Shows with barbershop quartets?

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 10/30/06 at 8:59am

"The Music Man" is the most famous.

Others?

[singingwendy]

Posted: 10/30/06 at 12:01pm

Bye Bye Birdie has one....

[KQuill]

Posted: 10/30/06 at 12:09pm

Assassin's has one in the chorus of "The Gun Song"

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/30/06 at 12:11pm

Sugar Babies


Also the Watchdog Song, sung by the four Doggettes in "Best Little Whorehouse," is pretty barbershop-esque.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 10/30/06 at 12:12pm

I am not sure if thsi would be considered a barberhop quartet but in millie: trevor, millie, dorothy, and the other guy whose name escapes me sing togther.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/30/06 at 12:31pm

Where's the barbershop quartet in Bye Bye Birdie?

[Kgshrauder]

Posted: 10/30/06 at 12:33pm

I think the quartet is when they are singing "Talk to Me" in the bar. I believe that is what they are referring too.

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 10/30/06 at 1:10pm

"Baby, Talk to me" is not barbershop.
Males singing together doesn't make it barbershop.

Even though the "Gun Song" has instrumental accompaniment, the harmonies sound like barbershop to me.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 10/30/06 at 2:12pm

"Talk to me" from BYE BYE BIRDIE in the bar is sung in 4 part harmony, I believe, and could be considered Barbershop, but it is not like the true Barbershop numbers from THE MUSIC MAN. How about "Standing on the Corner" from THE MOST HAPPY FELLA?I think that is sung in 4 part harmony at least.

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 10/30/06 at 4:36pm

I thought that fit, but it has a tenor lead as I remember it.

I guess even for the experts, they just know it when they hear it.

From the Barbershop.org on its judging guidelines:
Barbershop harmony is a style of unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture. The melody is consistently sung by the lead, with the tenor harmonizing above the melody, the bass singing the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone completing the chord. The melody is not sung by the tenor except for an infrequent note or two to avoid awkward voice leading, in tags or codas, or when some appropriate embellishing effect can be created. Occasional brief passages may be sung by fewer than four voice parts.

Barbershop music features songs with understandable lyrics and easily singable melodies, whose tones clearly define a tonal center and imply major and minor chords and barbershop (dominant and secondary dominant) seventh chords that resolve primarily around the circle of fifths, while making frequent use of other resolutions. Barbershop music also features a balanced and symmetrical form, and a standard meter. The basic song and its harmonization are embellished by the arranger to provide appropriate support of the song's theme and to close the song effectively.