A tag is the big finish of a barbershop song: a few bars tagged on at the end, often with new chords, long held notes and a big last chord to ring. Because a tag is short and all about the chords, singers also sing tags on their own, just for the fun of them, wherever four barbershoppers meet.
The four parts
Barbershop is sung in four parts, and they're named their own way:
- Lead sings the melody, the second part from the top, just under the tenor.
- Tenor sings a light harmony above the lead.
- Baritone fills in the chord, sometimes above the lead and sometimes below. It often has the note that makes the chord complete.
- Bass sings the lowest notes, the chord's foundation.
What's in a tag
Most tags use a few devices that make them fun to sing:
- A post: one singer holds a long note, often high in the tenor or the lead, while the other three move to new chords around it. The held note is also called a hanger.
- A swipe: the chord changes while everyone stays on the same word or syllable, so the harmony slides under one vowel.
- Ringing chords: barbershop chords, the barbershop seventh above all, are sung so exactly in tune, with the voices balanced, that their overtones reinforce each other. You can hear a ring, sometimes like an extra high note that none of the four is singing. Singers call it ringing.
How to learn your first tag
Down by the Old Mill StreamGetting the voices ready...
Tap a part to hear it on its own
All of Down by the Old Mill Stream, from "Down by the old mill stream, where I first met you,", in its parts: the tune with the others under it. Your part is the Lead. Press a voice to take it out of the harmony or bring it back.
Learn your part on its own
A tag is short, so learn your line until you can sing it without help. Hold every note steady: in a tag, the long notes are the point.
Find the first chord
Give everyone their starting note before you begin, from an instrument or the free pitch pipe. Sing the first chord together and hold it until it rings before you move on.
Go chord by chord
Sing the tag slowly, stopping on each chord. Listen for the one that doesn't ring, and adjust: usually a note that is a little high or low, or a vowel that doesn't match.
Then sing it through
Once every chord rings on its own, sing the tag at its speed. Let the post ring for as long as it stays easy, never squeezed, and enjoy the last chord.
Where to find tags
Tags are passed around from singer to singer, in barbershop clubs and online collections. Many are the endings of well-known songs, and some are written just to be tags. Check that a tag is free to share before you copy or record it, as you would any arrangement.
Practise with Stackapella
Stackapella's free Barbershop and tags course teaches each part, then a swipe, a post and a whole tag written for the course, which you stack yourself, part over part: the lead and the baritone, then the tenor and bass too if you like. For a whole song, start with Down by the Old Mill Stream, set in the four barbershop parts. The other barbershop and parlour songs, such as Sweet Adeline, are set for soprano, alto, tenor and bass.