Music Lovers: Gospel Music’s Largest Annual Event
Join us in late September for the National Quartet Convention in Pigeon Forge, TN!
A Little About Southern Gospel Music…
Southern Gospel music features strong vocal harmonies with a lyrical focus on the Christian faith, salvation, and redemption.
It’s widely accepted that Southern Gospel Music was started by an evangelist in the late 1800s, and was birthed from shape-note musical notation. It didn’t take long before the first professional gospel quartet was formed in 1910 to showcase James D. Vaughn’s songbook. The quartet quickly found bigger audiences at festivals, camp meetings, on radio, and television. Today’s SG song styles range from traditional hymns, a-capella, spirituals, original compositions, bluegrass, and country.
A Little SG Male Quartet Trivia…
Did you know that most songbook composers write in SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) format for both male and female singers? So, when an all-male quartet wants to sing a song, it is rewritten in TTBB (tenor, tenor, baritone, bass) format.
Question: Can you guess the easy way to convert a traditional song for a male quartet?
Answer: One male sings melody (“soprano”) an octave lower; this is the second “tenor” part. Then, the first tenor sings the “alto” part, the baritone sings the original “tenor” part, and—surprise!—the bass sings “bass.” In this case, the melody line is known as the “lead.” So, the modern Southern Gospel male quartet parts are: Tenor, Lead, Baritone, Bass.
The trickiest part? Distinguishing all the parts from the audience!
The good news is, you can sit back and listen to perfect harmonies for five music-filled days/four nights on the BNT National Quartet Convention – Pigeon Forge, TN. ALL National Quartet Concerts and Showcases are included in the package price on Days 2, 3 and 4!
Here’s a Quick Origin Story for Southern Gospel from the New Georgia Encyclopedia:
“The motivation behind the shape-note system was the belief on the part of music instructors that the use of distinctive shapes to identify the musical notes fa, sol, la, and mi would make it easier for singers to sight-read, thereby improving the quality of their singing.
A driving force behind the seven-shape system among rural singers arose during the 1870s in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.
Publishers also promoted their songbooks by organizing quartets who traveled around the South, singing the publisher’s songs and selling the songbooks in which the songs appeared.
Southern gospel music makers flocked to recording, radio, and television studios. The success of the early southern gospel quartets inspired the formation of musical groups of other sizes—duets, trios, and larger ensembles.”
Here’s a Sampling of Who Will Be Performing at the Nat’l Convention:
- The Hoppers
- Hollingsworth Family
- Legacy Five
- Brian Free & Assurance
- Primitive Quartet Reunion & Farewell
- Jeff & Sheri Easter
- Karen Peck & New River
- Kingsmen
- Dr. David Jeremiah
- Singing New Fan Awards
BNT Tour Info:
National Quartet Convention
Pigeon Forge, TN
September 27-October 1, 2023 | 5 days
Pickup: Lancaster, PA Harrisburg, PA Lv-7:00 am Rt-8:30 pm
Price per person: $1,199 Double $1,555 Single
$1,080 Triple $1,021 Quad
Deposit – $125 per person at registration
Avoid $ loss; purchase travel insurance.
4 breakfasts 2 lunches
Watch Some of the Top Gospel Singers Today (Here) And Live!
Tribute Quartet
The Hoppers
Triumphant Quartet
Greater Vision
Click Below for All the Details and Grab Your Seat for the Southern Gospel Quartet Convention: