Barbershop. Do it.
Tight harmonies, sung from the heart, with no autotune, no tracks, no instruments — just four voices, a song, and deep feelings of trust and teamwork. The music is both old-fashioned and contemporary, but always authentic, personal, and rich with emotion.
Upper voices, lower voices, mixed — every combination makes great harmony. Every singer has a place in barbershop!
2025 Contest now open!
Easy video qualification
- Sing two contestable songs in front of any audience, upload to YouTube, and your entry is complete
- The program is open to women’s, men’s, and all-voice ensembles
- All quartets will need to qualify, regardless of previous qualification for prior events
- Video qualification will be open from August 1, 2024 - December 1, 2024
- The 20 highest scoring quartets will be invited to compete in the finals at the BHS International Convention in Denver, CO, June 29–July 6, 2025.
Scholarships for performers advancing to finals -- including Honors Chorus guests!
Getting there is all the fun... and expensive. The Barbershop Harmony Society offers scholarship assistance to singers who participate in the Honors Chorus and quartets competing in the Finals. (See complete rules below for eligibility.)
Watch the instructional video to learn more about qualifying for the Varsity Quartet Contest, and read the complete entry and qualification requirements below.
The biggest stage... with the biggest prize!
Barbershop harmony is music for everyone. And to introduce more people to this classic a cappella art form, the Barbershop Harmony Society is offering a fantastic prize to the best quartet with singers new to barbershop — a $10,000 cash prize!
New to barbershop? Your quartet might be eligible for the $10,000 prize — and you don't even have to win the championship!
Varsity Contest Rules & Eligibility
Eligibility
- The Varsity contest is open to all singers ages 25 and under at the time of the International Event. All singers are eligible in all ensembles, regardless of gender.
- A quartet may have up to three members under the age of 18, as long as a parent or guardian accompanies the quartet at the convention and accepts responsibility for the minors on the Youth Participation Form.
- There are no restrictions regarding membership in the Barbershop Harmony Society or any affiliate organization.
- A quartet who is eligible to participate in both Varsity and Junior quartet contests may only register for one contest occurring within the same year.
- A quartet that has qualified and is eligible to participate in both the open BHS International Quartet Contest and the finals of the Varsity quartet contest may compete in only one of those contests in the same year.
- An individual can compete in only one Varsity quartet finalist at a time.
- An individual may compete in both the open BHS International Quartet Contest and the finals of the Varsity quartet contest in the same year; however, if the individual is competing in two or more quartets, each of those quartets must be comprised of no more than two of the same members.
- See additional eligibility requirements for $10,000 prize.
Barbershop contest rules
- All arrangements performed by quartets must be obtained in accordance with international and USA copyright law
- Perform two contestable barbershop songs to qualify. Suggested song list
Barbershop Style
- Basic characteristics of barbershop harmony:
- Four unaccompanied voices.
- Melody in the second voice down (lead, or second tenor). The melody lies within the good quality range for the average lead singer and is free of awkward skips that make it difficult to sing accurately.
- Consonant four-part chords on all notes of the melody, almost completely in root position and second inversion.
- Easily understandable lyrics that are in good taste.
- A chief characteristic of the barbershop style is its wholesome, “G-rated” entertainment values. Forfeiture, though, may result from one or all judges for:
- Anyone other than quartet members or the director appearing on stage during the performance.
- Actions by any contestant that are deemed suggestive, vulgar, or otherwise not in good taste, as determined by acceptable, contemporary community standards. The two songs in the barbershop style must not be either primarily patriotic or primarily religious in intent.
- Any spoken words deemed excessive or detrimental to the performance. Participating quartet should not introduce their selections.
- Use of contestant’s own electronic sound equipment.
- Instrumental accompaniment, including instrumental introductions, interludes, or conclusions.
Judging Criteria
- Videos will be judged by C&J Score (100 points per song)
- Each video will receive scores from at least one certified judge in any scoring category
- At least one judge will be required to write a brief, one-paragraph evaluation encouraging the competitor’s participation and improvement
- Top 20 will be invited to compete at International based on overall combined scores
- Non-qualifying quartets will be invited to participate in the Varsity Honors Chorus.
- Medals will be awarded to the top 5 quartets at our International convention.
Scholarships & Finals Event
- All Varsity quartets, qualifiers and non-qualifiers, will be eligible for a free International Convention registration and scholarship assistance based on distance from convention city, number of BHS members, number of times to competition, current student, etc.
- Any singer competing in the International Quartet Contest is ineligible for any level of Varsity scholarship assistance including a free International Convention Registration.
- International convention registrations purchased by the quartet will not be reimbursed by the Barbershop Harmony Society should they receive a scholarship award.
- Scholarship recipients will be required to participate in the Varsity Honors Chorus and complete a post-event survey.
- 80% of the scholarship award will be given onsite at the International Convention.
- Final 20% will be awarded after receiving a completed post-event survey.
- All quartets are required to participate in a pre-event and post-event survey.
- All video/photo/audio submitted will be owned and used without restriction by BHS.
- All varsity participants will be required to stay within the BHS convention hotel block at their own expense. Participants staying outside of the hotel block will forfeit any/all scholarship/financial assistance and be disqualified from all varsity participation.
- Each varsity quartet will be required to learn two (2) mass songs to be sung during the convention on Friday or Saturday
Questions?
Contact customerservice@barbershop.org for more information.
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