This thesis explores the genre of barbershop tags, brief musical compositions in the barbershop style. After the introduction in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 describes the barbershop style and outlines a modified roman numeral system that reflects barbershop norms. Chapter 3 analyzes the 125 entries of the Classic Book of Tags based on two features: the harmonic point of interest (HPI) and the penultimate chord. Patterns emerging from these two criteria include eleven primary schemata along with a few secondary schemata accounting for the harmonic design for a majority of tags. Chapter 4 analyzes two barbershop arrangements: “Come Fly With Me” and “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” These case studies examine the function of tags in a broader context. Altogether this research provides a framework for further examination of harmony in the under-represented genre of barbershop.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis explores the genre of barbershop tags, brief musical compositions in the barbershop style. After the introduction in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 describes the barbershop style and outlines a modified roman numeral system that reflects barbershop norms. Chapter 3 analyzes the 125 entries of the <em>Classic Book of Tags</em> based on two features: the harmonic point of interest (HPI) and the penultimate chord. Patterns emerging from these two criteria include eleven primary schemata along with a few secondary schemata accounting for the harmonic design for a majority of tags. Chapter 4 analyzes two barbershop arrangements: “Come Fly With<em> </em>Me” and “Dream a Little Dream of Me.”<em> </em>These case studies examine the function of tags in a broader context. Altogether this research provides a framework for further examination of harmony in the under-represented genre of barbershop.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Cromer, Brian A"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Music","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"School of Music","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Samantha Inman"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12-12T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-12-12T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:49Z","subjects":["Barbershop Harmony","Barbershop","A Cappella","Barbershop Music","Barbershop Singing","Composition","Ethnomusicology","Music Theory"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/646","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Samantha Inman"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Cromer, Brian A"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-12-10T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Music"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Music"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Barbershop Harmony","Barbershop","A Cappella","Barbershop Music","Barbershop Singing","Composition","Ethnomusicology","Music Theory"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/646"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores the genre of barbershop tags, brief musical compositions in the barbershop style. After the introduction in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 describes the barbershop style and outlines a modified roman numeral system that reflects barbershop norms. Chapter 3 analyzes the 125 entries of the Classic Book of Tags based on two features: the harmonic point of interest (HPI) and the penultimate chord. Patterns emerging from these two criteria include eleven primary schemata along with a few secondary schemata accounting for the harmonic design for a majority of tags. Chapter 4 analyzes two barbershop arrangements: “Come Fly With Me” and “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” These case studies examine the function of tags in a broader context. Altogether this research provides a framework for further examination of harmony in the under-represented genre of barbershop.
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