Barbershop quartet music has enjoyed a revival ever since the 1940′s. Four a capella voices use standard chords to sing songs with nice tunes and understandable lyrics. A tight, well-defined harmony is a feature of this kind of music.

Barbershop quartet music collectibles include music written for these groups, as well as the posters for famous or less well known quartets or competitions. You could also collect stage photographs or candid shots of your favorite group, or get costumes worn by the members of a quartet and the concert bill, etc. from the performance where the costumes were worn. The costumes of a barbershop quartet usually include straw hats called boaters, ice cream suits, suits made from striped seersucker material, and bow ties. As a “summer” entertainment, the quartet may wear vests instead of suit coats, and you can expect white belts and shoes. The occasional cane can also be expected, and collected.

A small tuning instrument used to voice the initial note of a song can be included in a barbershop quartet collection as this is used to give the opening tone for each song. The barbershop quartet style requires tight harmony and little improvisation is allowed in the harmony or song. Barbershop quartet music is traditionally written in parts for lead, tenor, baritone and bass. These terms are used to indicate the singer who sings the part and not the voice type of the singer, as these terms are used in orchestral music. Barbershop quartet songs include popular songs from past decades, but more recent popular tunes have been arranged for barbershop quartets. These song ad the groups that sing them are international now. A collection of music including recent popular songs or songs in foreign languages would make an interesting collection.

Recordings of one or more barbershop quartet are an obvious collectible, and you could look for the same albums in LP, cassette, CD and MP3. All the recordings of famous quartets may by your interest, regardless of the recording medium. Or you can try to get all the recording of your favorite barbershop quartet standard song.

There are many ways you can collect and preserve the barbershop quartet music, if this is a form of music you enjoy.

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