ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyses the social and musical practices of the specific community of music-makers, and thence use this analysis to theorize the relationship between music and self-identity. It represents an analytical viewpoint that is situated among its primary subjects, accessing the wider world of barber-shop through the same channels as they do. The book examines how the concept of 'harmony' acts as a discursive lynchpin between the regulation of both barbershop's musical content and its social values. It focuses on the American practice before its introduction to the United Kingdom, and traces the development of the definition of the barbershop style through successive contest and judging systems. The book discusses barbershop's performance practices, and in particular its distinctive approach to interpretation. It represents an experience that is common to barbershoppers throughout the world, but virtually invisible to everyone else.
