In SoYou Want to Sing Barbershop, veteran barbershoppers Billy J. Biffle of the Barbershop Harmony Society and Diane M. Clark of Sweet Adelines International provide a practical handbook for singers at all levels who want to learn about the American art form known as barbershop singing. Clark and Biffle explore the history of the style, survey the international organizational structure of the twenty-first century barbershop world, and outline techniques to develop the necessary vocal skills for the style. Guest authors Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne provide valuable information on vocal anatomy and vocal health. The So You Want to Sing seriesis produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Barbershop features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.

Although barbershop singing is clearly a circumscribed social world, understanding how it works expands current knowledge of the variant forms of social participation available to citizens of the modern world.

Throughout his life, Louis Armstrong tried to explain how singing with a barbershop quartet on the streets of New Orleans was foundational to his musicianship. Until now, there has been no in-depth inquiry into what he meant when he said, “I figure singing and playing is the same,” or, “Singing was more into my blood than the trumpet.” Creating the Jazz Solo: Louis Armstrong and Barbershop Harmony shows that Armstrong understood exactly the relationship between what he sang and what he played, and that he meant these comments to be taken literally: he was singing through his horn. To describe the relationship between what Armstrong sang and played, author Vic Hobson discusses elements of music theory with a style accessible even to readers with little or no musical background. Jazz is a music that is often performed by people with limited formal musical education. Armstrong did not analyze what he played in theoretical terms. Instead, he thought about it in terms of the voices in a barbershop quartet. Understanding how Armstrong, and other pioneer jazz musicians of his generation, learned to play jazz and how he used his background of singing in a quartet to develop the jazz solo has fundamental implications for the teaching of jazz history and performance today. This assertive book provides an approachable foundation for current musicians to unlock the magic and understand jazz the Louis Armstrong way.

In 1951, the Schmitt Brothers won an international singing competition, besting the top 40 quartets in the U.S. and Canada. They blasted to fame in 18 short months and didn't stop singing for 35 years-making them the first to win on their first try and the longest performing quartet to retain its original members. But there's more to the story. The Schmitt Brothers were really brothers-from a family of 17. They were devoted husbands and fathers-with 35 children among them. They were businessmen and civic leaders-who never missed an opportunity to serve and promote their community. They traveled more than 2 million miles and performed in 3,000 programs including the Ed Sullivan, Arthur Godfrey and Lawrence Welk shows as well as Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden and the top stages in the country. The Schmitt Brothers were capable of perfectly blending delicate tones, thundering crescendos, cascading decrescendos and chords that-if you didn't know better-made you think there was an entire orchestra backing them up. For everyone who heard the Schmitt Brothers, the magic of their singing brought harmony and joy to all who knew them. This is their amazing story.

Investigates the role that vernacular, barbershop-style close harmony has played in American musical history, in American life, and in the American imagination. It critiques the myths that have surrounded the barbershop revival, but also celebrates the participatory spirit of the harmony.

Coretta Scott King Award winner A young girl’s beloved uncle is a talented barber without a shop who never gives up on his dream in this richly illustrated, stirring picture book. Everyone has a favorite relative. For Sarah Jean, it’s her Uncle Jed. Living in the segregated South of the 1920s, where most people are sharecroppers, Uncle Jed is the only black barber in the county and has to travel all over the county to cut his customers’ hair. He lives for the day when he could open his very own barbershop. But there are a lot of setbacks along the way. Will Uncle Jed ever be able to open a shiny new shop?