Barbershop is one of the areas of the a cappella world where finding arrangements isn’t hard – there are many, many outlets for them. Too many, in fact. It’s sort of like doing a Google search – winnowing down your search results to what you’re actually looking for, and excluding the stuff you don’t want or need. Well, Primarily A Cappella has done that search for you, and we’ve narrowed down the barbershop arrangements section to the stuff that’s really worth singing. The only way we could make it easier for you is if we sang it for you – but it would be a lot more fun for you if you sang it yourself!

Four men singing barbershopˆ it's the quintessential image, what for the general public is frequently the mental picture called up when they hear the word a cappella. That's what happens when tens of thousands of people practice their art for three-quarters of a century. But whether it's a chorus or a quartet, the ringing sounds, those locked-in chords, of men's barbershop have earned the right to be that quintessential image by being evocative, thrilling and exhilarating ˆ some of these tags will send goose bumps down your arms! Whether contestable arrangements or stretching the boundaries of barbershop, these groups will not disappoint.

It's just not cool to like your parents' music, right? Well, actually, yes, it really is. At least it is if the kind of stuff your parents tried to introduce you to is anything like these terrific vintage vocal harmony groups! The groups you'll find here are the ones who inspired the groups who inspired the ones we love today. Making their music between the Depression and the '50s, these are the greats who made modern, popular harmony, well, popular. This is the music of the golden age of harmony!

The women may not have been singing barbershop as long as the men, but they've definitely made the art form their own. They push the limits, they ring the chords, they deliver tags that hang in the air so long you'd think they've grown wings. Barbershop may have its roots in American music, but there are terrific Sweet Adelines quartets and choruses all over the world, and we carry many of their albums. If you haven't discovered women's barbershop yet, what are you waiting for?

In a genre that has been split along gender lines for most of a century, who'd have expected mixed barbershop to be successful? Well, whoever didn't, should have. The great thing about mixed barbershop quartets is that they combine the best of the single-gender groups, and build on them. Mixed barbershop is on its way - you'll definitely want to get on the train now!

Listening to barbershop, hearing those tags, that harmony, is like nothing else. But even for the true barbershop fan, there really is something better - watching it. Fortunately, especially for those fans of the barbershop genre, there are videos available. And not just any videos, but competition videos of the very top quartets and choruses on the planet, in the very competitions that each year decide just who the best choruses and quartets on the planet are. And not only that, but there are concert DVDs available from some of the groups who've won those quartet and chorus championships.

Come on, admit it. You love that barbershop sound. There's nothing like a locked chord and a hanging-in-the-air tag to make the air ring. Add in Christmas music and you've got everything you need. Many internationals-winning choruses and quartets have gone on to put out holiday CDs, and we don't need to tell you what combining a group that's taken home the gold with holiday music sounds like = spectacular! And we even have songbooks that allow you to sing the holiday classics in that barbershop style yourself!

Certainly one of the most unique styles of vocal harmony singing this great American tradition is sung by tens of thousands of aficionados around the world. The joy and camaraderie of four-part close harmony singing is tough to beat and we offer here a selection of materials to help the barbershop singer improve their craft and to help get more out of their voice.