Barbershop quartet in the range of the classical countertenor range. Lead (often a lower tenor) usually sings the main melody. Baritone often completes the chord with a medium voice, usually slightly below (sometimes above) the lead. Bass always sings and harmonizes the lowest notes, often setting the root of the chord for root position chords, or singing the lowest note of the chord for inverted chords. Barbershop quartet A barbershop quartet is a group of four singers who sing music in the barbershop genre of singing, which uses four-part harmony without accompaniment by any instruments such as piano, a style called a
Barbershop music recording industry their performances were recorded and sold. Early standards included songs such as "Shine On, Harvest Moon", "Hello, Ma Baby", and "Sweet Adeline". Johnson noted in the 1920s how the genre had already crossed racial barriers. Barbershop music was very popular between 1900 and 1919, and some of the most popular quartets were the Haydn Quartet, the American Quartet, and the Peerless Quartet. Modern barbershop quartets often costume themselves in gaudy versions of the vaudeville dress of this time, with boaters and vertically striped vests. Composer and pianist Scott Joplin incorporated a barbershop quartet into his 1911 opera "Treemonisha".