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Welcome to the home page of the Irish Association of Barbershop Singers.
Announcement to all IABS Members, Friends and Visitors.
From the IABS Executive Management Committee.
At a recent IABS Executive Management Meeting a vote of thanks and appreciation was unanimously endorsed by the complete management team of IABS.
This vote of thanks was for the unique and superb performance of Helena O'Dowd the Convention Manager for this years' event in Dublin.
Helena and her small but dedicated team delivered to IABS one of our best ever Conventions. Helena gave unstintingly and at great personal cost. All of her efforts were both voluntary and unpaid. We have no doubt that this years' professional delivery of a superb event was in no small part to Helena's leadership and vision for a memorable 21st Birthday event.
We should like to acknowledge the team members who helped her to deliver this event and namely ask you all to recognize and thank these individuals Virginia Doyle, Helen Stewart, Hazel Evans and Eithne Mooney. Whilst many other helped these key individuals, I hope you join the IABS Executive and extend our warmest thanks for a job well done, to each and every part of this project team.
Graham Sutton
IABS Chairman 2008-2009
Click Here for Dublin 2009 Convention Results
This web site is the central information point for IABS and here you will find everything you need to know about Barbershop singing in Ireland.
Barbershop singing groups are to be found in various different locations around the country so if you would like to try the experience of close harmony singing please use these pages to locate a barbershop chorus or quartet in your area.
Our current membership is varied and consists of male choruses, female choruses and mixed choruses as well as both male and female quartets.
Barbershop music features old and new songs sung in a very distinctive 4 part harmony style. The songs range from modern pop and folk music to old style music hall numbers all given the unique barbershop treatment.
Or more formally
Barbershop music features songs with understandable lyrics and easily singable melodies, whose tones clearly define a tonal centre and imply major and minor chords and barbershop (dominant and secondary dominant) seventh chords that resolve primarily around the circle of fifths, while making frequent use of other resolutions.
Barbershop music also features a balanced and symmetrical form, and a standard metre. The basic song and its harmonization are embellished by the arranger to provide appropriate support of the song's theme and to close the song effectively.
Click Here for Sligo 2008 Convention DVD’s