Friday, October 12, 2012

The Presidential A cappella Debates are coming!


We are living in a crucial time in our lives. There are men and women out there who desperately need your support, because they want to speak for you: the people. The issues must be discussed, debated, argued over, and examined. In one week, two candidates will face off in an attempt to gain your vote and your trust.

Oh...You thought I was talking about Romney and Obama? No.

I was talking about the issues that matter to YOU, the a cappella fan! I'm talking about the Presidential A cappella Debates!

A series of debates will take place over the next few weeks and the transcripts of those debates will be presented in front of you (because let's face it...this is a fictional debate and debating live is impossible). You will get to hear the arguments about a cappella-specific issues, and then you will have the chance to vote for your favorite candidate.

Just like our political situation now, we always want to try for bipartisanship. Each party has good ideas, but neither party has all the answers. However, there are fundamental things we agree on, and disagree on, and now you will get a chance to see where you stand on some of today's hottest a cappella issues.

What issues you ask? Here are some of the topics our candidates will discuss:

-Rehearsal procedures

-Recording techniques and Auto-Tune

-Sight reading skills and intonation

-The Democracy of a cappella groups

-Syllable choices in arrangements

-Competitions

-The past, present, and future of a cappella music

And just who will be debating? Let's take a quick look at the candidates (whom, for un-biased purposes, will be gender-neutral, race-neutral, religion-neutral, geographically neutral, and faceless.)

Candidate A, Leader of the "See Major Party"

Slogan: Everything's better when you see major."

The See Major party believes the most important aspect of an a cappella group is musicality. Groups who wish to progress and evolve must be technically perfect and this requires a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication. Groups should draw from all areas of a cappella music, from Barbershop to Doo-Wop to Madrigals, in order to round out their education. The See Major party believes that groups should adopt one specific vocal technique and everyone in the group must sacrifice his or her own vocal individuality to better the team. The See Major party believes that the meaning of the text/message of the song must always take precedence, but that doesn't mean the group has to give a performance that hasn't been rehearsed to perfection.

Candidate B, Leader of the "Be Sharp Party"

Slogan: We are sharp on the issues, not flat."

The Be Sharp party wishes that a cappella groups would focus more on the social aspect of music, rather than the fine details of perfection. The party believes that too many a cappella albums are being produced that are "too perfect." The Be Sharp party wishes that a cappella groups could accept their flaws in a live setting, because human beings are not technically perfect. No individual should have to sacrifice his or her own voice to better the song. Music is already better when groups are truthful with their audience- they accept what they cannot change and they have a clear sense of community and togetherness, because really, would anyone care if the entire group went flat half a step, as long as they blended well and put on an exciting show? Music is not "notes on a page." It is emotion, dynamics, articulations, phrases, and most importantly, the meaning of the text. Groups should sing music they are passionate about, not try to emulate a different style simply for the sake of broadening their education.

Stay tuned! The transcript of the first debate will take place next weekend!

[Special thanks to Mike Malaney, Cory Pinto, Lisa Rosenzweig, and Cory Hecht for political party name suggestions.]

Marc Silverberg

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