jazz/barbershop voicings for vocals. Thank you SO MUCH for this! Love learning little tips and tricks to help improve my a cappella arrangements :)
I’m SO happy to hear that!!! Thank you so much!!
Great series! Love it! Clearly explained! Making converts out of musicians who never valued barbershop to its full and intricate value! Please don't stop theorizing!!! Thx!
Thank you so much!
Very helpful for me, just beginning to learn about barbershop chords.
So glad to hear that! Feel free to ask me any questions you’d like and I’ll try to answer to the best of my abilities :)
Great stuff as always,I love getting into the theory of barbershop and am super excited for everything you have coming in the future!
Thanks! So glad to hear that you’re excited for this new Series!
really really awesome video! I believe this channel will turn into an incredible resource for barbershoppers! Thank you :)
Thank you SO much man! So happy to hear you say that! :)
Great work！ Love this new series for us newbee to learn a bit more about barbershop theories
Thank you so much!! Can't wait to share more of these video you all of you guys!
this is cool, i love music and am going to study this.
So happy to hear that!!
Hey! Just what Iwas looking for!!!! Thanks!!!
So happy you found my Channel then! I have more Theory videos if you’re interested!
Excellent video!
Thanks! Glad you like it!
Maybe you (or anyone else in the comments) can help me out-- where do I start with learning barbershop singing?
Background: I've joined a barbershop chorus in my area but I don't know *anything* about barbershop. I barely know anything about singing in general, actually, everyone (including me) in my last choir was musically illiterate and our songs were passed down orally. My new Barbershop chorus is really friendly, but they explain things like you do in this video and I have no idea what they're talking about. I've tried checking out books from the library on singing, I've read articles about music theory, and now I've ended up at your channel (the tutorial vids are very helpful, btw, thanks!), but I still struggle to keep up even during warm ups because I don't understand do-re-mi or the 1-2-3 things they do.
It feels like all the learning resources I find are extremely beginner (use good breathing, here's how to read a rhythm) or way beyond my level (Hamonic series, music theory, help??). Tips, pointers, advice deeply appreciated.
Thank you so much for you comment (and your kind words!)
I would start out with learning basic music Theory - how to read and understand sheet music, understanding scales, chords and harmony. That will give you a nice foundation to build from. Give it some time, and don’t be afraid to ask questions at choir rehearsal. :)
Thank you very much for this
You’re welcome!! If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the other barbershop theory videos on my channel!
Dude 0:20 I liked the muddy sound tbh lol
Low tuned chords can be super cool, but it get’s trickier the lower you go. That sort of muddy sound is for sure special in it’s own right and when done correctly, it can sound absolutely amazing!
@@BarbershopTagAlong totally agree. I heard a song in the radio awhile back that did intentional distortion like that, and was shocked to see it was Billie eilish lol. Music is amazing.
With time I will understand better. Great staff!
Thank you so much! And yeah, give it some time!
Hi Soren, when could you make a video to achieve good bass-baritone blends? thanks
That’s an interesting topic! Also a difficult one for me to make as an individual, but you could record some sessions with quartets or choruses to demonstrate how you can work to improve blend.
These are some things that I think goes into good blend (regardless of voice type):
1) Match your energy and engagement.
So if your bass is singing a low note on the lower end of their range, the bari should not necessarily just power through in volume, but instead find ways to amplify the bass’ note. We can to this by matching the two singers’ timbre. Seeing how the bass is on it’s lower end, the bass singer’s sound and timbre is most likely warm, relaxed and maybe a bit breathy. The baritone then needs to match that - which doesn’t mean just to directly copy the sound of the bass, but maybe just making sure their timbre is open and maybe go for a bit darker tone quality.
2) Matching vowels and resonance
This is difficult to explain, but each voice is unique and we all have varying degrees or formant 1 and 2, meaning that one singer might have a voice with darker sounding vowels(AW as in the word “Long”), and another with brighter vowels (Æ as in “Last”). That would then typically mean that the singer with naturally darker sounding vowels would need to work on brightening up their vowels, and the other darkening their vowels, in order to blend better.
These are just some tips/ideas. Who knows, maybe I’ll turn it into a video one day 😄
Nice vid!
Thanks! Glad you liked it! Make sure to check out my other Theory videos!
Not sure this really counts as theory but could you do one on vibrato? I sang in a pretty good vocal jazz group in college, we won a downbeat award one year, and our director absolutely refused to let us use vibrato unless it was in the lead part, just a little bit, and in solos. When I'm feeling snarky I feel vocalists started to sing with vibrato to deal with the even tempered piano and its all-encompassing dissonance. Very difficult to sing a grinding chord with vibrato and have it work.
PS If you had somebody improvise in your quartet, you'd have a vocal jazz quartet :) lots of good music for that combination.
PPS I have some scat singing videos on my channel. Awful production values but I can scat sing.
Hmm, I might do that but since it’s not much used in barbershop it might be a bit off topic though.
The use of vibrato is both a matter of musical history and -culture, an expressive tool, but also a way for the voice to relax (especially when singing high and long notes).
But in general in barbershop, the use of vibrato is very polarizing - some like it and some hate it.
Woah, 1:42 and 2:04 do I hear a C undertone?
Roman numerals are used to denote harmonic function, not pitch functions in a chord.
Thanks for the heads up! I didn’t realise that until some of you guys mentioned it. Hopefully it didn’t cause too much confusion :)
I’ll Keep that in mind for the next episode ;)
@@BarbershopTagAlong Thank you! I do very much appreciate your outline of these voicings and why some work better than others.
@@TheAdultInTheRoom74 Glad to hear that!
Do you sing all four parts?
Yup! I’m mostly a baritone, but I can sing all parts fairly well.
@@BarbershopTagAlong Very cool, you’re really good! I’m attempting to obtain a barbershop bass range. My lowest note I can project fairly well is an A2 and I haven’t had much training and I only started singing about 4 months ago. Do you think it’s possible for me to obtain it? I’m 19
lol you should't be using roman numerals for chord positions (and as someone else has said, please include the 8va)
Yeah, someone else commented that too. That’s a mistake on my end.
That bass clef in the wrong place is throwing me off lol
Haha, mistakes were made
@@BarbershopTagAlong Happens to The best of us. Great video! 😁
Thanks - really glad you enjoyed it!
@@PadeMoro