Early barbershop quartet singing began as a male-only activity, and the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) (originally the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America or SPEBSQSA) to which The Melbournaires is affiliated, was formed in 1938 to preserve the original style including the uniqueness of the original male-only close harmony. Some years later all-female quartets were formed to sing in the barbershop style.

Like their male counterparts, female barbershop quartets have a unique sound. To that effect, Sweet Adelines Intl. and Harmony, Inc. associations were formed to support and foster female-only barbershop singing and are the female-only counterpart associations to the Barbershop Harmony Society .

However, during the 2020's, BHS and most affiliates (including the Melbournaires) have moved to remove the male only status of its members and many women are full members. Within our club (Melbournaires Barbershop Chorus Inc, or MBCI) we now have the mixed membership chorus Vocal Infusion as well as the 2 men's choruses, Melbournaires Harmony Chorus (MHC) and the Phoenix Harmony Chorus (PHC).

Here are the locations of Victoria's Sweet Adelines choruses. Ladies are invited to visit any of the choruses on their rehearsal night to discover the fun of being part of a performing chorus. Check out their websites for further information.

Within our Melbournaires Club Vocal Infusion Monthly (normally Sunday afternoons) Refer to the "Ensembles" tab above. 11km east of Melbourne Melbourne Chorus Wednesday 7:15 to 9:30pm Beresford Street Kew Music Centre (within Kew East Primary School) Kew East VIC 3102 Melway 45 F3 Chorus Mobile: 0431 140 450 www.melbournechorus.org.au	28km east of Melbourne East City Sound Thursday 7.30pm St. Stephen's Church 2 Warruga Ave. Bayswater 3153 Melway 64 C6 Ph: 03 9803 2502 Ph: 03 9736 1819 www.eastcitysound.org.au 23km east of Melbourne Vocal Vibes Chorus Monday 7:15pm Mullulm Mullum Anglican Church 40 Warrandyte Road, Ringwood  3134 Melway 49 H7 E: info@vocalvibes.org.au www.vocalvibes.org.au
40km south-east of Melbourne Southern Sounds Chorus Monday 7.30pm St Jude's Hall Warrandyte Rd. Langwarrin 3910 Melway 103 J5 Ph: Kim: 0438 260 369 Ph: Chris: 03 5971 2231 www.southernsounds.org.au	65km south-west of Melbourne Geelong Harmony Chorus Monday 6:45pm Western Heights Uniting Church Douglass St. Herne Hill 3218 Melway 441 E11 Ph: 0406 666 737 www.geelongharmony.org.au Email: info@geelongharmony.org.au