Proquest Dissertations
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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6"x9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Leaming 300 North Zdeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA UMI 800-521-0600 AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF INTERNATIONAL CHAMPION QUARTETS OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF BARBER SHOP QUARTET SINGING IN AMERICA. 1939-1963 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Benjamin Charles Ayling II, B.M., M.M. ***** The Ohio State University 2000 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Patricia J. Flowers, Adviser Professor R. J. David Frego AtJi^iser Professor James Gallagher Music Graduate Plrogiam UMI Number. 9962373 Copyright 2000 by Ayling, Benjamin Charles, All rights reserved. UMI* UMI Microform9962373 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 AnnArbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Benjamin Charles Ayling II 2000 ABSTRACT The barbershop quartet has been a musical phenomenon in the United States since the late 19* Century. The purpose of this dissertation is to codify and document this unique American art form. The first 25 championship quartets of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (1939-1963) were studied. A history of the style itself prefaces a list of terms unique to the barbershop singing community and used in this study. Each individual quartet was researched through the study of newspaper accounts, periodicals, personal papers and other archives. In addition, a survey instrument was developed and sent to living members of these ensembles. Along with inquiry into the history of these quartets, each singer was asked to respond as to what method(s) he employed while leaming performance music. Additionally, each singer was asked to report on his sight-reading abilities and methods used for sight-reading both at the time of winning the championship as well as today. A history of each group was written from its inception through retirement. Included was information on the musical background of each quartet member as well as the performance practices employed by each group. Anecdotal accounts were included with much of this material having never before been published. Each quartet’s sound was compared to that of other contemporary quartets in the study. This was ii accomplished through an analysis of style traits evidenced in recorded performances. Appendices include a discography and repertoire list for each quartet and the survey instrument Results of this study indicate that barbershop quartets over this 25-year time span changed from group to group and that there was a considerable amount of influence by earlier quartets upon later winners of the Barbershop Society’s championship. With the growth of the Barbershop Society has come a diversification of influences outside of the genre. These influences have placed the preservation of the barbershop style in question as their inclusion into contest acceptability by the Barbershop Society indicate an evolution of the style over that which has been traditionally preserved. Ill Dedicated to my wife Mary Ann Ayling IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my adviser, Patricia J. Flowers, for guidance and inspiration as well as the members of my committee, R.J. David Frego and James Gallagher, who were accessible at all times. I am grateful to Ruth Blazina-Joyce for creating an incredible resource in the Heritage Hall Museum and for guidance in research techniques. Darryl Rinn and the staff at Harmony Hall are also to be commended for their assistance. I thank the historians of the Barbershop Society including Grady Kerr, James R. McDonnell, Wilber Sparks, Bob Maurus and Dean Snyder who set about creating a record of artifacts in barbershop singing. I also wish to thank Hank and Ginny Hammer for both their inspiration and their home. I am grateful too for Kevin Gorman's and Teresa Blower’s continued support while I wrote this work. I thank Mary Ann Ayling for inspiration and fortitude as well as René Greenberg and Dave Ayling for their help in proofreading. Thank you also to Meredith Loesch for aid in data synthesis. I am grateful to the men of The Ritz quartet for their patience and their contributions toward the realization of a dream that inspired this work. The members of the Association of International Champions are also to be thanked for their support. V I thank all of the countless barbeishoppers who willingly contributed to this work. And, finally, I thank Wallace DePue and Richard Mathey who encouraged and inspired me to make this work a reality. VI VITA November 11,1954 .........................Bom - San Diego, California, USA 1980 ..................................................B.M. Music Education, Bowling Green State University 1989 ...................................................M.M. Music Education, Bowling Green State University 1978, Spring ..................................... Choral Conductor, Bowling Green Stale University 1980 - Present .................................. Director of Choral Activities, Northview High School, Sylvania, Ohio, USA 1984 - 1985 ......................................Adjunct Faculty Member/Choral Conductor, Bowling Green State University 1988 -1989 ...................................... Graduate/Undergraduate Instructor and Choral Conductor, Bowling Green State University 1994 -1995 ...................................... Graduate/Undergraduate Instructor and Choral Conductor, The Ohio State University 1997, Summer ...................................Graduate Instructor and Assistant Professor, Bowling Green State University VII HELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Music Vlli TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract................................................................................................................................." Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................ v Vita ................................................................................................................................vii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ ix List of Illustrations .............................................................................................................xii Chapter I ............................................................................................................................... I Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 Background .............................................................................................................. 4 Birth of the Barbershop Society ...............................................................................8 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................. 12 Purpose and method of the study ............................................................................ 12 Definition of terms ..................................................................................................15 Chapters .............................................................................................................................21 Questionnaires and results ......................................................................................21 Chapter 4 .............................................................................................................................27 Description and musical analysis of champion quartets, 1939-1963 ....................27 1939, Bartlesville Barflies ......................................................................................27 1940, Flat Foot Four .............................................................................................. 36 1941, Chord Busters .............................................................................................. 42 1942, Elastic Four ...................................................................................................53