Barbershop Harmony Society

Welcome to the Barbershop Harmony Society! Feel free to stand inside the lobby for some shade and to hear singing in the barbershop style. This building was originally used as a Bible printing press until it became the headquarters of the Nashville chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Founded in 1938 by Owen C. Cash and Rupert I. Hall, the Society preserves and promotes this unique style of tight four-part chord harmonies, sung without accompaniment—or a cappella. In true Barber Shop Quartet tradition the second tenor first presents the melody, which is then often shared by other three parts in a generally homophonic (hah-mo-PHON- ic) texture, often using modulations to account for the range of each voice part.

This style came to America in the late 19th century from Europe and also has vocal traditions rooted in African American music. African Americans used improvisation in popular gospel and folk songs of the time, which gave rise to the distinct musical qualities that are now the foundation of Barbershop singing. This style came to be known as “barbershop” after the publication of the song “Mister Jefferson Lord, Play that Barbershop Chord” in 1910. White quartets imitated this music, often performing in minstrel shows and in blackface. These white quartets were the first to record and release records, which popularized the genre. Because black quartets were less often recorded, many associate the Barbershop Harmony sound with white quartets—despite its foundation in African American vocal traditions. 

The society’s headquarters moved to Nashville in 2007, and today there are nearly 30,000 members and chapters across the U.S. and around the world. One reason for the group’s choice of location here on Seventh Avenue? Well it’s a nod to the Dominant 7th chord commonly used in barbershop music. In 2018, women were finally allowed membership in the society. However, a women’s organization, called Sweet Adelines, was established in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1945 and remains headquartered there. Here is a sample of the Barbershop Harmony Society:

Fun Fact: Aside from the Library of Congress, the Barbershop Harmony Society houses the world’s largest collection of sheet music stored in its Old Songs Library. Call their staff at (615) 823-3993 to schedule a tour inside.

Keep walking up 7th Avenue to the side of the Barbershop Harmony building and look up to the mural painted on the wall. 

The mural is a copy of the iconic painting by Norman Rockwell of a barbershop quartet that appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in 1936. The mural was painted in 2008 in honor of the society’s 70th anniversary. Now turn around and look at the stone building across the street. That is Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School, Nashville’s first public high school. Across the street and to the right of the Barbershop Harmony building is the Grand Lodge of the Free Masons. You can learn more about these buildings on our South Broadway Architecture and Downtown Schools and Education tours. 

Keep walking up Seventh Avenue towards Commerce Street. I know you have been walking uphill for a while, but it’s all downhill after the next stop! You got this! Look to your left and locate the building with large columns that says Baptist Sunday School Board on the facade. This is the Frost Building. Keep the narration playing as you walk until you reach your next stop at the corner of Union and Seventh Street. 

The Frost Building was the former home of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Sunday School Board, which is now Lifeway Christian Resources. Completed in 1913, the building was named after Dr. J. M . Frost, the first CEO. This historic building is a stunning example of the Neo-classical Revival architecture with two fluted Corinthian columns. It served as a major publishing center for the Southern Baptist Convention, which separated from the National Baptist Convention in 1845 because of slavery. Sunday Schools were created in the early 1800s to teach children about their faith, and the SBC founded its Sunday School program in 1863. This is where the Southern Baptist Convention wrote, designed, and printed materials for its Sunday School curriculum. Want to learn more about Nashville’s religious history? Take our Old Time Religion tour.

When you reach the intersection of Union and Seventh Street, cross Union Street and stop in front of the historical marker for the War Memorial Auditorium. You will see the towering Snodgrass Tower on your left. Turn and face the Snodgrass Tower, click “arrived,” and continue the narration.