BARBERSHOP SLANG

BARBERSHOP SLANG (Written with tongue firmly planted in cheek.)

So that’s what they mean when they say that!

 A     B     C     D     E     F     G     H     I     J     K     L     M     N     O     P     R     S     T     U     V     W     X     Y     Z

A

A & R     Analysis and Recommendation.  Often called Aggravation and Ridicule.

Afterglow      A cast party after the show.

After – Afterglow     A smaller, more private party that takes place after an afterglow.

AHSOW      Ancient Harmonious Society of Woodshedders.

Ambigesturous      The ability to perform the chores moves from either side of the risers

 

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B

Barbershop 7th     A  flat 7th chord used frequently in barbershop arrangements.  (e.g., C – E – G – Bb)

Barbershop Brats     Children of barber shoppers, who often become members – a precious commodity.

Barbershop Squat     A physical stance at the end of a song that looks amateurish and hokey.

Barbershop Widow / Widower     The spouse of a very active barbershopper who doesn’t participate in the hobby.

Barber Speak     A method of speaking a song as if one was singing the part.

Barbersteens     Teenaged children of barber shoppers – the smartest of all.

Barbertots     Young children of barber shoppers – also a precious commodity.

Bell Chord     Notes sung on successive beats, as in “Bye, Bye, Blues” by the Suntones.

Belt     When a man takes his chest voice up into his head voice range – AKA Sing loudly.

Bipartite / Tripartite     Able to sing multiple voice parts.

Bisectional     A person that can sing more than one voice part . . . hopefully, not simultaneously.

Blead     A fifth voice part consisting of part lead and part baritone, usually sung by a member who has been absent for a while.

Borneo Barbershop     An exercise where the bass is sung an octave high OR the tenor an octave low.

Breathing Dips     Singers who breathe where they are not supposed to

Bust a Chord    Singing.

 

C

Car Toy     The cassette tape or CD one carries in the car to learn one’s part.  Directors use this method to describe a phrase of a song they want a section to work on in the car . . . with repetition.

Cascade    A musical device where a unison note spreads to form a chord.  Also called “waterfall.”

Chameleon    A person who can sing all four parts.

Chestnut    An old, familiar song.

Chorditorium      A convention afterglow where non-qualifying quartets can strut their stuff.

Chordus Interruptus   When the director stops the chorus just before a paint-peeling tag.

Chordworship     Holding a chord longer than necessary just to enjoy it..

Chorus Dips     Singers who do exactly the opposite of what the director asks.

Coning     Adjusting volume inversely with pitch to balance a chord.

Cookie     A pitch-pipe

Crank     Sing loudly.

Crow     A self-confessed non-singer who performs mundane chores nobody else wants to do.  See Invaluable.

 

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D

Diction Dips     Singers who exaggerate the hard consonants.

Diphthong Dips      Singers who over-emphasize the diphthongs.

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E

Edge     Beginning of the music score.

Eagles     A politically correct term of “Crows.”

Ear Candy     An audible overtone or harmonic that produces an especially pleasing chord.

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F

Fettucine Singing     Sliding between notes when clean intervals are dictated.

Fifth Wheel     Uninvited singing along with (or near) a quartet.  Considered poor manners.

Float     Blending a part into a chord gracefully.  Usually tenor.

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G

Gang Singing     A collection of singers that are not an organized unit.

Garbage Part     A negative term for the baritone part.

Glimmer     An after, after, after-glow.

Groaner     A bad joke, story or pun.

Grundy     See Scissors Movement

Gut-Buster     A robust up-tune.

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H

Hang Ten     Standing on the risers with ten toes over the edge.

Honker     A person who sings loudly and/or in a garish manner.  Often a bass singer.

Hospitality Room     A party room at a convention for informal entertainment, socializing, and stale pretzels.

Hum Spot     The placement of one’s voice that makes the mask resonate.

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K

Kibber     An endearing term for a barber shopper that prefers to Keep It Barbershop!

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L

Laser Lungs     A singer, usually a tenor, who sings high notes very loudly and out-of-balance.

Lead Dodging     The art of woodshedding the baritone part.  Also called Lead Avoidance.

Leaner     A person that does not have the courage or ability to sing on his/her own, or is not well rehearsed in the music.

Line Singing     Each part gets into a line and rotates singing as a quartet.

 

M

Mic Testers     A quartet or chorus which sings at the beginning of a contest to ensure the sound systems’ performance.

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O

Oh Yeah . . .     An utterance from the chorus, when the director says, “For the 2000th time, you’re supposed to get soft here.”

Oh Yeah Song     A song with an unfamiliar verse and a very familiar chorus.  Refers to audience’s comments as chorus begins.

Onion Skin     A minute adjustment in pitch.

Opus Interruptus     When the hotel security guard stops you in the middle of a song.  Usually occurs at 3 am,  Sunday morning.

Out-of-Spots     Singing without music in front of you.

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P

Patter     A verbose variation on the theme of a refrain, as in “Down Our Way.”  Also jokes and stuff between songs.

Peeling Paint     Locking-and-ringing a chord.

Pick-Up Quartet     Any four singers, not an established quartet, singing a song they commonly know.

Ping     Focused, bright ringing sound.

Polecat     Referring to a collection of common songs for any/every barbershopper, such as “Heart of My Heart” or “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.”

Post     A note, long in duration, sung usually by a lead singer, around which a tag is formed.

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R

Riser Rat     Any chorus member who is not in the front row.

Round Robin     An activity wherein four or more wood shedders sit in a circle and progressively rotate voice parts.

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S

Scissors Movement     Two voice parts that cross each other, while the other two voice parts sustain, leading to an inversion of the chord.

Shoulder-Raiser     A listeners physical reaction to a singer who doesn’t quite reach his/her note.

Singlish     A method of singing a song as if one was speaking the part, phonetically connective.

Skunk Song     A melody essentially useless for woodshedding purposes because of an existing familiar arrangement.

Slab     To sing slowly through a measure chord by chord, also called blocking.

Singing Around     After a contest or show quartets travel around singing in various places or rooms.

Spank     Great vocal execution as in “Boy, that lead spanks!”

 

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T

Tag     The ending of a song often added as an afterthought can can be sung independently from the song.

Tag Quartet     Four singers begin a song and one-by-one are replaced by a new singer – tagged out, if you will.

Tear Jerker     A tender, sentimental ballad that evokes emotion.

Tiddly     A musical embellishment, usually by a baritone.

Toe-Tapper     An up-tune with great rhythmic pulse.

Train Wreck     When one or more parts sing a wrong note and the resulting chord sounds like a railway calamity.

 

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V

VLQ     Very Large Quartet – or mini-chorus, if you will.

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W

Wall of Sound     Seamless, continuous vocalization.

Whomp-Ping Ratio     The ratio of resonance to ping in the voice.

Woodshed     To improvise your part in a song.

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Y

Yawner     A very boring and poor performance of a song.

Yodel-Chorus     A phenomenon in woodshedding, where two voices land on the same note and simultaneously move to the missing part.

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