Staccato Spotlight: Barbershop Arrangers

Staccato Spotlight

Apr 11

Barbershop quartets: boater hats, striped vests, and goofy schtick—right?

Not nearly as much as you’d think! You may be surprised to learn that barbershop is a uniquely American art form with a rich history (which includes those classic hats), but it is also a style of arranging marked by homophonic, consonant four-part chords that many ArrangeMe members actively employ!

Modern barbershop singers go beyond ragtime and ballads to perform unique arrangements of the songs of today—Bruno Mars, Garth Brooks, Disney tunes, you name it. Every day, thousands of singers gather, rehearse, and share the love of singing with their communities, and each year, the very best of those ensembles compete with hopes of becoming the next barbershop quartet or chorus champion at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Convention.

At the very heart of the barbershop harmony world are hundreds of arrangers, past and present, who have perfected the craft of writing for this unique a cappella style of singing. Their creativity, craftsmanship, and musicianship are the lifeblood that keeps barbershop harmony alive and thriving. We caught up with four of the finest arrangers the art form has to offer and asked them about their experiences as arrangers and ArrangeMe members. Read what they had to say in this National Barbershop Quartet Day edition of Staccato Spotlight!

Aaron Dale is a full-time music teacher, and arranger/composer and coach from Elizabethtown, KY. He currently directs the Heart of Kentucky chorus.

Kohl Kitzmiller is a full-time recording artist, vocal arranger, and baritone of BHS quartet champion Instant Classic. He lives in Indianapolis, IN.

Melody Hine is an arranger, coach, and baritone of Harmony, Inc. champion quartet Hot Pursuit. She also serves as musical director of Parkside Melody chorus in Hershey, PA and resides in Baltimore, MD.

David Wright is Professor Emeritus and former math department chair at Washington University and serves as assistant director of Ambassadors of Harmony chorus in St. Louis, MO.

What is your arranging process? Is it different when arranging for quartets vs. choruses? Or contest vs. non-contest?

Kohl: My arranging process is more organic, involving an extensive amount of singing to feel how the melody fits within my voice. This process helps gauge the arrangement's difficulty and informs adjustments to ranges, voice leading, and rhythmic complexity. I continuously assess the arrangement's viability to ensure success for the ensemble I'm arranging for. If I struggle with it, I can't expect performers to sing it.

The type of ensemble does influence my arranging approach in some respects. With skilled ensembles, I may take more risks in range, rhythm, and voice leading whereas I might take a simpler approach for more novice groups. Another consideration is the breath plan. Quartets demand careful consideration of the breath plan due to having just one voice per part, while choruses allow for more flexibility with breath with multiple voices per part.

Contestable versus non-contestable arrangements follow similar processes. That said, contest arrangements adhere to additional constraints such as homorhythm, consonant chording, and voicing the melody in the second voice from the top, among other things. Non-contest arrangements offer creative freedom without strict guidelines, providing relief to arrangers, but contest pieces often yield the most rewarding outcomes. As a barbershop arranger, I often incorporate the hallmarks of the barbershop contest sound into non-contest pieces as feels appropriate.

“My arranging process is more organic, involving an extensive amount of singing to feel how the melody fits within my voice. If I struggle with it, I can’t expect performers to sing it.”

— Kohl Kitzmiller

Aaron: I don't have one standard process for arranging. When getting started, if it is commissioned work, I'll have lots of back and forth communication with the ensemble to get on the same page for the overall product. I'll obtain piano/vocal sheet music and listen to recordings if available, and sketch out a plan for the arrangement; form, key, style, etc. If it is for a competition I'll keep those adjudication guidelines in mind from the beginning. If just for show I'll be sure to work with the group so it satisfies the type of show tune they are seeking: opener, big finish, filler song, etc. With all that in mind, I will often start by notating portions of the song and "testing" them out to see how well they fit in the parameters I'm using (contemporary a cappella feel, barbershop, etc). Sometimes I start with a bass line and basic chord structure to get the feel of a section. Other times I'll notate the melody for the entire song, especially if the original song is so solid that it won't require any added material.

David: Generally I take some time to study the song, listen to whatever renditions exist, and chart the structure of the arrangement and if added material is needed. I usually begin with that portion of the song for which I have the clearest vision (not necessarily the beginning) and proceed to fill in the pieces. I arrange with a specific performer in mind, and yes, it is different for quartets vs. choruses, the former requiring more careful planning considering range, breathing, and endurance.

Melody: I start by listening to a lot of recordings of the source material and of the ensemble I'm arranging for so I can get a rough picture in my mind of how the full arrangement will develop. Then I'll go into Finale and add the melody line. Then in a section at a time I'll add bass, and then tenor and baritone sort of simultaneously. I do a lot of listening from beginning to wherever I am in the arrangement to make sure it's unfolding how I intended. Once a draft is completed I'll sing through all the voice parts as well so I can ensure there's nothing unnecessarily difficult to sing. That process is pretty much the same regardless of the ensemble or the context!

What has been your greatest ArrangeMe success so far?

Melody: I would say the popularity of "Crabbuckit" has been my greatest ArrangeMe success. That has definitely been my most purchased arrangement here.

Aaron: I had a single order for hundreds of copies of Garth Brook's "Two of a Kind Workin On a Full House" which was was a nice surprise!

“Crabbuckit” (arr. Melody Hine)

“Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House” (arr. Aaron Dale)

Kohl: For a specific ArrangeMe project, "It's a Pity to Say Goodnight" was probably my most successful release, especially early on. The concept involved arranging the song in three voicings (TTBB, SATB, and SSAA) with accompanying vocal learning media for each. Its popularity exceeded my expectations, prompting regular, quarterly arrangement releases in all three voicings. My aim was to offer new music to the community at a lower cost than custom arrangements while also being a viable component of my business. With ArrangeMe's platform, it's easy and free for arrangers to sell their arrangements and for performers to purchase.

With mixed barbershop ensembles on the rise, have you been writing more SATB/Mixed charts or is the bulk of your arranging still for TTBB and/or SSAA groups?

Kohl: I began my journey as an arranger around 2017, just before the Barbershop Harmony Society launched the Everyone in Harmony initiative. This initiative aimed to create an inclusive space for all individuals to participate in barbershop singing. With the growing popularity of mixed voice ensembles, there was a noticeable lack of barbershop arrangements in SATB voicing. While I observed an increase in SATB arrangements, a significant portion of my catalog still consists of TTBB voicings, but the SATB arrangements are growing about as fast as the TTBB-voiced ones!

Aaron: The bulk of my work is still primarily TTBB and SSAA requests, with a couple of SATB/mixed songs a year. Most of the mixed compositions are still commissioned by international groups.

David: Like Aaron, the bulk of my arranging is still mostly TTBB and SSAA. But I have definitely been doing more SATB arrangements lately.

Melody: I have absolutely been writing for more mixed groups, which has been awesome. I would love to do more!

Which arrangement are you most proud of?

“The Trolley Song” (arr. Kohl Kitzmiller)

Kohl: My favorite song as of right now has to be “The Trolley Song” as performed by First Take quartet.

Melody: I think the one I'm most proud of that's currently published via ArrangeMe is "I Could Write a Book," though there isn't a performance of it available yet. Don't miss Secret Best Friends quartet performing it at International in Cleveland this summer!

“Man In the Mirror” (arr. Aaron Dale)

Aaron: I can't think of one arrangement I'm most proud of... That's tough, as I've had the honor of working with so many fantastic ensembles who sang my arrangements extremely well. I was really proud of the guys in Kentucky Vocal Union chorus when we debuted my chart of "Man in the MIrror" in Las Vegas in 2014.

“True Colors” (arr. David Wright)

David: Hard to say. My arrangement of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” was a nice moment, but “It’s A Most Unusual Day” is a strong contender of my newer charts. That one will be performed by the Ambassadors of Harmony chorus in their swan set at International this summer.

Do you have any advice for other ArrangeMe members?

Kohl: Before beginning an arrangement, it's valuable to check if the song is available for sale on the ArrangeMe Song Search prior to arranging it. Legalizing an arrangement for an ensemble not available on ArrangeMe can be both costly and time-consuming. However, selling arrangements via ArrangeMe is easy, fast, and simple so long as the song is on the pre-approved list.

Aaron: The ArrangeMe system has been a massive help to share music with more performers. It's wonderful to be able to send folks to a specific place online to search for and download music quickly. I hope to keep adding new and past arrangements/compositions to the site, and encourage more arrangers to take advantage of the vast library of songs already prepared and cleared to publish from the Song Search. Thank you for making this service available!

David: Allow your mind to run free. Daydream. Don’t hurry.

Melody: Take any opportunities you can to get feedback on your work, even when that's scary.