tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21872716650812186002024-03-29T03:41:01.167-07:00The Quest For The A cappella MajorA blog that discusses contemporary a cappella music, the educational practices of a cappella music, a cappella improvisation exercises, and a cappella in popular culture.Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-47646700296784701522020-11-24T10:40:00.001-08:002020-11-24T10:40:21.804-08:00D&D&A<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Recently, I’ve been spending my time in quarantine learning all sorts of new things; how to play the ukulele, how to draw (for realz), more close-up card magic (yes, really), and as the title suggests, how to play Dungeons and Dragons.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p>Now full disclosure, I already knew how to play Dungeons and Dragons from a player perspective. However, now I was learning how to be a dungeon master.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Quick definition for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term: A dungeon master is the person who designs, writes, and leads a game of Dungeons and Dragons. You can’t play without one, and they can’t be computerized, because a computer could not possibly predict your every choice. Also, that’s called a video game.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Anyway, as I began designing my first D&D quest, my mind drifted to a cappella (of COURSE it did) and what practical applications my D&D knowledge would have for a burgeoning a cappella group, especially a burgeoning a cappella group whose members are most likely in quarantine.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">In my opinion, the biggest challenge any a cappella group faces is staying on task and maintaining an active role in their group, especially when their group doesn’t meet in-person anymore or as regularly as they used to. The simplest solution, of course, would be to drop rehearsals altogether and consider this year a wash. But what if you could maintain interest across your group, AND have fun doing it, AND have it relate to Dungeons and Dragons?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>Disclaimer: These rules might be a little difficult to understand if you have little-to-no experience will dungeons and dragons. If that’s the case, scroll to the bottom and read the example to better grasp the order of events.</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Here’s how it works:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">1) Each member of your group gets a character sheet. This sheet is where you can keep track of your character’s skills and experience points, as well as any rewards he or she earns over the course of the year. The director of your group ( or the president, or just the most responsible member) plays the role of Dungeon Master and determines who has earned experience points or rewards.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">2) Every character in Dungeons and Dragons is defined by 6 attributes:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Strength- Natural athleticism, bodily power<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Dexterity- Physical agility, reflexes, balance, poise<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Constitution- Health, stamina, vital force<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Intelligence- Mental acuity, information recall, analytical skill<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Wisdom- Awareness, intuition, insight<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Charisma- Confidence, eloquence, leadership</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">In our a cappella version of the game, these 6 attributes will represent different areas of expertise:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Strength- Ability to hold your part, how long can you stay focused in rehearsals<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Dexterity- How good are you with technology, how well can you move/dance, can you create dances?<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Constitution- How much time do you have to devote, are you always on time, do you attend every rehearsal?<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Intelligence- sight reading ability, how fast can you learn your part?<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Wisdom- how well are your skills behind the scenes (arranging, directing, editing, etc)<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Charisma- how much of a team player are you, motivational skills, behavioral management</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Each member of your group (character) starts out with a 10 in all 6 attributes. Then, they are given 6 extra attribute points which they can distribute how they see fit. For example, Melvin decides that his best attributes are Strength, because he knows he can hold his part, Wisdom because he’s an arranger, and Constitution because he has a lot of time to devote to the group, on account of his complete lack of friends (not because he’s named Melvin, but because he’s kind of a jerk). He distributes 3 points to strength, 2 to wisdom, and 1 to constitution. His attributes now look like this:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Strength- 13 (+3)<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Dexterity- 10<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Constitution- 11 (+1)<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Intelligence- 10<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Wisdom- 12 (+2)<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Charisma- 10</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Based on the numbers determined, certain bonuses apply to any rolls of the dice. In D&D, these are called modifiers.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><u>If your attribute score is</u> <u>Your modifier is</u><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><b>10 <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> +0</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><b>11-12<span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> +1</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>13-14<span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> +2</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>15-16<span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> +3</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><b>17-18<span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> +4</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><b><span><span><span><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>19<span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> +5</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><b>20 or higher </b><span><b> </b><span><b> </b><span><b> <span> <span> <span> +6</span></span></span> </b><span><b> </b><b> </b> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">3) The purpose of the game is to complete skills related to your a cappella group so that you can earn experience points. Experience points can then be used to earn rewards.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">To earn experience points, members complete skills as designated by the dungeon master. Accompanying each skill is a list of attributes the skill enhances. For example:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Organize online meeting (Charisma, Wisdom)</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">In this example, if Melvin organizes the next online meeting, he will earn experience points based on either his charisma attribute score or his wisdom attribute score (he gets to choose).</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>Skills can be added or subtracted from the example list below- it should be tailored for your specific group.</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Create arrangement <i>(Wisdom, Constitution)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Create learning tracks <i>(Dexterity, Intelligence)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Set up MIDI files in notation software <i>(Dexterity, Intelligence)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Organize online meeting <i>(Charisma, Wisdom)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Send out group email <i>(Charisma, Wisdom)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Update the group calendar <i>(Dexterity)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Remain active throughout the rehearsal <i>(Strength)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Choreograph a dance <i>(Strength, Dexterity)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Set up equipment for recording/filming <i>(Wisdom, Dexterity)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Design an instruction manual to help others with technology <i>(Constitution, Charisma)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Learn and memorize your part <i>(Strength, Intelligence)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Help someone else learn and memorize their part <i>(Intelligence, Constitution)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Make a solo recording that stays 90% or more in tune <i>(Strength, Wisdom)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Be on time to 5 rehearsals in a row <i>(Constitution)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Take on an added responsibility <i>(Constitution, Charisma)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Direct a sectional <i>(Strength, Intelligence)</i><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Manage the behavior of a group in rehearsal <i>(Charisma)</i></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Rewards are what members aim to earn, based on the number of experience points they receive. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>As usual, rewards can be added, subtracted, or adjusted from this list. It should be tailored to your specific group.</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Choose 1 song for the group to sing next semester- 200 XP<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Veto one song choice for the next semester- 300 XP<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Miss one rehearsal without penalty- 100 XP<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Get a solo- 500 XP<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Choose a warm-up exercise- 50 XP<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Direct the group for 10 minutes- 75 XP<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Choose the location of the afterparty- 200 XP<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Choose the next activity as part of your bonding time- 150 XP<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Add 1 attribute point- 100 XP</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">4) Here’s how the game works:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">First, the player/member of your group distributes their attribute points.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Next, the player/member of your group completes 1 or more skills. Every time they complete a skill, they earn the right to roll for experience points.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Besides each skill is 1 or 2 attributes that the skill best exemplifies. If there is only one attribute, then the success of the roll will depend on only that attribute’s number. If there is two attributes, then the player can choose which attribute will represent their success.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">For this game to work, you will need only one die: a 20-sided die known as a d20. If you don’t have one, never fear, there are thousands of free online websites that can roll d20s for free.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">When the skill is complete, the player rolls a d20 to determine how many points they earn. Whatever the number is, they add their attribute modifier and the total is how many points they earn. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">When the player reaches a specific number of experience points that is equal to or greater than a reward they want, they earn that reward.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Okay, that was A LOT of rules. Let me simplify with an example:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Melvin (remember Melvin?) has distributed his 6 attribute points like so:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Strength- 13 (+3)<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Dexterity- 10<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Constitution- 11 (+1)<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Intelligence- 10<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Wisdom- 12 (+2)<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>Charisma- 10</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">According to the modifier list, if Melvin completes a skill related to the strength attribute, he will get +2 experience points. This means whatever he rolls will add 2, and the total will be the number of experience points he earns. The constitution and wisdom attributes earn him a +1 modifier, and since the rest are 10, Melvin earns no modifiers for those attributes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">In the skills list, Melvin notices that a skill (Learn and memorize your part) has a strength attribute and an intelligence attribute attached. This means that after Melvin completes this skill by learning and memorizing his part, he will earn experience points and use one of the two attributes (strength or intelligence) to help boost that total number. Obviously, since strength is a 13 and intelligence is a 10, Melvin chooses the strength attribute, which gives him a modifier of +2. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Melvin now rolls a d20 (20-sided die) to determine how many experience points he gets. He rolls a 12. Because he is using his strength attribute modifier, he adds 2 and gets 14. In total, Melvin has earned 14 experience points for having learned and memorized his part.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Because he completed other skills beforehand, Melvin has 200 experience points in total. He chooses to use these points to grant him a reward: “choose the location of the afterparty.” If he wants this reward again, he will have to earn 200 more experience points.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Confused? Email me: <a href="mailto:docacappella@gmail.com" style="color: #954f72;">docacappella@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Happy adventuring!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">New Links!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">www.Marcesilverberg.com<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.vocaversity.org/" style="color: #954f72;">www.vocaversity.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">twitter.com/docacappella<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="https://teespring.com/stores/acappellapparel" style="color: #954f72;">https://teespring.com/stores/acappellapparel</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.acappellamasterclass.com/" style="color: #954f72;">www.acappellamasterclass.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">https://www.tiktok.com/@vocaversity</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p>Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-22718374074748823332020-11-12T09:40:00.001-08:002020-11-12T09:40:20.285-08:00COVID Killed the A cappella Star<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Hello dear reader.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">How are you?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">It’s been a while.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">14 months to be exact.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">A lot has changed in that time. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Let’s see…where should I begin? Oh right. The board game <i>Pandemic</i> is no longer fun to play.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Chances are, as of today, you fall into one of these categories:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">1) Your a cappella group has decided to rehearse, COVID be damned. And…then someone gets COVID.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">2) Your a cappella group meets online and you spend the majority of time figuring out how to film your next virtual choir video.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">3) You’re trying to rehearse with your group/choir live, but everyone is so far apart that tuning is nigh impossible. And forget about matching vowels…you can’t even see what shapes each mouth is making.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">4) Your group is on hiatus until further notice.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">You probably think that with all that’s going on today regarding health and safety, that these are your only options. Risk singing together or turn up the stress dial to 11 trying to work through online technical difficulties.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Well, I’m here to tell you, there’s another way to get your a cappella cake and eat it too. The cake is NOT a lie.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Here are some options you may not have thought of…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Option 1- LEARN!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Look, the ICCA is virtual this year, so there’s no need to spend hours rehearsing your pinwheel choreography. You’ve got some time on your hands, so why not spend it learning more about a cappella? Trust me, when the world reboots and the ICCA is back to its regularly scheduled program, you will most likely have to focus all of your time on that pinwheel.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">It just so happens (shameless plug) that a school is currently open, where you can learn so much more about a cappella than you ever thought possible. Plus, the classes are live, so you’re getting direct, immediate feedback as if this were college.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">To learn more, go here: <a href="http://www.vocaversity.org/" style="color: #954f72;">www.vocaversity.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">But wait! What if you HATE direct and immediate feedback? What if you’d rather have access to videos that you play on your own time? Well, there’s a website for that as well: <a href="http://www.acappellamasterclass.com/" style="color: #954f72;">www.acappellamasterclass.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Option 2- LISTEN!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Ever see that movie Pay it Forward? Yeah, neither did I, but it did give me an idea about how we, as an a cappella community, can increase the number of people who listen to our stuff while simultaneously supporting other content creators. (I mean, I assume the movie is about selfishly helping yourself as much as you help others. Again, I did not see it)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I’m calling this the Aca-Swap (final name pending…)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Here’s how it works:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">-You contact a friend in another a cappella group. They agree to participate in an aca-swap.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">-You watch/listen to something (ONE THING) of theirs and give feedback/opinons/compliments. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">-Then, they listen to something (ONE THING) of yours and do the same. This way, both of you have now experienced something new.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">That (ONE THING) disclaimer is there to ensure that it’s fair. I mean, don’t make your friend listen to an entire album then agree to only listen to one song. That makes you a jerk. By limiting each Aca-Swap to only one thing (ONE THING), you keep the exchange short and sweet.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Try it!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Option 3- IMPROVISE AND COLLABORATE!!!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">So, for this one, you need the Acapella app. I’ll admit, I resisted using it for a long time, because the videos looked kinda cheesy. (Okay, full disclosure- I resisted using it because they spelled a cappella wrong and it REALLY ANNOYED ME)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Anyway, once I discovered that you can actually use it to collaborate with friends, I started using it on a daily basis.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Then, this morning (THIS. VERY. MORNING.) I thought of something (ONE THING). While we might not be able to improvise circle songs and arrangements online [shakes fist at computer latency], we CAN collaborate one part at a time. Here’s what you do:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">-Start an acapella video (HATE. THAT. SPELLING.) and sing one part over and over for a minute or so.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">-Send that video to a friend who has the app, and they add one part.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">-They send it to a different friend, who adds another part.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And so on.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And so on.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And so on. (WAYNE’S WORLD!)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The catch is that this is supposed to be improvised, so the person receiving the video should have no idea what the song sounds like until they record for the first time.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">This can be used for a number of clever improvisation games. (More on that in a future blog)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Option 4- LOOK LIKE A DUCK!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">“The Singer’s Mask” is probably the most widely used right now by my choral educator friends. The only drawback is, of course, it makes you look like a duck. (Also it’s not exactly cheap). But if your group is small and everyone buys one, then you can rehearse in person safely.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">You can buy it here: <a href="https://www.broadwayreliefproject.com/singersmask" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.broadwayreliefproject.com/singersmask</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Option 5- EXPERIMENT<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Now is the BEST time to try building a new a cappella skill, like recording, arranging, improvising, making videos, etc. I myself have re-discovered my love of looping, and now I put out weekly improvised looping videos. (Bonus, I’m getting better at Final Cut Pro).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The thing is, if you are going to compete this year in ICCA, ICHSA, ACA-OPEN, etc., you’re going to have to make a video, which can be expensive.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Take it from me, unless you’re in a group that has made it to the finals any year or won, you are not going to have enough money to make a video worthy of winning the ICCA and therefore, have little-to-no chance of winning. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enter. On the contrary. You should ABSOLUTELY enter, but make the video yourself. Knowing that you have NO CHANCE of winning allows you the freedom to get creative, to experiment, to master a new skill.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">It just so happens that a friend of mine (and by friend, I mean a group of friends who work for a registered LLC) have reasonably priced classes that will help you get started. You can see these classes here: <a href="https://www.viridianmusic.com/elevate" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.viridianmusic.com/elevate</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Option 6- FIGHT COVID<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Look, as much as I make fun of our situation, the reality is, this is serious. People are dying and every time I see a friend of mine on Facebook say they have COVID, I genuinely get scared.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Now, I’m not trying to get political, but it seems that our fortunes might be turning in this situation, because the government is going to take COVID seriously.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Why does this affect you? Because you can use your a cappella powers to raise money for organizations who need supplies, man power, and medicine to fight this disease. You have the power to fight back, and you have the power to brighten someone’s day. Use the aca-force for good.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">If you wonder why your virtual choir video isn’t going viral, it’s because everyone and their mom (even my mom) are making virtual choir videos. If you want to stand out in this unknown territory we call online learning, you need to think outside the box.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">But don’t actually go outside the box. You might catch COVID.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">New Links!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.Marcesilverberg.com">www.Marcesilverberg.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.vocaversity.org/" style="color: #954f72;">www.vocaversity.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">twitter.com/docacappella</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="https://teespring.com/stores/acappellapparel" style="color: #954f72;">https://teespring.com/stores/acappellapparel</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="http://www.acappellamasterclass.com/" style="color: #954f72;">www.acappellamasterclass.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-45877118822204633092019-09-30T11:06:00.003-07:002019-09-30T11:06:43.086-07:00Running From Krueger<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Before I start…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This post is the combination of two things: 1) A phenomenon I have witnessed many times throughout my life, often with me as the gullible subject, and 2) A post on Facebook, asking for someone to invent terminology for said phenomenon, which I had hoped would cure the writer’s block I had.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, special thanks to Alex Green for making me aware of this actual, real, psychological term that I can totally make fun of now. (P.S. If you’re wondering why I had never heard of this before, it’s because I failed psychology in college. And by fail, I mean I never showed up because it was early and I needed my sleep)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Does this scenario apply to you? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It’s the first rehearsal of the new year, and your group sounds AMAZING! Like, they sound as good as Pentatonix and you suddenly believe all your dreams are possible! I mean, sure, you’ve only heard them sing one chord in the warm-up procedure, but who cares?! They sound incredible and you really feel like this is the year you will win the ICCA. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Later that night, you go home, happy and exhausted. You fall asleep dreaming of all the wonderful possibilities your new group can achieve and then all of a sudden Freddy Krueger enters your dreams and stabs you in the eye.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Okay…maybe not the last part, but the first part for sure. We’ve all been there. Hell, this happened to me two weeks ago, and I’ve got a doctorate in music education. I should know better. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let me explain..<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was the first rehearsal of my Beginning Contemporary A cappella Ensemble (college-level). Every semester brings a new crop of students, with only a handful returning. The students quickly learned the first half of an arrangement and sounded pretty good singing it for the first time. It was here that I became the victim of a horror movie. I went home with more cheerful optimism than I should have had; my brain whirring around deciding how much the ensemble could handle and how difficult I could make the arrangements. I believed this group could accomplish anything with enough time and dedication, so I began to arrange our second song with the difficulty scale ramped up to 11. The next rehearsal, we read through the new, much more difficult arrangement and it was a complete disaster. That was when Freddy stabbed me in the eye.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Don’t get me wrong. It’s great to have optimism, especially if you’re an extreme pessimist like me. But there’s a difference between optimism and misplaced optimism. That’s where Freddy Krueger comes in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This cognitive bias is known as the “Dunning-Kruger Effect.” (See where I’m going with this?) In a nutshell, the Dunning-Kruger effect is a bias in which people mistakenly assess their cognitive ability as greater than it is. According to verywellmind.com:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“The effect is a type of cognitive bias in which people believe that they are smarter and more capable than they really are. Essentially, low ability people do not possess the skills needed to recognize their own incompetence. The combination of poor self-awareness and low cognitive ability leads them to overestimate their own capabilities.” -Kendra Cherry<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Okay, readers (all 4 of you) put away your pitchforks, because I’m not saying any of you are incompetent. But it is time to assess whether or not you have enough information to accurately judge your group’s ability. One good chord? No. Six rehearsals? Maybe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’m sure when Alex Green (Hi Alex!) first mentioned the scientific explanation for this scenario, he probably didn’t expect me to misread the first word, and then immediately think how I could compare a cappella rehearsals to 80s horror movies. But here we are.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So how do you combat this Dunning-Kruger effect? Simple. You run from Krueger.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Imagine that Freddy Krueger is stalking your a cappella ensemble and of course, you are unaware this is happening. Freddy represents “reality,” or the actual ability of your ensemble. The less you believe in him (and overestimate your group’s ability based on insufficient evidence) the closer he gets to “stabby-stabby-town.” To keep him at a distance, you have to believe he is real, keep an eye out for him, and know how to kill him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">How do you kill him?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">-Plan realistic goals that ensure success but also challenge your </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> ensemble to work harder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">-If your group is competing this year and you’re not the Socal </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Vocals, consider you might not </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">win. Instead, strive for a smaller </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> goal, like making it to semi-finals. Or placing top 3 in the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> quarter finals. (I just know I’m going to get flak for that Socal </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> Vocals joke…)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">-Test the waters- Maybe break out an arrangement that you think is </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> probably above your group’s </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;">skill level and see if they can learn </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;"> it and/or how long it takes them to learn it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">-If you’re the music director, stay firmly in the land of reality. Be </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> the voice of reason if you </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;">suspect Freddy Krueger is behind the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">-Pull Freddy into the real world and stab him in the chest with his </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> own glove.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">No matter what you do, DO NOT call Jason Voorhees for help. He does not care about your problems. He only wants to stab you in the eye.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Oh…there is no a cappella equivalent for asking for help from Jason Voorhees. I’m just saying don’t do it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Marc Silverberg</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Follow the Quest<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://docacappella.com/">Docacappella.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://facebook.com/docacappella">Facebook.com/docacappella</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">Twitter.com/docacappella</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://docacappella.tumblr.com/">Docacappella.tumblr.com</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Special shout-out to Alex! <a href="http://plaidacappella.com/">http://plaidacappella.com</a></span></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-61895169485605831322019-09-09T07:55:00.000-07:002019-09-09T07:56:52.186-07:00Wii Fit Trainer<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In the last few days of summer, I’ve been playing a lot of Smash Bros. Like, a lot. Like, a lot a lot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Now that the school year has begun, I expect that amount to significantly decrease (and then Borderlands 3 comes out Friday…)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Out of your many choices of playable characters, only one, Wii Fit Trainer, has the ability to heal herself during battle. (I mean, technically Wario can as well, but he needs to eat the opponent to do it)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This got me thinking about a cappella. (BTW, if you’re reading this blog for the first time, I’m terrible at segues)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Lately, I’ve noticed a spike in articles about music therapy. Music therapy has never been something that I took much of an interest in. I mean, the ability to heal yourself through music sounds more like “crystal gems and incense” than “real legitimate medicine.” And this, dear reader, is one of the reasons I don’t use Wii Fit Trainer. To heal yourself in battle is complicated and takes time; and as any Smash Bros. player knows, time is something you absolutely do not have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Okay, it’s a weird link between Smash Bros. and music. But come on! I haven’t done this in two years. I’m a little rusty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">ANYWAY, let’s get back on topic. Music therapy. What is it and why should we care?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Well, after reading several articles on the topic and learning more information than I already had (which was none), I have now come to understand the purpose of music therapy. My hope is that if you’re someone who feels like I once did, I can change your mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">No, music therapy is not a magical spell where singing will heal your broken arm. I thought at first that music therapy shared something in common with physical therapy—like if you had damaged your voice and specific coaching could help repair it. True, that is a component of music therapy, but there’s more to it than that. Here is a definition from the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In “Music Therapy for Dummies” terms, that means these trained professionals have evidence to suggest that music can heal you physically, mentally, and emotionally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So how does it work? Well, like Wii Fit Trainer, it doesn’t mean healing yourself, although music can certainly fix emotional and mental states. And also like Wii Fit Trainer, you can’t shoot giant sun spheres out of your stomach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Music therapists (according to AMTA) “assess emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning, communication abilities, and cognitive skills through musical responses…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Once I began reading these definitions, I realized that, without even knowing it, I had designed music therapy lessons while teaching high school. In one public school, I had a self-contained special needs class. I used my elementary training to design lessons that helped these students work on their issues as designated by their IEPs. That, apparently, was considered music therapy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So, again, as an a cappella nerd, why should you care? I argue that several facets of a cappella benefit your well-being:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">-Going to a cappella rehearsal can simply make you feel good, which alleviates stress. Consequentially, going to rehearsal where everyone in your group is fighting or arguing can create stress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">-Choreography can enhance a person’s motor skills and physical movement. Dancing helps patients feel a deep connection between their minds and bodies. It helps them relax and reduces stress. They feel more comfortable with who they uniquely are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">-Singing and music in general is a “mega-vitamin for the brain” (Wendy Magee, M.D. at London’s Institute of Neuropalliative Rehabilitation)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">-Singing can help control chronic pain and repair muscles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">-Writing music allows you to deal with your emotions constructively. It gives you a chance to do mental work that’s not only fun and enjoyable but also improves your mental capabilities. (<a href="https://www.regain.us/advice/therapist/music-therapy-techniques-exercises-and-outcomes/" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.regain.us/advice/therapist/music-therapy-techniques-exercises-and-outcomes/</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">-A cappella singers drink more water during rehearsals, which hydrates the body. As Brody McDonald says in his book <i>A cappella Pop:</i>“Pee white, sing right.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The benefits of music therapy are many and varied, but it is important to understand that therapy takes time. None of these outcomes is guaranteed right away. But evidence suggests that the outcomes of music therapy are similar to the arguments made to keep music in schools, so now you have a defense for your music department.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">However you use the benefits of music therapy, believe in them and don’t dismiss them, much like I will dismiss Wii Fit Trainer as I play Smash tonight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://docacappella.com/">Docacappella.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://facebook.com/docacappella">Facebook.com/docacappella</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">Twitter.com/docacappella</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://docacappella.tumblr.com/">Docacappella.tumblr.com</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-14785214603425304172019-08-26T07:54:00.003-07:002019-08-26T09:11:58.224-07:00The A cappella Starter Package<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Surprise! I’m back!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So…it’s been a little while…(2 years in fact…) since I’ve updated this blog. A lot has happened over that time, and my hope is that once you read this list of things I’ve been doing, you’ll stop being mad at me:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> -I finished my 509-page dissertation, “The A cappella Major” and earned my doctorate in </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">music education.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> -I became the director of vocal music at Five Towns College, which changed my adjunct </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">status to full-time associate professor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> -I became the director of the FTC Chamber Singers, a traditional choir who recently </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">performed at the Association for Popular Music Education’s National Convention.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> -I co-authored a reference book with Deke Sharon and Dr. J.D. Frizzell (release date: Spring </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">2020)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> -My wife and I bought a house—a process that was so long and painful that I now suffer from </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">PTSD anytime I try to buy something from a store.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> -My wife and I had a daughter. That alone should be enough to explain my 2-year absence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So…yeah. The blog kinda fell off the radar. To be fair, I’m still convinced that only 4 people read this and that the 200+ hits I receive daily are just random bots from Russia (one of my videos was a victim of that—true story BTW).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">ANYWAY, enough about me! Let’s talk about a cappella music!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This post is dedicated to the people who want to jump right in the deep end of a cappella but are afraid to swim past the kiddie pool. This post is all about the “A cappella Starter Package!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Like Dungeons and Dragons (my character is a level 2 chaotic neutral Spanish Rogue), A cappella takes some getting used to. Yes, anyone who plays D&D says that anyone can “Jump right in! It’s just interactive storytelling!” And speaking as a noob, that’s true. Anyone can jump in and start learning. But there comes a moment when you’re ready to go full throttle and really learn the ins and outs of the game. And there’s A LOT of rules. Sooooooo many rules.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In other words, the suggestion that anyone can “jump right in” is…not exactly accurate. You can start, but if you want to be good, you need to know much more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A cappella is the same way. Deke Sharon’s favorite proclamation is that we’ve been singing a cappella for centuries, and that it’s easier than ever to form a group. And he is absolutely correct. Anyone can form a group. Anyone can sing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But let’s think about the future for a moment. You’ve formed your group. Your group has a terrible name based on a music pun. You found a pdf of “Daft Punk” by Pentatonix online. But you want more. You really want to plant your feet firmly in the community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">All the resources are there. (They are…believe me) But they’re scattered in websites you’ve never heard of, books you’ve never read, and most importantly, passed down conversationally from person to person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">How do I get better? Is there ONE place that can tell me EXACTLY what I need to know to get started?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Yes. Yes, there is. Hi. I’m Marc and I’ve created the “A cappella Starter Package.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">STEP 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Go here and add your name to the list: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/ACappellaNow/" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.facebook.com/groups/ACappellaNow/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This is the Facebook group for CASA, the Contemporary A cappella Society of America. More often than not, most breaking a cappella news, announcements, and releases show up on this group. This is your regularly updated newsfeed and your window to other avenues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">STEP 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Buy this: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cappella-Arranging-Music-Pro-Guides/dp/1458416577/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=a+cappella&qid=1566418929&s=gateway&sr=8-2" style="color: #954f72;">A cappella Arranging</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">AND this: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cappella-Deke-Sharon/dp/147061667X/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=a+cappella&qid=1566418955&rnid=2941120011&s=books&sr=1-2" style="color: #954f72;">A cappella</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">These are the most commonly referenced a cappella books. These will answer a majority of your questions and also help you get started arranging.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">STEP 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Now you need some arrangements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Go here: <a href="https://www.noteflight.com/" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.noteflight.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Here: <a href="https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.sheetmusicplus.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And here: <a href="https://www.musicnotes.com/" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.musicnotes.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Search “a cappella.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Every arrangement sold on these websites is 100% legal. By purchasing arrangements on these websites, you will never be treading the thin grey line of “is this arrangement legal or is this entrapment?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The majority of a cappella groups commission arrangements or purchase stock arrangements directly from the arranger. But chances are, you probably don’t know the names of those arrangers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">STEP 4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Listen to the following albums:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“Bioluminescence” by ARORA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“Nothing But The Real Group” by The Real Group<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“Take 6” by Take 6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“Rockapella Live” by Rockapella<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“PTX Vol. 2” by Pentatonix<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“Ticket To Ride” by The Swingle Singers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“Postyr Project” by Postyr Project<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“Steps” by Cluster<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“In This Together” by Accent<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">VOCALbularies” by Bobby McFerrin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“You’re The Voice” by Club For Five<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“Collective” by Duwende<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“Twenty for One” by Cadence<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The latest volume of Best of College A cappella (BOCA)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The latest volume of Best of High School A cappella (BOHSA)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The latest volume of Voices Only<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It’s a long list. I know. But this will give you a good idea of what’s possible with a cappella. Plus, every album is an A+ album. I guarantee it (guarantee not legally binding).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">STEP 5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Go here: <a href="https://thevocalcompany.com/services/education/" style="color: #954f72;">https://thevocalcompany.com/services/education/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Here: <a href="https://acappellaeducators.com/" style="color: #954f72;">https://acappellaeducators.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And here: <a href="https://www.campacappella.com/" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.campacappella.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Also here:<a href="http://team.singstrong.org/" style="color: #954f72;">http://team.singstrong.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Plus here:<a href="https://bostonsings.com/" style="color: #954f72;">https://bostonsings.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Don’t forget here: <a href="http://sojam.net/" style="color: #954f72;">http://sojam.net</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Oh, right…here too: <a href="https://varsityvocals.com/" style="color: #954f72;">https://varsityvocals.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">These websites will help edu-ma-cate you in all things a cappella. Plus, they have details on all the happening a cappella festivals and competitions. Bookmark these websites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Hopefully this is enough to get you started. Will it make you an a cappella expert overnight? No, but at least you’ll have the resources you need at your disposal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">BONUS STEP 6!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Subscribe to this: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Q_yYAJvAE1lkDXZ04OtUw?view_as=subscriber" style="color: #954f72;">Youtube Page</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It’s me! I have a Youtube channel! And since this is MY blog, I’ll post what I want. So there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Follow the Quest<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.docacappella.com/">Docacappella.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://facebook.com/docacappella">Facebook.com/docacappella</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">Twitter.com/docacappella</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://docacappella.tumblr.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Docacappella.tumblr.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-24436364618146160032018-02-06T10:35:00.000-08:002018-02-06T10:35:25.538-08:00A cappella Burgers<div class="MsoNormal">
A cappella Burgers<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of my favorite cartoons on television is Bob’s Burgers.
If you haven’t watched it, I suggest you do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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HOWEVER...<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you have never seen the show before, this is how I
recommend viewing the episodes:</div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">1) </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Watch
the pilot</span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">2) Watch
season 1 but skip “Crawl Space,” “Bed and Breakfast,” “Spaghetti Western and
Meatballs,” “Weekend at Mort’s,” “Lobsterfest,” and “Torpedo.”</span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">3) Go
right to season 2 and enjoy.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I used this equation to effectively hook my wife (who is
very picky about what she watches) onto Bob’s Burgers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Why did I skip those particular episodes? It’s not because
they are bad. There’s not a single episode of Bob’s Burgers I would say is “bad.”
They are just not as strong as a lot of the other episodes, and to effectively
convince someone to watch the entirety of a show, you need to give them a
string of great episodes in a row.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I find that when I listen to a new a cappella CD, I’m hoping
for a string of tracks that convince me the rest of the album is worth it. And
often, I’m disappointed. This really comes down to the order of tracks. And
just like the guide to Bob’s Burgers, I wish someone would give me a specific
listening order so I instantly become intrigued by the remainder of the album.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I find with my short attention span I tend
to make snap judgments about what I’m hearing. I can like or not like something
very quickly. I know I’m wrong. But I also know I’m definitely not alone.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I learned over the course of my studies that a cappella
experts place a cappella albums into two categories: Concept albums and Yearbook albums. The concept album leads the listeners through a journey with either a plot
or a moral. The yearbook
album is a collection of songs you’ve been working over the past [insert amount
of time here] with no discernible link between them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anytime I review/listen to a yearbook album, I always have
the same complaint: The tracks are in a bad order. And just like my Bob’s
Burgers preferred watching order, I’m always left disappointed that groups did
not take into account the same formula: Hook the listener quickly, THEN break
out the other stuff. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Concept albums should stay in the order they are written in.
No one can really deny that. But yearbook albums need a re-organization.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I believe tracks 1 and 2 (and maybe even 3) should wow me
immediately. Put your best stuff first, because listeners tend to go in track
order when listening to a whole album. Once I’m impressed, then I’m more willing
to listen to the risky stuff or willing to sit through the mediocre tracks. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is just my opinion, but the second-to-last track needs
to be where you bury your worst song. Either I’ll skip to the last track to
hear what kind of explosive ending you’ve crafted, or I’ll leave the album
running to the end and not even realize what track number I’m listening to.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m not an expert sound engineer. I’m not a producer of a
cappella albums. I’m just a listener who hungrily grabs every album he can get
his chubby little hands on. But speaking as an a cappella mega fan, if you want
me to appreciate your yearbook album, I need to know you’re thinking about how
to convince me as quickly as possible.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The next time you design your track list, pretend the
listener is my wife. She's really picky about what television I watch, she makes snap judgments, and the only way to get her to stay is to give her your best
stuff first.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></div>
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Follow the Quest for the A cappella Major:</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">twitter.com/docacappella</a></div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.tumblr.com/">docacappella.tumblr.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://facebook.com/docacappella">facebook.com/docacappella</a></div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.com/">docacappella.com</a></div>
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BONUS SECTION!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Speaking of Bob’s Burgers…here are my 10 favorite episodes
(in case you were wondering)<o:p></o:p></div>
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10) Hamburger Dinner Theatre<o:p></o:p></div>
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Linda, obsessed with dinner theatre, stages her own murder
mystery in the restaurant. This was also the first episode to include music
(which is now a staple in every episode) and establish that Gene is the “composer”
of the family. The best feature is the naiveté of Linda, who believes her “twist”
ending is brilliant, and the argument that ensues.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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9) Glued: Where’s My Bob?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The 100<sup>th</sup> episode rightly keeps the family, and
every character whose ever appeared on the show, firmly in the restaurant.
Suffering from a prank gone wrong, Bob becomes glued to the bathroom toilet
right before a big magazine interview. In true Bob’s Burgers fashion, the
ending is both good and bad for the restaurant’s reputation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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8) Bob Actually<o:p></o:p></div>
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Easily the best Valentine’s Day episode, this collection of
separate stories ends in the most satisfying way possible. Also, nothing makes
me laugh harder than the hip-hop class Bob takes in order to impress Linda.<o:p></o:p></div>
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7) Purple Rain-union<o:p></o:p></div>
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This episode has some of the best musical material from the
show, and also a strong story for Linda and her sister Gayle. Haunted by the
events of her high school talent show, Linda’s band is asked to play at their
high school reunion. Their first song, written by Gayle, has probably the best
rhyming couplet of all time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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6) The Deepening<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bob’s Burgers likes to parody other movies and television
shows, and they range from good (O.T. The Outside Toilet) to mediocre (Aliens/Freaky
Friday). This Jaws parody however, is pitch perfect. Who’d ever think a
mechanical shark would be a threat to people on land? Best line: “I’m literally
grasping at straws.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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5) Dr. Yap<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ken Jeong plays the family dentist, Dr. Yap, who invites the
family to spend the weekend at his cabin for a ski weekend. Oh, and Bob has to
pretend to date Gayle, Linda’s sister. Oh, and the kids have an outstanding
competition for a jawbreaker. <o:p></o:p></div>
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4) Broadcast Wagstaff School News<o:p></o:p></div>
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This episode features the best appearance by Jenny Slate,
who plays Tina’s rival, Tammy. Tina investigates the mysterious “Mad Pooper,”
whose been leaving poops all over school. This episode also helps establish a
staple in the series: that every teacher in this school is a horrible person.<o:p></o:p></div>
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3) The Equestranauts<o:p></o:p></div>
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A fantastic parody of the “Bronies” culture, Tina gets
swindled by an evil fan and Bob must participate in the convention to get her
toy pony back. I love this episode for two reasons: The mispronunciation of the
word “tattoo,” and the extremely quotable “Non canonical! Non canonical! Non
canonical!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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2) Work Hard or Die Tryin’ Girl<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gene stages Die Hard the Musical. His ex-girlfriend,
Courtney, stages Working Girl the Music at the same time. Then they combine
musicals and create the original work: Work hard or Die Tryin’ Girl.” ‘Nuff
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This episode has SO many things going for it: A duet between
Kevin Kline and Megan Mullaly, a villain for Louise to destroy, the first
appearance of Billy Eichner, a definitive argument that Thomas Edison was a
terrible person, Spi-ceps, and the absolute best song in the history of the
series. If you never watch another episode, at least see this one.<o:p></o:p></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-41614084083399211312017-11-14T09:22:00.000-08:002017-11-15T11:22:57.020-08:00The Best A cappella Songs You've Never Heard<div class="MsoNormal">
On this blog, I usually highlight a cappella albums that I believe deserve as much attention as the latest release by Pentatonix. You can view those posts here:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://acappellaquest.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-best-albums-youve-never-heard-part-1.html">https://acappellaquest.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-best-albums-youve-never-heard-part-1.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://acappellaquest.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-best-albums-youve-never-heard-part-2.html">https://acappellaquest.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-best-albums-youve-never-heard-part-2.html</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I’m going to change things up a little bit and talk about specific a cappella songs that I think also deserve special mention. Why am I changing from albums to songs? The reason is simple... I’ve discovered that it’s becoming more common for a cappella groups to release small EP’s or singles. By releasing individual songs more frequently, a cappella groups can stay relevant in this ever-growing musical marketplace. To help foster that trend, here are some a cappella songs you should be listening to. (In no particular order)<o:p></o:p></div>
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The criteria for selecting these songs are as follows:<o:p></o:p></div>
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A. It has to be a song I believe the majority of blog readers have not heard yet. This eliminates songs from more popular albums like the BOCA compilations and Sing-Off winners.<o:p></o:p></div>
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B. I have to be totally obsessed with it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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1) <b>“Real Thing” by Hive</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s probably a good sign you like this song when you downloaded it last Wednesday and it’s already on your “top 25 most played” playlist. The ladies of Hive are clearly sending a strong "Here we are!" message. In fact, the entire production of this single, from the arrangement to the mixing, was done by female a cappella artists.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The song is a little offbeat- It’s an arrangement, written by Lisa Forkish, of the “Tune Yards,” a band I had never even heard of until last week. The song begins in a typical R&B style, but the sudden shift in the middle is enough to excite music nerds like me. Don’t judge the book by its cover- listen all the way through.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Download it here: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/real-thing/1298618940?i=1298619284">https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/real-thing/1298618940?i=1298619284</a></div>
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2) <b>“Agua De Beber” by Sambaranda</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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About a month ago, I asked the Facebook hive mind to suggest Latin a cappella albums that I could listen to, having little-to-no idea what groups specialized in Latin music. This is how I found Sambaranda, an a cappella group from Brazil. Their cover of Jobim’s “Agua De Beber” simply rocks. Half of the entire song is in 7/4, a meter that most of us never dare to tread.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What I love most about the arrangement is the beginning loop, repeated several times throughout the recording. I use that loop as inspiration for several a cappella arrangements I’ve recently written, and I’ve mentioned the song in last week’s post about informative arrangements.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Download it here: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/%C3%A1gua-de-beber/1171576410?i=1171576503">https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/%C3%A1gua-de-beber/1171576410?i=1171576503</a></div>
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3) <b>“Love is Just That Way” by Accent</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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As a massive Take 6 fan, I’ve played their albums to death. Naturally, this has led to some jazz withdrawal- It’s extremely rare that anyone is writing complex harmonies that only Take 6 can deliver.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is why I was so happy to find Accent’s new album <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In This Together</i>. Their penchant for jazz writing breathes new life into my a cappella addiction. These harmonies are probably as close to “Take 6” as any group has gotten thus far. Every song on the album is amazing, but my personal favorite is “Love is just that way.” Only a group like Accent could rock that hard and still be considered jazz.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Downlaod it here: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/love-is-just-that-way/1266524440?i=1266524931">https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/love-is-just-that-way/1266524440?i=1266524931</a></div>
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4) <b>“Stay” by Vocalight</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Vocalight is the new “it” group in town, and they deserve it. A mix of alumni from Eleventh Hour and Forte, they stunned the world by taking 3<sup>rd</sup> in the Varsity Vocals Aca-Open, and now they’re debuting complex arrangements in the vein of Pentatonix, but without the restraints of trying to please a general audience. My expectation of “Stay” was for them to over-emphasize the harmonic clashes in the chorus—probably the most well-liked part of that song—but once again the group shocks and amazes me by totally reinventing the song and inventing their own groove. It’s like they removed all the "Zedd" and added more "Alessia Cara."<o:p></o:p></div>
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Download it here: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/stay/1247700681?i=1247700682">https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/stay/1247700681?i=1247700682</a></div>
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5) <b>“Wildest Dreams” by Drastic Measures from A cappella Academy</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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An older inclusion in the list, this insanely difficult version of the Taylor Swift tune makes me hate the fact that I’m too old to apply for the academy. If you were ever looking for a way to totally re-imagine a song, this would be a good example. Rarely have I heard a group sing an arrangement this complex. From now on, THIS is how I'm going to arrange Taylor Swift.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Download it here: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/wildest-dreams/1147839392?i=1147839754">https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/wildest-dreams/1147839392?i=1147839754</a></div>
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6) <b>“Home” by Freshmen Fifteen</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Another oldie but goodie. The absolute best arrangement of this song comes from the Freshmen Fifteen, who meld “Home” with several others spirituals. There’s a moment, right before the final chorus, that no matter how many times you hear it, you never fail to get goosebumps. The soloist emits more emotion in this recording than every solo on the last BOCA...COMBINED. It’s raw, imperfect, and absolutely outstanding. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Download it here: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/home/371227358?i=371227452">https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/home/371227358?i=371227452</a></div>
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7) <b>“Talk2Me” by House Jacks feat. Postyr Project</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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“Talk2Me” is a strange mix of rock and electronica that works a little too well. The House Jacks' album <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pollen</i> is a concept album that has them traveling and recording with a cappella groups all over the world. The entire album deserves your attention, but “Talk2Me” is the one that grabs your attention the most. The song manages to build an enormous amount of tension in the sound and never really releases the pressure, but you don’t seem to mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Downlaod it here: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/talk2me-feat-postyr-project/932053911?i=932053936">https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/talk2me-feat-postyr-project/932053911?i=932053936</a></div>
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8) <b>“What Kind of Band” by Avante</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Avante is not widely known in the a cappella circles yet, but probably more so in the vocal jazz community. This song was written for a specific kind of audience—the major a cappella nerd. I bet you’re shocked why I love this song…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Just try to catch all the a cappella easter eggs if you can… <o:p></o:p></div>
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Download it here: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/what-kind-of-band/955049450?i=955049461">https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/what-kind-of-band/955049450?i=955049461</a></div>
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9) <b>"In The River" by ARORA</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m cheating a little here, because this song is not commercially available yet. As an attendee of SoJam 2017, I was able to purchase a copy of their demo CD for their upcoming album release. "In The River" is shaping up to be the next “Bridge-” a seamless mix of electronica, rock, and calming ambiance- a grouping of styles that only ARORA could pull off. While you probably can’t listen to this one yet, you can ABSOLUTELY set your expectations high and your anticipation at maximum. ARORA will deliver.<o:p></o:p></div>
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10) <b>"Little Drummer Boy" by Five O' Clock Shadow</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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This one is definitely the oldest song on the list, but I have gotten multiple uses out of it in educational settings. The vocal percussion solo is a testament to both the incredible talent of David Stackhouse and the musicality one can bring to a percussion solo that is more than “look at the cool sounds I can make.” Whenever I introduce a class to vocal percussion, this is always the first track I play, because it never fails to shock and amaze. Couple that with the insane talent of this iteration of Five O’Clock Shadow, and you get my favorite a cappella holiday track of all time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Download it here: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/little-drummer-boy/342769403?i=342769834">https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/little-drummer-boy/342769403?i=342769834</a></div>
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Marc Silverberg</div>
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Follow the Quest:</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">twitter.com/docacappella</a></div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.com/">docacappella.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://facebook.com/docacappella">facebook.com/docacappella</a></div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.tumblr.com/">docacappella.tumblr.com</a></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-3806553126832410262017-11-07T07:53:00.001-08:002017-11-07T07:57:25.328-08:00Informative Arrangements 2: Electric Boogaloo<div class="MsoNormal">
So…apparently people enjoyed last week’s post. Well, I’m glad you liked it. In case you missed it, here’s a link:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://acappellaquest.blogspot.pe/2017/10/informative-arrangements.html">http://acappellaquest.blogspot.pe/2017/10/informative-arrangements.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Also, I’ve finally accepted that more than 3 people read this blog. So that was nice. (Hello 4 readers!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Addison Horner, content creator for the AEA, went ahead and put the songs on Spotify. Here’s a link: </div>
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<a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/1265875697/playlist/5wvbxJdq6QQwRYhTRSeRlx">https://open.spotify.com/user/1265875697/playlist/5wvbxJdq6QQwRYhTRSeRlx</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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I'd have done that...but I don't have a Spotify account. Plus, I'm lazy. Plus, meh.</div>
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It’s time for round 2!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Q: My group wants to do this pop song that EVERYONE and their mom is singing right now. I want to turn it into something totally new like it’s almost unrecognizable. What can I do?<o:p></o:p></div>
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A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Can’t Buy Me Love” by The King’s Singers<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I Want You Back” by SONOS<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Billie Jean” by Fermata Town<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Killing Me Softly” by Singers Unlimited<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Swingle Ladies” by The Swingles<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I Knew You Were Trouble” by Blackout<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Hildepunk” by MIX<o:p></o:p></div>
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Q: I want to write something that sounds exactly like a jazz big band. Where can I find textbook examples of that?<o:p></o:p></div>
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A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I’m With You” by The Real Group<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Straighten Up and Fly Right” by Acoustix<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Softly As in a Morning Sunrise” by Quintet<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Have You Met Miss Jones” by The Swingle Singers<o:p></o:p></div>
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Q: Where can I find really good examples of what a “mash-up” is supposed to sound like?<o:p></o:p></div>
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A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Never Close Our Eyes/As Long As You Love Me/Sweet Nothing” by OneVoice<o:p></o:p></div>
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"Another Way To Die/Skyfall" by The Amalgamates<o:p></o:p></div>
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“How Far I’ll Go The Distance” by Scott and Ryceejo<o:p></o:p></div>
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"Gravity/Run To You" by Jonathan Reid<o:p></o:p></div>
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"Single/Acappella" by Eleventh Hour<o:p></o:p></div>
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Q: My arrangement is missing a really cool chord. Like “Whoa! What was that?!” kind of chord. Where I can I find one of those?<o:p></o:p></div>
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A: Listen to: (You'll know it when you hear it)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And So It Goes” by Groove For Thought<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Water Night” by Eric Whitacre<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“224” by Cluster<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My Future Self” by Postyr Project<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“God Bless The Child” by SoCal VoCals<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I Got Rhythm” by Glad<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Locked Out of Heaven” by Vocalosity<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: We have a really good bass and he/she gets bored really easily. Where can I find examples of more interesting, and difficult bass lines for him/her to sing?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sing a Song” by On The Rocks<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Feel So Bad” by Voices In Your Head<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dance With Me” (or really anything) by Rockapella<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Agua de Beber” by Sambaranda<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wrecking Ball/We Can’t Stop” by Delilah<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: I’m a live looper and I need some inspiration. What can I listen to so I can get an idea of how to arrange for a loop station?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Cupcakes Can Kill You” by Mister Tim<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Whiskey” by Julia Easterlin<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I Shall Be Free” by Kid Beyond<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ave Maria” by SONOS<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Unison” by Bjork<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin (even though he doesn’t use a loop station, the arrangement is very repetitive)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do you have an arrangement question? Send me a tweet <a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">@docacappella</a> and I'll include it in Informative Arrangements 3!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Follow The Quest:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">twitter.com/docacappella</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://docacappella.com/">docacappella.com</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://facebook.com/docacappella">facebook.com/docacappella</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://docacappella.tumblr.com/">docacappella.tumblr.com</a></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-60734968278329825762017-10-30T11:31:00.001-07:002017-10-30T12:21:56.974-07:00Informative Arrangements<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve discovered that the key to writing great a cappella arrangements, especially if you don’t have any formal training, is listening. And stealing. More stealing than listening. About 60/40 stealing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The great composer Igor Stravinsky once said “Lesser artists borrow. Great artists steal.” Don’t think of it as the negative connotation we apply to stealing- that you are plagiarizing someone else’s work. Think of it in terms of borrowing knowledge. Knowledge belongs to everyone and cannot be owned. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"There's no ownership of a musical texture, vocal lick, or arranging trick." -Deke Sharon, <i>A cappella</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m drawing inspiration from existing a cappella arrangements to help me learn. A chord here, a texture there- all adapted to fit the particular song I’m arranging. I don’t directly copy the material note for note, out of respect for the arranger I’m studying, but I use the musical material to help inspire me to create something new.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sharon, the father of contemporary a cappella, has made this point before. In fact, chapter 9 of the book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A cappella</i> is titled “Steal from the best.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To better help you improve your craft, I’ve compiled a list of arrangements or recordings that I’ve found to be extremely inspirational. (Or in other words...I've stolen from these songs...)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: How do I compose a more interesting and varied harmony for a song that originally only has four chords?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Stereo Hearts" by Fermata Town<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Rude" by Accent<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Lady Madonna" by Swingle Singers<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Get Back" by Overboard<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Chandelier" by Twisted Measure<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Up On The Roof" by Countermeasure<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: How do I create a really interesting rhythmic texture?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Brand New" by The A cappella Group<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Everlong" by Tufts Amalgamates<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Water Fountain" by GQ<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
"My Shoes" by The Bobs<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: My arrangement needs a really BIG moment. What can I do?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Diamonds" by The Nor’Easters<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: I need to write a looped section. Where can I find good loops?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I Want You Back" by Ithacapella</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
"Plain Gold Ring" by GQ<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Walking Down The Street" by The Real Group<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I’ve Got The Music In Me" by Sing Off Season 2<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Bella’s Finale" from Pitch Perfect<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Super Mario" by BYU Vocal Point<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
"Country Dances" by Swingle Singers<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Listen to:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Where The Sidewalk Ends" by Euphonism<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
"Poor Wayfaring Stranger" by Swingle Singers<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></div>
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Follow the Quest:</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">twitter.com/docacappella</a></div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.com/">docacappella.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.tumblr.com/">docacappella.tumblr.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://facebook.com/docacappella">facebook.com/docacappella</a></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-13988678449059749492017-10-09T11:38:00.000-07:002017-10-09T11:38:28.998-07:00A cappella Power<div class="MsoNormal">
Okay. This one is going to get about 10% political. Apologies in advance…<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve been unable to blog the past couple of weeks, once because I had the black plague and the other because I felt that whatever I blogged about was just not important. The crisis in Puerto Rico. The shooting in Las Vegas. We seem to be hit with a large number of catastrophes lately and many of us have felt almost powerless to do something about it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you’re reading this, then you are part of an elite group of human beings who have the ability to make music. And not just any kind of music…a cappella pop music.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A cappella pop music goes a long way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So firstly, I need you to keep an open mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Liberal or Conservative…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dog person or Cat person…</div>
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Morning person or Night owl…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Iphone or Android…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Coke or Pepsi…<o:p></o:p></div>
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It doesn’t matter. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Because you’re an a cappella person.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And an a cappella person can help people in need.<o:p></o:p></div>
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You see, I don’t think you really understand how much power you have. You have the ability to sing the music that people actually want to hear. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m not trying to put down unfamiliar music. We all need to experience unfamiliar music, because listening to unfamiliar music is how we grow as musicians.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But let’s be honest. The average non-musician doesn’t want to hear unfamiliar music. They want to hear “Bohemian Rhapsody.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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And there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, that’s great, because we can sing Bohemian Rhapsody. We can perform the entire song without instruments in any acoustical space.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We can travel. We can sing in any environment. We can sing any song we desire. We can design a set of songs for a specific audience who only wants to hear Michael Jackson.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We have that power. And we have to put it to good use.<o:p></o:p></div>
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How you ask? It’s simple. We sing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We put on benefit concerts that raise money, even if it’s just $100. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We make inspirational videos that give hope to anyone who watches.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We write and perform songs that show others we are watching, and we do care.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As an a cappella person, I’ve felt powerless these last two weeks, thinking there was nothing I could do to help.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m done feeling powerless. I’m ready to do something, even if it’s just a little something.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And so, if you’ve stuck with me to the end of this post, you have been challenged. I challenge you to use your a cappella powers to help. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It doesn’t matter who you help, or what cause you believe in. You can reach the masses faster and more efficiently than other artists.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve been working on something myself, and when the time comes, I hope you’ll participate. I’ve been (slowly) planning and designing a collaborative album of a cappella superstars and any a cappella singer who wants to participate. I plan to record and release the album and donate 100% of the profits to organizations I support.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I don’t know how it’s going to work yet. I don’t know who’s going to help me. I don’t know if it’s going to fall apart before it even begins, thus ruining my credibility and reputation. I don’t know any of these things.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But I’m going to try, because as an a cappella person, I have the power to do something.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And so do you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></div>
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Follow the quest:</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">twitter.com/docacappella</a></div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.com/">docacappella.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.tumblr.com/">docacappella.tumblr.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://facebook.com/docacappella">facebook.com/docacappella</a></div>
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*A portion of the blog post above was taken from Theoatmeal.com. You can read the original comic here: <a href="http://theoatmeal.com/comics/believe">http://theoatmeal.com/comics/believe</a></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-13950276985613642282017-09-19T09:06:00.003-07:002017-09-19T09:06:32.997-07:00The Case for Curriculum<div class="MsoNormal">
There has been a lot of debate and discussion lately about whether contemporary a cappella should be included in the music curriculum, whether that be a cappella examples in the general music classroom, a cappella ensembles at the college level for college credit, or most importantly, the creation of a four-year degree in contemporary a cappella.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Today, I make my case.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Including a cappella music into a formal curriculum has far more advantages than detriments.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Before I begin my incoherent rant, I must clarify the argument I’m making. I’m making the case for adding a cappella music into a formalized school curriculum. I’m not addressing education initiatives such as <a href="http://www.thevocalcompany.com/">Next Level</a>, <a href="http://acappellacademy.org/">A cappella Academy,</a> <a href="https://campacappella.com/">Camp A cappella</a>, or the <a href="https://www.clearharmonies.com/">A cappella School</a>. I love and support all of those creations, but none have specific ties to a formal college or degree. I’m suggesting we take the model that the aforementioned organizations have already devised and add it to a degree-granting institution.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The benefits are:<o:p></o:p></div>
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1) Popular Music Base<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is nothing new. Most students respond better to popular music than they do classical music because it is familiar and more representative of the current music trend and their culture. But choral teachers are still hesitant to include popular repertoire into their curriculum, because popular music is made for the masses, and the simplistic, repetitive composition of pop music yields little material to study and analyze.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But (of course) I disagree with the above assessment. If utilized correctly and fully, a general music classroom can go a full year teaching new musical concepts with just a popular music base, and nowhere is that more prevalent than a cappella.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Last year, I joined the <a href="http://www.popularmusiceducation.org/">Association for Popular Music Education</a> (APME), an organization that promotes the inclusion of pop music into the classroom, not as a one-off lesson anomaly, but as the fundamental basis for all musical learning. It’s entirely possible (and utterly plausible) that your kids aren’t ready to appreciate the complexity of Mozart, the uniqueness of Stravinsky, or the thematic development of Wagner. So I say, screw it. Don’t teach it until they’re ready, even if that means they won’t be ready until they go to college.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2) The End of Mediocrity<o:p></o:p></div>
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Behind closed doors, buried deep within the confines of Facebook comments, there is a word understood by many a cappella professionals who dare not speak its name. It’s called mediocrity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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True, the a cappella community has never shone brighter, thanks to all of the educational initiatives and the sudden expansion of a cappella companies. But for every new bright star, five more groups are struggling to keep up, unaware that educational resources are easier to find than ever.<o:p></o:p></div>
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An a cappella major, or a cappella college classes would help in the fight against mediocrity. Imagine if you will, a recent college graduate who has had 3 dedicated semesters of a cappella arranging, covering everything from medleys to barbershop, 2 semesters of recording techniques covering everything from tracking to mixing (not mastering because there just wasn’t enough time to squeeze it in), a full semester of vocal percussion techniques and live sound, a comprehensive knowledge of contemporary a cappella history, and seven semesters of training in pop vocal styles. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I imagine if a college began churning out students like that, the fight against mediocrity would be more evenly matched.<o:p></o:p></div>
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3) Ensembles for College Credit<o:p></o:p></div>
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When a college includes a dedicated a cappella ensemble as part of the course offerings (as they do in many colleges such as Wright State, Tiffin, or UCD), it sends a clear message that a cappella is considered to be a legitimate style of singing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s take the age-old Pentatonix discussion: Pentatonix, and Ben Bram, wanted to be known in the music industry as a band. Not an a cappella group…a band that just happened to use no instruments. Their desire to send a message was clear: "A cappella is as legitimate a musical style as pop, hip-hop, or heavy metal." The unique characteristic that this particular group sang without instruments was less important than the fact that they SAAYNG. (pronounced “sang” with extreme emphasis on daaaammmmmnnnnn!!!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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They have made many strides in this endeavor. Now, it’s education’s turn. To truly legitimize a cappella music as an art form equal to classical choral music, educational institutions must transform it into a credit-worthy ensemble, under the umbrella of the music program.<o:p></o:p></div>
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4) Better for Beginners<o:p></o:p></div>
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I teach a for-credit a cappella ensemble where I work. The ensemble is unique for three reasons: one, we exclusively sing contemporary a cappella arrangements from a variety of arrangers, two, it is a non-auditioned ensemble so anyone can join, and three it is made up of mostly beginning singers who can’t even identify a treble clef, let alone sight read.<o:p></o:p></div>
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By the end of the semester (or more likely two consecutive semesters), several changes have occurred: The students can sight read, but only in a stepwise direction, the students have learned the basics of pop vocal production, the students have sung complicated, syncopated rhythms, and the students have freely improvised over a simple chord structure. True, none of these advancements are at an expert level, but the change from day one to the end is significant, and I believe the unique characteristics of chosen a cappella arrangements contribute to it:<o:p></o:p></div>
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A. I choose arrangements where the background voices serve as chordal accompaniment so that the voice leading is simple and stepwise.<o:p></o:p></div>
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B. I choose arrangements where the pitches are almost identical, but the rhythms are very challenging and fun to sing, requiring a high level of concentration and internal counting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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C. I choose arrangements with repetitive chord progressions so that the students can have the freedom to improvise a section.<o:p></o:p></div>
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D. I choose arrangements with a limited range so that I can demonstrate healthy chest singing and the transition from chest voice to head voice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What do you think? Does a cappella belong in the school curriculum?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Follow the Quest:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">twitter.com/docacappella</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://docacappella.com/">docacappella.com</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://docacappella.tumblr.com/">docacappella.tumblr.com</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://facebook.com/docacappella">facebook.com/docacappella</a></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-89751436048900502262017-09-11T10:37:00.001-07:002017-09-11T10:37:22.952-07:00Where Do I Sing?One of the biggest challenges of being in a cappella group (in my opinion) is finding and landing a gig. A cappella has the distinct advantage of being portable and adjustable- the group can basically go anywhere and fit in almost any space (assuming they aren't using microphones).<br />
<br />
However, a cappella has the distinct disadvantage of being insanely dorky, shunned by the traditional choral community, and in need of amplification, whether that be from the acoustical environment or with sound equipment.<br />
<br />
These disadvantages may seem overwhelming but fear not. A cappella groups can sing in more places than you realize...<br />
<br />
Allow me to list 100 places where an a cappella group can find a gig:<br />
<br />
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1) Be an opening act for another group<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2) Local television appearances<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3) Radio appearances<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4) Sporting events<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5) College a cappella shows<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
6) Public school concerts<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
7) Workshop demonstrations<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
8) A cappella festivals<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
9) Local theatres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10) Nightclubs<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
11) Corporate gigs<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
12) Private parties<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
13) Amusement parks<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
14) Specialty fairs<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
15) In the studio<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
16) Weddings<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
17) Funerals<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
18) Private shows for one or two people<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
19) Restaurants<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
20) Gigsalad.com<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
21) Charity events<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
22) Religious houses of worship<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
23) Marathons<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
24) Caroling door-to-door<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
25) Caroling door-to-door on a day that isn’t Christmas<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
26) Music festivals that are for voices<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
27) sonicbids.com<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
28) gigmasters.com<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
29) Family gatherings<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
30) ACDA festivals<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
31) NAfME festivals<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
32) Your local music organization’s festival<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
33) Post on Youtube<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
34) Post on Dailymotion<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
35) Post on Vimeo<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
36) Career fairs<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
37) Libraries<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
38) Public parks<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
39) 4<sup>th</sup> of July festivals<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
40) Pet adoption places<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
41) Music stores<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
42) Open Mic Night<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
43) Comic conventions<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
44) Other conventions<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
45) Planetariums<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
46) Museums<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
47) Malls<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
48) Famous landmarks<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
49) Cruise ships<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
50) Movie theatres before the movie starts<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
51) Country clubs<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
52) Local sports games<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
53) Zoos<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
54) Comedy clubs<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
55) Casinos<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
56) Outlet malls<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
57) Bowling alleys<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
58) Private classes<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
59) Cocktail hours<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
60) Wineries<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
61) Tastings<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
62) Camps<o:p></o:p></div>
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63) Flea markets<o:p></o:p></div>
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64) Farmer’s markets<o:p></o:p></div>
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65) Ski resorts<o:p></o:p></div>
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66) Beaches<o:p></o:p></div>
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67) Boardwalks<o:p></o:p></div>
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68) Playgrounds<o:p></o:p></div>
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69) Fashion shows<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
70) Gigfinder.com<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
71) Mini golf courses<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
72) Botanical gardens<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
73) Penitentiaries (Don’t laugh…it’s been done)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
74) Boy scout meetings<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
75) Girl scout meetings<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
76) Fraternity houses<o:p></o:p></div>
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77) Sorority houses<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
78) Showcases<o:p></o:p></div>
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79) Tournaments<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
80) Another country<o:p></o:p></div>
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81) Another island<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
82) Magic shows<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
83) Aquariums<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
84) Monuments<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
85) Gift shops<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
86) Auctions<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
87) Veterans Hospitals<o:p></o:p></div>
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88) Any hospital<o:p></o:p></div>
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89) Nursing homes<o:p></o:p></div>
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90) Assisted living centers<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
91) Banks<o:p></o:p></div>
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92) Rooftops<o:p></o:p></div>
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93) Public pools<o:p></o:p></div>
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94) Rec centers<o:p></o:p></div>
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95) Gymnasiums<o:p></o:p></div>
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96) Game rooms<o:p></o:p></div>
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97) Arcades<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
98) Proposals<o:p></o:p></div>
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99) Hallways<o:p></o:p></div>
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100) Make your own damn concert<o:p></o:p></div>
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There. Now you have no excuse.</div>
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But wait! There's more!</div>
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I would argue that finding and booking a gig is as important, if not MORE important than rehearsing whatever score you're working on right now. You NEED to spend time hunting for gigs. </div>
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I firmly believe that if the group does not have an upcoming gig, there is no reason to practice.</div>
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That's not saying there's no reason to meet/hang out/sing together and improvise. But as far as practicing and perfecting scores, a live performance is the main motivator. </div>
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How do you find gigs? Here are some ideas:</div>
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1) Gig Committee</div>
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Assign 2-3 people from your group to be part of the gig committee. The SOLE PURPOSE of the committee is to do the legwork on finding and booking gigs. And yes...it requires work. Gigs don't fall out of the sky like cupcakes in my recurring dreams.</div>
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2) Gig-finding Party</div>
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Assign part or all of one rehearsal for researching, finding, and booking gigs. It's a lot of hard, annoying work, so anything you can do to make it more fun should be encouraged.</div>
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3) Hire a Manager</div>
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My group has discussed this option in the past. The advantage of a manager is that he/she takes care of all that annoying work so you can focus on singing. The disadvantage is, of course, money. Plus, professional managers probably aren't sure where to book an a cappella group. </div>
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Is there someone you know personally, whom you can hire (pay a small fee) to be your unofficial manager? I know if someone gave me money, I'd work much harder for them.</div>
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4) Gig Websites</div>
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Websites like <a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/">Reverbnation</a>, <a href="http://www.gigsalad.com/">Gig Salad</a>, and others charge a monthly fee for membership. In return, the company frequently contacts you about possible gigs. Yes, you have to do the follow-up leg work (calling, texting, begging, crying) but the difficulty of finding the gig is made much easier.</div>
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Find a gig. Do it. Now.</div>
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Marc Silverberg</div>
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<br /></div>
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Follow The Quest:</div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">twitter.com/docacappella</a></div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.com/">docacappella.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.tumblr.com/">docacappella.tumblr.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://facebook.com/docacappella">facebook.com/docacappella</a></div>
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<br /></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-79494255497466368452017-09-05T10:22:00.001-07:002017-09-05T10:35:36.563-07:00Audition BingoThe quest is back!<br />
<br />
For real!<br />
<br />
Seriously!<br />
<br />
I'm not joking!<br />
<br />
Prepare yourself for another full year of ridiculous posts, opinionated articles that everyone disagrees with, and inane discussions that go absolutely nowhere! Hooray!<br />
<br />
But for the start of the year, I thought we'd have some fun first.<br />
<br />
It's time to play....AUDITION BINGO!<br />
<br />
This bingo sheet should make things MUCH more interesting, especially when your group is staring down the never-ending line of freshmen who don't understand the difference between Pitch Perfect and perfect pitch.<br />
<br />
You can copy the game board below, OR you download a FREE copy here:<br />
<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/n2rnghngqhj92fd/AADx3Ur4wCus8UZeMijUvmBda?dl=0">https://www.dropbox.com/sh/n2rnghngqhj92fd/AADx3Ur4wCus8UZeMijUvmBda?dl=0</a><br />
<br />
Enjoy!<br />
<br />
Marc Silverberg<br />
<br />
Follow the Quest:<br />
twitter.com/docacappella<br />
docacappella.com<br />
docacappella.tumblr.com<br />
<br />
<img src="blob:https://www.blogger.com/6102cd21-317f-4081-8e22-530f3e65bdfb" /><br />
<br />
<img src="blob:https://www.blogger.com/dc1d1dac-ec09-4e18-83fd-3f6ce3f348ca" />Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-44027668438099507522017-02-22T10:35:00.000-08:002017-02-22T10:35:05.542-08:00A Swingles Moment<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 302.65pt;">
My very first experience with a cappella music came when I was in 9<sup>th</sup> grade. My choir teacher, Kevin Badanes (the very same Kevin Badanes in the brilliant vocal jazz group Avante) played a recording of the Swingle Singers singing “The Theme From Superman.” That was when my life changed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve mentioned this story in a previous blog, but chances are you didn’t read that one, so I’m reiterating the point. It was The Swingle Singers who started me on the path I’m on today. Before that moment, all I listened to was Weird Al and Jimi Hendrix. After that moment, it was Weird Al and A cappella (sorry Jimi).<o:p></o:p></div>
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A cappella CD’s were hard to find in 1996. You had to order them from magazines (which seemed sketchy…though I later found out they were just run by Deke and friends of Deke). CD stores (you may not know what those are…) did not have a “contemporary a cappella” section. </div>
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Perhaps if CD stores still existed today…they still wouldn’t have a "contemporary a cappella section."<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anyway, back to the story. So I tried to devour as much a cappella as I could, which was difficult since I didn’t know where to begin or how to find the music. I was able to find “Chameleon” by Vox One and a CD by The Nylons, but not much else. Thanks to the Internet, this problem is now solved…but it’s been eclipsed by a new problem: Now there’s just too much a cappella out there and if you’re new to the a cappella scene, you could be as lost as I was in 1996.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve mentioned that point in a previous blog as well, but chances are you didn’t read that one either. So far, you’re 0 for 2.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I swear, I’m getting to the point.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In 1996, life-changing a cappella music was hard to find. You had to stumble across it accidentally. The same goes for 2017, but now you have too many sources to check and too many opinions to sift through.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the expanding world of contemporary a cappella, an a cappella nerd like me can be overwhelmed by the amount of new content. When all a cappella starts to sound the same, it can be hard to love the style as much as you once did.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But that’s when I turn to my Swingle Moments.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What is a Swingle moment? Simple. It’s a term I invented just now (yay me!) to describe a personal, life-changing a cappella moment (not necessarily from the Swingle Singers). Hearing or seeing a Swingle moment is like having a nerdy divine intervention where you suddenly know the next step of your a cappella journey. The build-up of fatigue from hearing too much a cappella is released in a glorious puff of smoke, like a big satisfying aca-fart.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here are my Swingle Moments. (Sorry/Not Sorry for the fart joke):<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The moment I realized any song could be arranged a cappella:</b> “Steven’s Last Night In Town” by Pandemonium.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My collegiate a cappella group, Vocal Point, had dug in their heels and refused to sing any music later than 1990. This meant our repertoire consisted of *gasp* “Lion Sleeps Tonight, ” “Day-O,” and “Eleanor Rigby.” And no, we did not sing it well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For one of our concerts, we invited a group from the University of Maryland, Pandemonium, to sing with us. At the time, I had expanded my listening tastes to Weird Al, Monty Python records, A cappella, and Ben Folds Five. When I heard Pandemonium sing my favorite Ben Folds Five song “Steven’s Last Night In Town,” I suddenly knew that anything was possible. It was at that moment that I realized our tired arrangements of burnt-out oldies were not going to satisfy me as a musician anymore. I wanted to expand our repertoire to include the off-beat songs that no one would think of and original songs that no one would dare to write. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The arrangement that taught me how to write an a cappella original song:</b> “What’s It All About” by Five O’Clock Shadow on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wonders of the World</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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This song remains my favorite a cappella original of all time, mainly because how it uses so little to rock so hard. When I wrote my first a cappella original “Power A cappella,” I copied the form and style of “What’s It All About,” because I knew if I used the same mechanics that made that song successful, mine would also be successful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fun fact: “Power A cappella” was terrible.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The arrangement that taught me how to compose polyphonic a cappella textures:</b> “Everlong” by The Amalgamates on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">BOCA 2005</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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That arrangement is still one of the gold standards of polyphonic a cappella arranging (in my opinion). Just listen and try to pick out the numerous intersecting lines within the overall groove. I wish more a cappella groups would create dense, driving textures like this one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The arrangement that changed my mind about medleys:</b> “Super Mario” by Vocal Point on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">BOCA 2009<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Normally, I hate medleys. The medleys I’ve heard are usually clumsily-arranged song cycles that give you the “greatest hits” without any substance. Plus, they’re sooooooooooooooo long. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My attitude about medleys changed after hearing “Super Mario.” Besides the fact that I was thrilled Vocal Point (different Vocal Point) had dedicated an entire medley to a video game, I loved the concept (moving from level to level), the inclusion of sound effects, the adaptations that added new lyrics, and the seamless change from the “invincibility star” song to “Shining Star” by Earth, Wind, and Fire. If you ever write a medley, please listen to this one first and follow their lead.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The album that shaped my current arranging style:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hold That Thought</i> by Fermata Town.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For a brief few years, a cappella music didn’t thrill me. I felt like the BOCA compilations were churning out the same types of arrangements, and I hadn’t heard anything that I truly “loved.” By complete accident, I found <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hold That Thought</i> on iTunes. And then the light bulb turned on.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The group’s merging of radio hits with extremely complicated (and often surprising) jazz harmonies threw me for a loop. And let’s be clear…this is not a jazz album. They can rock as hard as Pentatonix, but with harmonies that are much more complex. Ever since hearing this album, I’ve been trying to model their style and substance. I’ve rekindled my interest in learning jazz theory and I’m constantly trying to shock the audience with interesting chords and dense harmonies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The performance that set my career in motion</b>: Mister Tim at the Amplify A cappella Festival, 2012<o:p></o:p></div>
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No live a cappella performance has ever had a greater impact on me than seeing Mister Tim perform in 2012. In that performance, I learned how to operate a live looper, I learned that you can be silly in a cappella, and I learned that there was now a way for me to make the a cappella music I had always wanted to make, without interference.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m not a professional live looper yet (nor will I probably ever be), but I owe much of my silly Docacappella persona to Mister Tim.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The arrangement that expanded my concept of harmony</b>: “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” performed by The Swingle Singers with Peter Hollens, written by Tom Anderson.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s a reason I believe Tom Anderson is the greatest a cappella arranger living today: he sees music, writes music, and hears music in a “Beautiful Mind” like way. Despite his endless portfolio of arrangements, the immediate proof is in “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” where he utilizes chord combinations I haven’t even heard of (and I’m getting a doctorate!) and creates a rich tapestry of sound I didn’t even know was possible.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 3 years since I bought the arrangement from him, and I’m still combing through it, trying to decipher what the hell he was thinking when he wrote it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The performances that changed the way I visualize live a cappella:</b> “Titanium” by Voices In Your Head, 2013 and “Mad Hatter” by LARK, 2016<o:p></o:p></div>
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Both of these groups demonstrated what I feared I would never see again in a live a cappella performance: innovation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Personally, I’m tired of watching the “hey-we’re-trying-to-be-really-cool-and-hip-by-standing-in-a-double-arc-or-adding-sexy-dance-moves-to-our-set” kind of choreography that plagues many inexperienced groups at ICCA and ICHSA competitions. When I wanted someone to show me something new, both of these performances did just that: Voices in Your Head manipulated the position of the microphones to create a sonic pulse and LARK added costumes, makeup, and staging to their performance, enhancing what could have been a tired power ballad into a spectacle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is one of the goals of my group, Satellite Lane: To create a show out of a cappella, not a set of songs with individual choreography. We’ve achieved this by writing 10-minute short plays, making “faux a cappella commercials,” or adding thematic dance moves that re-appear throughout all three songs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For the theatre geek inside of me, I will always prefer “innovative and wacky” over “cool.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The album that blew my mind: <i> </i></b><i>Bioluminescence</i> by ARORA.</div>
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Sure, Pentatonix is credited with bringing a cappella to a current mainstream audience (as they should be). But within the a cappella bubble, the album that essentially "changed the game" was ARORA's masterpiece, <i>Bioluminescence.</i> What makes this album great isn't necessarily the songs themselves (all originals, all incredible), but the way ARORA uses so little to create so much. A group of only five singers, ARORA layers harmonies over harmonies to produce a "wall of sound" set to a tight, rhythmic groove.</div>
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My very first thought after listening to this album was that I need to work harder so that I could one day create an album like this one.</div>
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Those are my Swingle Moments. What are yours?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></div>
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Follow The Quest For The A cappella Major:</div>
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twitter.com/docacappella</div>
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facebook.com/docacappella</div>
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docacappella.com</div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-53408332952602905802017-02-15T11:28:00.001-08:002017-02-15T11:28:31.937-08:00Writing A Dissertation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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First, let me address the question on everyone’s mind:<o:p></o:p></div>
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WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?<o:p></o:p></div>
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True, I haven’t written on my blog in three months. Here’s why:<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve been busy working on my massive dissertation, the a cappella major, and I’m proud to say that the first draft is FINALLY submitted.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A few friends have mentioned to me that they were thinking about applying for a doctoral program. If you were thinking “maybe one day I’d like to get my doctorate,” please do the following:<o:p></o:p></div>
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1) Go to the nearest hardware store.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2) Buy a hammer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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3) Use said hammer on your face.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All kidding aside, as someone who is only months away from completion, let me give you some real advice about the doctoral program.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Disclaimer: Not all doctoral programs are the same. This advice may not apply to you.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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1) Classifications<o:p></o:p></div>
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When you enter a doctoral program, certain terminology is used to describe your progress:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Doctoral Student-</u> Until you physically enter the writing phase, you are classified as a doctoral student. During this phase, you take the necessary classes to complete the program. Some programs (like mine) require you to take a comprehensive exam when the necessary classes are finally completed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Doctoral Candidate-</u> Assuming you have to write a dissertation (some doctoral programs don’t have that stage), your first task will be to write a proposal that outlines the dissertation (more on this later). At this stage, you become a doctoral candidate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>ABD (All But Dissertation)-</u> In the ABD stage, the only thing you have left to complete is the physical dissertation. You have completed the classes, passed the comprehensive exam, written your proposal, and now it’s time to write the behemoth that is the dissertation. The good news is, many full-time college jobs will hire people in the ABD stage, as the ABD stage implies your doctoral degree is close to completion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2) Doctoral Proposal- The single most important document you will ever write.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The phrase that was worth repeating at Five Towns College was “The proposal is the hardest part.” Why is the proposal, a 20-30 page document, harder to write than the dissertation, a 150-300 page document?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The dissertation proposal is equivalent to a formal business contract. The members of your committee debate and sign it, and once completed, you are bound to its content. The proposal essentially tells the members of your committee what your dissertation is about, how the dissertation will be organized, and specifically what you will write about.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The proposal is the hardest part of the dissertation process, because once completed, all you have to do to pass the dissertation is follow the proposal. Think of the proposal like a big mind map or outline. All you have to do is follow it to the letter, and your dissertation is complete.<o:p></o:p></div>
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3) Strategies for success<o:p></o:p></div>
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I didn’t write my 844-page dissertation overnight (though if you knew how many sections were written “overnight,” you’d slap me). It took 3 years to complete the draft you saw above. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Writing a dissertation is sometimes known as “the loneliest activity in the world.” Once you begin your dissertation, there is no due date. There is no friendly reminder to keep working. There is no time table, and no one can help you. Your biggest challenge in writing isn’t the writing itself, but the self-motivation to keep working when there is no ticking clock. As someone who has never been good at self-motivation, here’s how I finished:<o:p></o:p></div>
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A) I employed the Pomodoro Technique time management method. (link: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique</a>) Work for 25 minutes, break for a few minutes. Though I didn’t follow the technique exactly, setting short bursts of “work time” helped me visualize the task as a series of much shorter goals. I focused on one lesson at a time, rather than “get as many pages done as possible.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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B) There were times I knew that work was not going to get done, even if I forced myself to try. When those times came, I put the computer down and picked it up the next day. Sometimes, you just can’t work.<o:p></o:p></div>
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C) I rarely, if ever, did work at home. Home is a terrible place to complete work. Your stuff is there. The kitchen is there. The bed is there. The television is there. Your wife is there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The majority of my work was done at my desk at Five Towns, where there was no major distraction.<o:p></o:p></div>
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D) I said “NO” to a few opportunities. I’m typically a guy who says “YES” to everything, and then tries to figure out how to make it work. This year, I had to say “NO.” No, I will not arrange that song for you. No, I will not help you with your musical. No, I do not want to be part of your next project.<o:p></o:p></div>
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E) I knew that my biggest challenge in writing would be the lack of deadlines. I’m a guy who thrives under extreme pressure and makes it a top priority to never miss a deadline. To combat the fact that dissertations have no deadlines, I had to create them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I told my advisor “I’ll have that chapter done for you by Monday.” Of course, I hadn’t even started that chapter yet, but once the words came out of my mouth, I knew that it had to be done, otherwise I would look like a liar, or incapable of completing tasks on a schedule.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 302.65pt;">
You need to force yourself into a corner, and then get out of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 302.65pt;">
Marc Silverberg</div>
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Follow The Quest For The A cappella Major:</div>
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Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-7662073730477147942016-11-21T09:40:00.000-08:002016-11-21T09:40:04.953-08:00ICCA or ICCA(s)?<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
Oh boy…this one is going to get me in trouble…</div>
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The ICCA is upon us once again! Soon our social media feeds will be swamped with groups who win, groups who lose, groups who should have won but didn’t, and groups who won but shouldn’t have done so.</div>
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Chances are, another ICCA-related matter will probably pop up on our social media feeds…Someone will inevitably say “ICCAs” and someone else will yell at him/her.</div>
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But here’s my question…Is it grammatically incorrect to say ICCAs? Your first thought is probably: “Yes. Obviously. Why are we even discussing this matter? Your blog is stupid.”</div>
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Let’s put aside personal opinions and hatred of me for a moment, and let’s take a serious, analytical look at this issue:</div>
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<u>The case for “S”</u></div>
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While writing my dissertation, I came across the very issue I am analyzing now: Do I write the “ICCAs” or “ICCA competitions,” or something entirely different. I decided to ask the style guides, (APA, Chicago Style, MLA) for help.</div>
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Unsurprisingly, the amount of information they had on pluralizing acronyms was small or non-existent. But I was able to find the following:</div>
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“In APA, abbreviations should be limited to instances when a) the abbreviation is standard and will not interfere with the reader’s understanding and b) if space and repetition can be greatly avoided through abbreviation.”</div>
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-Purdue Online Writing Lab</div>
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“To form the plural of most abbreviations and statistical symbols, add s alone, but not italicized and without an apostrophe.”</div>
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-Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, pgs. 44 and 110</div>
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“If you can stop thinking of the spelled-out meaning of the acronym and just treat the acronym itself as a word with its own meaning, you should be able to add that little s without fretting.”</div>
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-Chicagomanualofstyle.org</div>
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“Write the plural form of an acronym without an apostrophe”</div>
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-MLA Style Sheet</div>
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The information gathered from this research draws no formal conclusion as to whether pluralizing an abbreviation of an acronym is correct, but style guides tend to agree that it is generally okay to do so.</div>
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During further research, I found this example on the American Journal Experts webpage:</div>
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“Regarding pluralization, abbreviations should reflect the meaning you wish to convey.”</div>
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-American Journal Experts</div>
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In this case, the intent of the writer is valued above the accepted rules. It really depends on how a writer uses the ICCA acronym.</div>
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Usually, when we say ICCAs, we are probably trying to say this: “The International <b>Championships</b> of Collegiate A cappella.” We are, in effect, pluralizing the correct word as our intent, but by writing the ICCAs, the reader chooses to think we are pluralizing the A, which is not a word that has a plural form.</div>
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This is the main reason why we are split on whether or not the ICCA can have a plural form. Technically, when we use the acronym, we are using it as a noun and we are referring to the “C,” or championships.</div>
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A concrete piece of evidence, however, can be found in the nonfiction book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pitch Perfect</i> by Mickey Rapkin:</div>
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“Now, back in competition with a near all-new roster of girls, could they return to the ICCAs and avenge their good name?”</div>
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-Pitch Perfect, pg. 14</div>
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Not only does Mickey Rapkin, senior editor at GQ magazine, use the pluralized acronym in the above quote, the term “ICCAs” appears 50 times within the book.</div>
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The book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A cappella</i>, by Deke Sharon, Brody McDonald, and Ben Spalding also uses the pluralized acronym 13 times.</div>
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To provide a contrary argument, take a look at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Powerful Voices: The Musical and Social World of Collegiate A cappella</i>, based on the dissertation by Dr. Joshua Duchan. In the 20 or so times that ICCA is mentioned, never once does he use the plural acronym, but he does mention it when quoting a contributor of RARB:</div>
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“…cause I haven’t heard their recordings or heard about them winning in ICCAs or anything.”</div>
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-Powerful Voices, pg. 177</div>
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Now I know what you’re thinking, and I agree: Just because a few people do it, does that make it right? If that argument were always true, I could hypothetically jump off a bridge and all you blog readers would say “Oh. I guess all bloggers should jump off bridges to emphatically prove their point.”</div>
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But the pedigree of the authors should count for something. I’m not saying that because they said it, it automatically means it is correct. But if they can do it and no one raises a big fuss, it should be okay to do it as well.</div>
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<u>The case for no “S”</u></div>
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The way I see it, there are two main reasons why opponents of “ICCAs” have valid arguments:</div>
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1) The “A” in ICCA stands for a cappella, and a cappella has no plural form.</div>
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Think about other acronyms you have used in plural form before: VCRs, DVDs, UFOs…These work because the last letter in each acronym stands for an object that does have a plural form. Technically, if everyone wanted to have their cake and eat it too, the ICCA should be re-named the ICACs, or the International Collegiate A cappella Championships, which would allow the plural form to be justified.</div>
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2) They don’t want us to.</div>
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Okay. Full disclosure: When I set out to write this article, my goal was to prove that ICCAs was and is a viable plural abbreviation and when someone uses it, we should all calm down and let it happen.</div>
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But then, I proved myself wrong when I remembered another post I wrote almost 2 years ago: “2 p’s, 2 l’s, and no O.”</div>
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If you’re reading this, you’re probably a fan of a cappella. Unless you found this blog by mistake, which would explain my viewership over the last 5 years…</div>
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And if you’re a fan of a cappella, chances are you hate when people spell a cappella “A-C-A-P-E-L-L-A.” It’s a sore spot. It’s a pet peeve. We hate it because it doesn’t seem right.</div>
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However, groups, especially international groups, have continued to use the word “a capella,” and they have a good argument- when the word was first written, it was spelled “a capella,” not “a cappella,” because it was originally written by Renaissance composers and in Latin:</div>
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“The spelling capella is occasionally found; Giovanni Gabrieli marked sections for chorus alone “capella” and J.J. Fux referred to ‘Stilus a Capella.”</div>
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-Grove Dictionary of Music, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A cappella</i></div>
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Just seeing that version of spelling makes my blood boil, and that’s the very point. The company that runs the ICCA, Varsity Vocals, is made up of very nice people. (I say that because it’s true and also because they all probably hate me right now) They have repeatedly asked in person and on social media to not use ICCAs:</div>
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“Your friendly reminder: It is ICCA, NOT ICCAs.”</div>
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-Emily Flanders, Facebook</div>
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Despite your belief in what is right and what is not, the employees of the company have asked you to not say ICCAs, and their opinions should matter.</div>
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The verdict:</div>
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In academic writing, the pluralized form of ICCA is probably fine to use, but there is no empirical evidence to suggest that ICCA can be pluralized, so don’t fight the powers that be. If you do use it, I doubt anyone is going to raise a fuss over your choice, but make sure you know what you are referring to, and who your readers are. Ask yourself these questions:</div>
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1) What’s the best way to phrase this sentence?</div>
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2) Do you ABSOLUTELY have to use “ICCAs?”</div>
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3) Will your readers hate you for doing so?</div>
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One final thing…</div>
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<b>ICCA’s</b> is totally incorrect. Acronyms cannot have possession of anything. No apostrophe. Ever.</div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Marc Silverberg</div>
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<br /></div>
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Follow the Quest For the A cappella Major:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">twitter.com/docacappella</a></div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.com/">docacappella.com</a></div>
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Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-84482707227875367952016-10-18T10:56:00.005-07:002016-10-18T10:56:49.777-07:00How To Organically Arrange<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve been organically arranging songs with my a cappella class for some time now, but just recently, my CAL group, Satellite Lane, began working out arrangements by ear, rather than using sheet music.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you don’t know what I mean by organic arranging, let me explain: Organic arranging is the process by which your a cappella group, as a whole, creates a new arrangement from scratch, by combining group improvisation with a lot of trial-and-error. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I highly recommend attempting this process for two reasons: First, it gives your group a sense of accomplishment and pride to know that they contributed to the arrangement. Second, it’s a great way to develop everyone’s aural skills.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s what I learned from going through the process multiple times, and maybe you can use this as your how-to guide:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Step 1-Start with a song everyone knows<o:p></o:p></div>
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The best results come from a song that most or all of your members know, especially if this is your first time organically arranging. If the majority of your members don’t know the song, they will have to split their focus between learning the song and listening to an unfamiliar chord progression.<o:p></o:p></div>
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These characteristics work best when choosing a song for organic arrangements:<o:p></o:p></div>
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1- Everyone or almost everyone can sing the solo<o:p></o:p></div>
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2- The chord progression is mostly or entirely repetitive<o:p></o:p></div>
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3- The song does not have a significant a cappella cover that everyone already knows (Like the Pentatonix version of “Somebody That I Used To Know”)<o:p></o:p></div>
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4- The majority of group members seem excited or interested in covering this song and putting in the time to work on it<o:p></o:p></div>
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Step 2- Sing with chords.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have found that the best way to begin an arrangement by ear is by playing and singing along with the chords. Pull up a lead sheet or sheet music off the internet, and have someone just bang out the chord progression on a piano or guitar while everyone improvises along. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t have anyone sing the solo. Have them hear the solo in their heads.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first time we approach a new song, I have everyone sing all the way through, even if they don’t know exactly what to sing. This helps outline the form of the song and, since the chorus most likely repeats several times, provides everyone wth multiple chances to improvise and revise their part during the chorus.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sing the entire song at least twice, with someone playing the underlying chords. Once that’s finished, break the song down by section. Tackle one verse or chorus first, and sing it through a few times until everyone has a general sense of what to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Step 3- Know your individual roles<o:p></o:p></div>
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A good a cappella arrangement has many moving parts. If everyone sings something rhythmic, the song sounds too choppy. If everyone sings long whole notes, the arrangement sounds too static. You need a mix of both to fill the space.<o:p></o:p></div>
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You can decide who does what using a couple different ways. Typically, less confident improvisers will want to hold long notes, while more confident improvisers will want to add rhythmic ostinatos. If everyone is shy and/or confident, elect a leader to choose who will do what. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t forget that there is more to an a cappella arrangement than long whole notes and rhythmic ostinatos. Here are some other background variants:<o:p></o:p></div>
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-Bell chords (each voice enters one at a time)<o:p></o:p></div>
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-Duets and Trios with the soloist<o:p></o:p></div>
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-Instrumental impressions like a guitar countermelody<o:p></o:p></div>
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-Changing the style of the song (rock to doo-wop or country to gospel, etc.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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-Countermelodies, canons, and echoes<o:p></o:p></div>
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-Changing the underlying harmony<o:p></o:p></div>
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Step 4- Write it down AND record it<o:p></o:p></div>
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When you agree on something you like, make sure somebody writes it down AND someone records it on his/her phone. Always have a backup memory system, or chances are you will forget what you did then next time you revisit this arrangement.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Step 5- Try Everything<o:p></o:p></div>
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No idea is a bad idea. (unless, of course, this suggestion is a bad idea…) Don’t be afraid to try something that completely fails. Don’t play it safe. Don’t stick to what you think everyone expects.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Step 6-Interject with some direction<o:p></o:p></div>
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Organic arrangements, unless your group is REALLY GOOD, will need some specific guidance to avoid a stale, repetitive arrangement. It’s okay every now and then to suggest a technique that relies on theory or is based on an existing arrangement. If you are having trouble thinking of new ideas, try to include the following items in your organic arrangement, whether by group improvisation or direction from an arranger:<o:p></o:p></div>
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1- Every verse must sound different.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2- The chorus can use some of the same background parts, but every chorus must add something new<o:p></o:p></div>
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3- Change at least 3 chords in the original progression<o:p></o:p></div>
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4- Insert a glissando somewhere in the arrangement<o:p></o:p></div>
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5- Insert a quote from another song<o:p></o:p></div>
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6- Change the musical style of one chorus<o:p></o:p></div>
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7- Everyone sings the lyrics in a homophonic texture for one chorus<o:p></o:p></div>
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8- Change the key<o:p></o:p></div>
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9- Sing one section without a strict tempo<o:p></o:p></div>
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10- Change the meter of a verse<o:p></o:p></div>
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11- Eliminate the bridge, intro, or transitions between verses<o:p></o:p></div>
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Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.com/">Docacappella.com</a><o:p></o:p></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-54435816747068776002016-09-29T10:52:00.003-07:002016-09-29T11:09:07.327-07:00To Compete or Not Compete<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was an undergraduate student at the University of Delaware, I took a number of courses dedicated to “choral methods,” or the preparation of becoming a choral director in school. During one particular class, we had a stirring debate over whether or not a school choir should enter a graded festival or competition.</div>
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No clear winner emerged.</div>
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There are both advantages and disadvantages to entering your groups in a competitive festival, such as a CASA competition, the AEA national competition, or the most common, the ICCA (International Clam-bake and Cartwheel Association).</div>
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If you’re on the fence about whether or not to sign up for these competitions, then read on. I’ll do all the hard debating for you!</div>
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<u>Yes, you idiot! Competitions are great!</u></div>
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1) Competitions are sure-fire ways to get on-the-ground feedback about how far your group has come and how far it needs to go.</div>
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2) Winning a competition makes you feel better than eating a double-fudge brownie topped with ice cream and money.</div>
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3) When gigs are hard to find and hard to book, competitions can help fill the schedule and give you something to practice for. After all, a competition is a guaranteed gig with a deadline and (almost always) a packed-house audience.</div>
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4) For a new a cappella group, competitions can unite your members under a common goal: “Be the absolute best you can be.”</div>
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5) A dedicated rehearsal schedule for an a cappella group wishing to compete separates the adults from the children. After a few intense rehearsals, you will know who is 100% committed and who is ready to quit. Remember, “there’s no crying in a cappella…unless you’re performing ‘Cry’ by Faith Hill in which case there absolutely is crying in the form of a lyrical shoutout.”</div>
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6) Working under competition guidelines can highlight your group’s strengths and weaknesses. I’ll bet you ten dollars (legally non-binding) that by the end of the competition, your group will<u> know</u> who the best soloists are, who can dance and who can’t, and how effective your arrangements are for a competitive setting.</div>
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7) Most a cappella competitions have individual awards in addition to group awards. Even if your group doesn't take home the gold, someone in your group might get a really good consolation prize.</div>
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8) Competitions give your group a chance to watch and evaluate other a cappella groups, and possibly be inspired to use new techniques.</div>
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9) Winning a competition can rocket your group’s momentum. As the old sports-ball saying goes, “No one remembers who came in second.”</div>
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Except me. I do. ‘Cause I’m a freak. And I also don’t watch sports.</div>
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As demeaning as that saying is, there is a nugget of truth to it. A competition-winning a cappella group can use their newfound fame to kick open doors that would have once been closed. And with the ever-growing number of a cappella groups around the world, winning a competition is the “get-rich-quick” version of standing out in a crowd.</div>
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<b>Now the big question…</b></div>
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Is there an educational purpose to competitions?</div>
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I think the answer is: “Well, if your group learns something new, then YES!”</div>
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You must understand that competitions are not built around educational foundations. Competitions, especially those “sing-for-us-and-then-go-enjoy-yourself-in-your-selected-theme-park-while-your-chaperones-constantly-worry-about-whether-you-will-get-kidnapped” festivals are built around big hefty piles of cash. That’s not a critique, it’s just the way businesses work. Competitions cost money and if people don’t buy tickets, there is no money.</div>
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I know firsthand, having judged a few ICCA rounds, that the company who runs the competition, Varsity Vocals, cares deeply about giving everyone a “meaningful” experience. The on-staff producers advise judges to write comments that provide thoughtful feedback that groups can use to improve upon. (Disclosure: This may not be true in every region. I just know that it was always true for me, and I’d like to believe it’s a company policy).</div>
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Of course, there is that possibility you <u>won't</u> get an educational experience…</div>
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<u>No you idiot! Competitions are the worst!</u></div>
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There are some serious downsides to competitions and let’s all address the one big argyle elephant in the room…</div>
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<b>Losing sucks.</b></div>
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Losing sucks worse than eating a no-fudge brownie topped with cream cheese and garbage.</div>
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Let me tell you astory:</div>
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I’ve competed in the Harmony Sweepstakes six times in the last three years. I’ve competed in the New York region four times, and the Boston region twice. How many times do you think I’ve won? </div>
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Zero.</div>
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That’s right. Zero times.</div>
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UNTIL…wait for it…</div>
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Last year, my vocal jazz group, Quintet took second place in the New York region, and I personally won the “best arrangement” award in the Boston region. Those awards did nothing to cheer me up. I was unable to shake the other, humiliating losses. I couldn't be happy or satisfied. (Like Hamilton, I am never satisfied…or able to rap)</div>
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Now before I make my point, let’s rewind the clock a moment.</div>
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When we applied for our first ever Harmony Sweeps competition in 2013, my other CAL group, Satellite Lane, was not aiming for first place. We were aiming for the “Audience Favorite” award, which is voted on by the members of the audience and not the judges.</div>
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That night, we won that award <u>and</u> I won the night’s “best arrangement” award. That night was a triumph. I was happier than a kid at an all-you-can-eat-candy-buffet (I’m making a lot of food references…I think I’m hungry).</div>
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So what changed? Why was I happy then and not now? Well, in between those two victories, I suffered four terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad losses. Those hits kept coming and each one hurt just a little more than the one before. By the time I had finally won anything else, during my SIXTH time competing in Harmony Sweepstakes, the burn of the losses overpowered the euphoria of the triumphs. I had become numb to the win, because, in my mind, we still didn’t win “first place.”</div>
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Here’s my point. Yes, you could infer from this post that I’m a dedicated pessimist and that you understand why I’m an “emotional eater” but that’s not what I’m trying to say. I’m speaking to the people out there who have become obsessed with winning, obsessed with earning the only achievement that could possibly make them happy. Don’t let the dozens of losses taint the eventual win, even if the win is not what you had hoped for.</div>
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Losing over and over can really take a toll on your self-esteem and the group’s self-esteem. You need to monitor your group’s emotional state carefully. If competing is no longer fun, you should no longer do it. Otherwise, you may lose more than a competition; you may lose your a cappella group.</div>
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But enough depressing stories. Let’s break down the negatives of competition:</div>
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1) The judges of competitions can sometimes be, intentionally or unintentionally, really mean (More on this later). I’m sure they aren’t trying to put you down, but there’s always that one comment that haunts your very dreams for the next ten years. Maybe you’re not the accomplished beatboxer you thought you were. Maybe your arrangements are not at complex as you thought.</div>
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Take the comments with a grain of salt and remember that one person does not speak for everyone else.</div>
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Also, the judges don’t have time to write inspiring comments that give you fully formed ideas for your next rehearsal. They have a limited amount of time to get everything in, AND score your set, AND sign every piece of paper shoved in front of their noses. This is not to say we should take pity on the judges. This is just a reason why competition comments are often blunt, a little vague, and occasionally contradictory to one another. (Again...more on this later)</div>
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2) Competitions, especially the desire to win, can sometimes bring out the worst in people who are hungry for the win. Those self-prescribed desires can make someone look at another group as if these perfectly normal singers are the devil incarnate.</div>
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We must stay strong and united as a community if a cappella is to thrive and evolve. Plus, let’s all remember who the real enemy is: Bagpipe players.</div>
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3) Competitions are subjective, and therefore, who wins and who doesn’t is entirely up to a small panel of individuals. To think that your recent competition performance is the be-all-end-all representation of your group’s skill is incorrect.</div>
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Maybe the microphones were in a bad spot. Maybe your bass got sick. Maybe the room wasn’t what you thought it was going to be. Maybe you got a sudden case of stage fright.</div>
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All I’m saying is, don’t interpret competition performances as a serious representation of what your group can do. A cappella is not foremost a competitive sport, like sports-ball.</div>
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4) Too many wins can make a group cocky and stagnant as well.</div>
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Let’s say you are a group who continually wins (good for you…please hug me so you can rub your magical winning-juice all over my body). If you win too often, you start to believe that no one can beat you and everything you are doing is absolutely perfect. so there’s no reason to change. This is as dangerous as losing too often. A cappella groups need to think about new techniques to remain relevant in such a fast-moving musical marketplace. True, you may be on top for a long time, but when you start to go down, you’ll go down hard.</div>
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5) Judges suck.</div>
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I’m sorry. I know this will anger those of you who judge competitions, but we all suck.</div>
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We are snarky, judgmental, harsh, confusing, arrogant, miserable creatures who control the fate and emotional state of up to ten groups of singers, which is decided in the span of 10-12 minute sets, all within one night of competitive mayhem.</div>
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In short, we are A-holes. We don’t take into account the other 364 days in an a cappella group’s lifespan, and we can only draw on the experience we ourselves possess.</div>
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Now before you troll my comments section with pitchforks and inappropriate GIFs, let me just say this: If we weren’t all of those things, we wouldn’t be qualified to be judges.</div>
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If you’re reading this blog post and you are a judge, all I ask is that you keep in mind that competitions are more than just one-night spectacles of a cappella domination. Competitions are, purposely or not, educational experiences for those involved because every group is coming from a place where education is the priority.</div>
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And if you’re reading this blog post and you are a director of an ensemble, try to restrain your venomous thoughts about judges until you put the entire night into perspective. And maybe count to 100 before yelling.</div>
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Marc Silverberg</div>
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Follow The Quest For The A cappella Major:</div>
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<a href="http://docacappella.com/">Docacappella.com</a></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-1055991802644726092016-09-21T09:58:00.005-07:002016-09-21T14:35:12.867-07:00A Review of Next LevelWe're back... (A dinosaur's tale)<br />
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This past summer, I attended (for the first time) a Next Level session, hosted by The Vocal Company. For those of you unfamiliar with Next Level, let me describe it briefly:</div>
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Next Level is a week-long workshop, held at the home of the Vocal Company in Rochester, NY. Each Next Level session invites several participants (spots are limited) to observe and participate in specific, a cappella-related activities with a special guest, usually someone who has achieved a large measure of success in the a cappella world. Examples include a week-long arranging session with Robert Dietz (from The Sing-Off), a week-long teaching/coaching session with J. D. Frizzell (director of One Voice) and Dr. Erin Hackel (director of MIX and LARK), or in my case, a week-long recording and mixing workshop with Ed Boyer (recording engineer for Pentatonix and Glee’s “The Warblers.”)</div>
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The week, which begins Monday morning and usually ends Friday afternoon, is expertly organized and planned by The Vocal Company’s director of education, Shannon McNulty, who manages to cram an entire a cappella curriculum into a specific time frame, ensuring that participants are given plenty of one-on-one time with instructors and ample time to work as a group on assigned projects.</div>
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Just so you get a better understanding of what to expect, should you ever decide to attend a Next-Level event, let me give you a few highlights:</div>
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<u>Monday</u></div>
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<br /></div>
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Monday began with a “so…what do you want to learn” power session. I appreciated this because it gave everyone a chance to voice their concerns and open up about what experience they already have. The instructors took note of this, and it was clear during the week that they were addressing each participant’s level of expertise differently.</div>
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<br /></div>
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For example, many of the participants had no experience with either Pro Tools or Melodyne, so these students were led through the process of using each program slowly, while some participants already understood both and were able to get an advanced understanding of both programs.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The Vocal Company gave every participant a chance to record another singer and a chance to edit a track in Melodyne; an experience one would never get at an a cappella festival.</div>
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<u>Tuesday</u></div>
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<br /></div>
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Tuesday’s mission statement was simple: “HOLY CRAP! ED BOYER IS COMING TOMORROW AND THIS TRACK ISN’T EVEN REMOTELY DONE YET! WE HAVE TO SCRAMBLE AND PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”</div>
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<br /></div>
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While this might seem like a chaotic nightmare of disorganized planning, the real-world scenario of falling behind a deadline is part of almost every recording process. When the deadlines start piling up, engineers invent shortcuts and pieces of the recording are left out purposely. For anyone who wants to record a cappella music or open up their own recording studio, this is the day when you take notes and watch the magic happen within the blink of an eye.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Oh. And we played laser tag. It was very intense.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<u>Wednesday</u></div>
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<br /></div>
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So Wednesday morning offered up my first critique of the process. Ed Boyer was trapped in Hurricane "I-Don’t-Care-About-Your-Schedule” and unable to arrive on time, so the morning was divided up into learning segments. Some participants learned about songwriting, some got more experience with editing, and some, like me, were able to have prepared mixes critiqued by David Longo, head of the Vocal Company.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now I LOVED this because it gave me a chance to present a mix I had already done and watch a master like David tear it apart with sharp pointy teeth. I feel like I learned more in this short session than most of the previous two days, and my critique simply is that this section needs to be much longer. I know it was a spur-of-the-moment choice, but out of those moments comes something really valuable.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Ed arrived sometime mid-morning and began working on the mix we had spent Monday and Tuesday preparing. Watching Ed mix was like watching Mozart compose or watching Van Gogh paint/rip off his ear. Ed Boyer moves so fast and flawlessly that it almost seems like what he’s doing isn’t even human.</div>
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We were warned beforehand to ask lots of questions because Ed moves so quickly that he rarely stops to explain what he’s done. Of course, I was the jerk who asked the most questions, and Ed always gave me an answer. Whether or not I understood the answer was a different story, but that was my problem, not his fault.</div>
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<br /></div>
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If it wasn’t clear already, this is one of the best parts of Next Level: the close proximity and one-on-one time you get with each artist. True, a cappella festivals give you that same proximity, but the schedule is so compacted that it is often difficult to corner someone and get all the answers you are looking for. Plus, with hundreds of people, artists tend to hang out with the friends they already have, whom they haven’t seen in months.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Here at Next Level, the group is small and everyone is in the same house for five days, so there’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<u>Thursday</u></div>
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<br /></div>
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Ahh. Now here is my biggest critique of the week, and it comes with some explanation, so bear with me.</div>
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<br /></div>
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On Monday, Shannon mentioned in passing “On Thursday, you will arrange, track, and edit an entire recording in one day, so Ed can mix on Friday.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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At first, I wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by that, and then Thursday came around…</div>
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<br /></div>
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No. She wasn’t kidding.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Thursday was a 24-hour, you’ll sleep-when-you’re-dead, track-a-thon. Four participants arranged the song by 1 p.m., we tracked until 10 p.m. and we edited all night.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now, I’m 33 and my all-nighter days are FAR behind me (see: Marc’s grad school experience). To effectively describe the mood I was in that night would be…Imagine if a mouse was eaten by a leopard, and then that leopard was crushed under the foot of an elephant. I was the mouse.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Why was in such a bad mood? Well, I explained this to the instructors on Friday: I'm old and tired. With the rigorous schedule and lack of adequate sleep I had already experienced, I wasn't in the mood to go all-in. </div>
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<br /></div>
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To be fair, the other participants, all far younger, were bundles of energy, bouncing around until 5 a.m. ready for the next task, while I was cursing every minute I still existed. And to be fair, this was common practice for Next Level recording weeks, and I just wasn’t in the loop.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I tell you about this not to keep you away from Next Level, but to give you the early warning I never had. It’s a great exercise, as most a cappella albums are put together in a very short amount of time (some even over one or two days). It just wasn’t for me.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Unable to keep my eyes open any longer, I went to bed around 4 a.m. which no one seemed to have a problem with.</div>
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<u>Friday</u></div>
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Friday was the shortest day, as we only had activities booked in the morning. We watched Ed mix our Thursday track, once again pestering him with questions until he could stand it no more.</div>
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As a final celebratory “get-the-hell-out-of-my-house,” the Vocal Company has a chalk-throwing party in their backyard. So…bring clothes you don’t care about.</div>
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Final Verdict:</div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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The Vocal Company’s Next-Level events are the next evolution in a cappella experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To really get a sense of where a cappella is moving and to get a complete knowledge over one area of expertise, you MUST attend this event at least once in your life. I know I’ll definitely be back.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Marc Silverberg</div>
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<br /></div>
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Follow The Quest For The A cappella Major:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://docacappella.com/">docacappella.com</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://twitter.com/docacappella">twitter.com/docacappella</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://docacappella.tumblr.com/">docacappella.tumblr.com</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://facebook.com/docacappella">facebook.com/docacappella</a></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-15932653312895550052016-05-31T12:17:00.004-07:002016-05-31T12:17:54.298-07:00New Video!While you're whiling away during the summer, check out my Youtube page where I've made videos of complete and utter lunacy!<br />
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="dnoqo" data-offset-key="4t1eg-0-0" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="dnoqo" data-offset-key="c61qq-0-0" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c61qq-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="c61qq-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="dnoqo" data-offset-key="77p0d-0-0" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="77p0d-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="77p0d-0-0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OL0XDJ7Vq4</span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="77p0d-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="77p0d-0-0"><br /></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="77p0d-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span data-offset-key="77p0d-0-0">Have a great summer!</span></div>
</div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-63346141762543185582016-04-11T11:21:00.000-07:002016-04-11T11:21:01.153-07:00Fight Back!<div class="MsoNormal">
After attending this weekend’s Boston Sings festival, I was
inspired to write this post. This topic was born out of a conversation that was
held in Deke Sharon’s roundtable class: "The Future of A cappella."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One attendee asked Deke a question about educating his
advocates: How do you convince classical musicians who dislike a cappella to
let you start and train an a cappella group at your school?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The answer is simpler than you think: You need to be ready
to counteract every argument that your opponents might throw at you, and you
need to do it with hard data, not opinions. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Now there’s no guarantee that even with the data, and the a
cappella community on your side, that you will win the battle. Convincing
someone to go against everything they’ve ever believed in is near impossible.
Just ask politicians.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Before we get to HOW you can rebuke each of their arguments,
we need to look at how to win an argument.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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There was a movie that came out in 2005 called “Thank You
For Smoking.” In this movie, there was a dialogue between the main character,
Nick Naylor, played by Aaron Eckhart and his son, Joey Naylor, about how to win
an argument:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001173/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Nick Naylor</span></b></a>: OK, let's say that you're defending
chocolate, and I'm defending vanilla. Now if I were to say to you: 'Vanilla is
the best flavor ice-cream', you'd say...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1080974/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Joey Naylor</span></b></a>: No, chocolate is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001173/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Nick Naylor</span></b></a>: Exactly, but you can't win that argument...
so, I'll ask you: so you think chocolate is the end all and the all of
ice-cream, do you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1080974/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Joey Naylor</span></b></a>: It's the best ice-cream, I wouldn't order any
other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001173/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Nick Naylor</span></b></a>: Oh! So it's all chocolate for you is it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1080974/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Joey Naylor</span></b></a>: Yes, chocolate is all I need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001173/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Nick Naylor</span></b></a>: Well, I need more than chocolate, and for
that matter I need more than vanilla. I believe that we need freedom. And
choice when it comes to our ice-cream, and that Joey Naylor, that is the
defintion of liberty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1080974/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Joey Naylor</span></b></a>: But that's not what we're talking about<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001173/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Nick Naylor</span></b></a>: Ah! But that's what I'm talking about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1080974/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Joey Naylor</span></b></a>: ...but you didn't prove that vanilla was the
best...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001173/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Nick Naylor</span></b></a>: I didn't have to. I proved that you're wrong,
and if you're wrong I'm right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1080974/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Joey Naylor</span></b></a>: But you still didn't convince me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001173/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Nick Naylor</span></b></a>: It's that I'm not after you. I'm after them.</span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The argument itself is kind of silly, but Nick Naylor brings
up a valid point: You can’t win an argument against one person who thinks
you’re wrong. You need to convince everyone who is listening that you’re right,
even if you never win over the person who you are directly arguing against.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How do you use this information to your advantage? Simple.
When you defend a cappella, don’t do it one-on-one. Make sure you have several
people who listen to your arguments, and even if you convince just one of them
you’re right, that may be enough to turn the tide.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, let’s get to these myths. Detractors of a cappella will
inevitably use these arguments to stop your a cappella train in its tracks.
Here’s how you counter them…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Myth 1- A cappella singing is like pop singing, and pop
singing is bad for you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ummm…no. The principles of pop singing have its roots in
classical singing. In fact, pop singing and classical singing use all of the
same vocal techniques. The only difference is placement.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dr. Erin Hackel, director of Mix, developed her own
procedure for teaching healthy “belting,” which she uses on her two groups at
University of Colorado-Denver. After 5 years, the group can still belt better
than anyone, and no one has ever been harmed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To counter this argument, you need to do some research. Take
a look at books published by Berklee Press, the leader in contemporary vocal
techniques. Dip into the resources of musical theatre singing, which is the
closest technique to popular singing that we have today. Cite professional
groups, like Pentatonix, who “belt” almost every day of the year, and have not
yet been injured on the job. Best of all, use Lady Gaga, who has proven she can
sing classical (Sound of Music), jazz (with Tony Bennett), and pop without
skipping a beat.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In fact, the suggested warm-ups for a cappella groups look
almost exactly the same as classical warm-ups for choirs. Use J.D. Frizzell’s
chapter in the recent book “A cappella” as a guide.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Myth 2- Pop music is not what you should be teaching. You
should be teaching the classics.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Singing popular music has single handedly increased the
enrollment in music programs across the country, thanks to GLEE, Pitch Perfect,
and The Sing-Off.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just because a group sings pop music does not mean that this
is all they will do for the rest of their life. Take a look at two groups in
particular who prove this isn’t the case: The Kings Singers and The Swingles
(formerly The Swingle Singers). The discographies for both groups is as
eclectic as you could possibly get, from Renaissance Madrigals to an entire
album of Beatles songs (which both groups have).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Singing popular music is the “gateway drug.” Get them hooked
on a love of singing, and once they are hooked, then you can slowly introduce
them to the classics. People, especially hormonal teenagers, fear what they don’t
understand, so in your case, Mozart is the enemy until you show them otherwise.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Myth 3- A cappella groups will put a strain on the budget
and/or school resources.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A cappella groups play no instruments, so no money will be
spent. A cappella groups are completely portable, so you can increase
school awareness more easily than you can with a band, because an a cappella
group can perform music literally anywhere, from a street corner to a
“cafetorium.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The challenge comes when your opponent brings up sound
systems as a factor. Yes, a cappella groups eventually need to learn how to
sing on mic, and a speaker system definitely helps increase your volume with
minimal effort. But microphones don’t magically make your group sound better.
Does your a cappella group need microphones? No. Will they eventually need
them? Maybe…it depends on what kind of shows you want to book. But having a
sound system is NOT a make-or-break factor in developing an a cappella
group.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You know who doesn’t use microphones and never will? Every
Barbershop group in the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Myth 4- Arrangements are incredibly difficult to find and/or
purchase, so your group will not have repertoire.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If your school has an auditorium, then it has a performing
license. This license allows you to perform most types of music, including
radio hits, without having to pay royalties. If you arrange a song a cappella,
you can perform it legally and you can charge for your show.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The problem comes when you try to sell the arrangement or
record the song. You don’t own the arrangement, so you can’t sell it legally,
and if you record it and you want to distribute it, you need to buy a
distribution license.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If your school demands that you use only published
arrangements, Deke Sharon’s library is the place to start, and it grows every
month. Alfred music has even started publishing a cappella arrangements that
aren’t by Sharon. And those are 100% legal…assuming you buy the copies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most Barbershop music is also legal to perform/sell/record,
because it falls under public domain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Myth 5- Singing in an a cappella group has no educational
merit, because you learn everything by ear.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, most a cappella groups these days learn music with
learning tracks. But so what? That doesn’t mean your group has to. A cappella
music is still music, and music can be sight-read, regardless of genre. I
actually argue that a cappella music is EASIER to sight-read, because of the
repetition and (often) simple harmony.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A cappella arrangements can also be improvised or written by
ear. This encourages group participation and a strong sense of tonality, all of
which can be reinforced by singing a cappella. Do you know who used to write
their arrangements by ear? Pentatonix.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Myth 6- A cappella is ruining the fabric of music and of our
culture.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, they said the same thing about Elvis and The Beatles.
So…tell them their face is stupid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A cappella can always be a force for good. Take a look at
Jonathan Minkoff’s Singstrong festival, which raises thousands of dollars each
year for the cure for Alzheimer’s disease. He does this with a cappella
concerts, not string quartet concerts.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Myth 7- A cappella music will never have a place in the real
music community.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tell that to Deke Sharon, who sold out Carnegie Hall, TWICE,
with an all a cappella concert.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Myth 8- If students join your a cappella group, they will
drop out of other music ensembles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, most a cappella groups meet after school, not during
the school day, so that shouldn’t be an issue. But if it is, then make a rule
that students need to belong to certain ensembles before they can audition for
the a cappella group. If that lowers the number of auditionees, then so what? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To make a great ensemble, you only need a small number of
people. The Honey Whiskey Trio won the National Harmony sweepstakes competition
with 3 people. Pentatonix had the number one album in the country, and they did
it with 5 people. All you need is a few strong singers, not 15 strong singers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now go out and educate your advocates. The more we make our
case, the more we will win.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Follow The Quest For The A cappella Major:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
twitter.com/docacappella</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
acappellaquest.blogspot.com</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
docacappella.tumblr.com</div>
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Facebook.com/Docacappella</div>
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Docacappella.com</div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-68314924511931743762016-04-04T11:25:00.000-07:002016-04-04T11:26:54.186-07:00Secrets From The Studio<div class="MsoNormal">
A few weeks ago, my group, Satellite Lane, recorded their first
EP with The Vocal Company. While the experience was incredibly worthwhile and
satisfying, there were things we discovered during the recording process that I
wish we had known, which probably would have helped us better prepare for
the weekend. There are also a lot of things I discovered about recording that I
never knew before.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you’re part of a group that has already put out multiple
albums, won multiple CARAs, appeared on many compilations, etc., then this post will
probably not be very helpful. In that case, since you’re already here,
here’s a lovely video of a sloth crossing a road:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES32UFlPOUA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES32UFlPOUA</a></div>
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For those of you struggling to make an album, thinking about
making your first album, or disappointed with the albums you’ve already made,
try these tips on for size…<o:p></o:p></div>
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1) Where you record doesn’t matter…sort of…<o:p></o:p></div>
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We recorded in my mother’s house, in the den. True story.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Do you need a fancy recording booth or lots of heavy
equipment? No. You need a dead room (more on that in a second), a microphone,
an interface, and a laptop. True, those things are still very expensive, but
they are far less expensive than the big machines you probably think you need.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A dead room is any room with little or no echo. Our vocal
percussionsit, Evan Feist, taught me a simple trick for determining dead rooms-
Clap your hands and listen to the echo. If there is no echo, you have a dead
room.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Also be careful that building machines (heating grates, air
conditioners, etc.) aren’t making noise either.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2) The Vocal Company has many microphones.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Not every microphone is built the same. They each use
different materials, different parts, different blueprints, etc. Just like a
different type of car suits a different kind of a driver, a different kind of
microphone suits a different kind of voice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Did you know you can walk into any Sam Ash and try out their
microphones? It’s true. If you’re looking to buy a microphone, try them out and
see which one sounds the best. Do some
research…don’t just buy any microphone and feel like it will work best for
everything you record.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you don’t have the money for several microphones, then
you need to find one that accommodates as many vocal styles as it can. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The microphone I use to record my Docacappella music is an
Audio-Technica AT 4040. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Now that’s not the one Vocal Company uses. They use
something much better and much more expensive. But if you’re looking for a good
overall model that’s not too expensive, I recommend that one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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3) Don’t be afraid to think outside the box .<o:p></o:p></div>
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For one of our tracks, we needed our vocal percussionist to
sound like he was playing a washboard, like in a country jug band. After
several takes of sounds that didn’t quite do it justice, the engineer
suggested chewing an apple and projecting that into the microphone.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hey…whatever works.<o:p></o:p></div>
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4) MIDI matters.<o:p></o:p></div>
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MIDI, or Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is the key to
getting a good track. A MIDI file keeps the singers in tune and is the best way
for the engineer to keep track of what the right and wrong notes are.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I always felt like MIDI tracks were just a guide to help me
stay in tune, nothing more. But after watching our engineer Mel utilize MIDI in
fascinating ways, I realized how important MIDI was to the recording process.
It helped her learn the songs without knowing them in advance, and created a
helpful roadmap for the editor and mixer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To create a MIDI file, you need a notation program like
Finale or Sibelius. You simply input the music into the program and then export
the file as a MIDI file. When you export it, use “Type 1.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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5) Be flexible.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Some people record faster or slower than others. Just
because you make a schedule doesn’t mean you will be able to stick to it. In
fact, there’s a 100% chance you won’t stick to it. Make sure everyone in your
group has extra time blocked off in case things change (which they will…trust
me).<o:p></o:p></div>
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6) The engineer is and isn’t God.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The engineer does not know your music, nor do they know your
arrangements. They are learning this on the fly, so you need someone to be in
the room with them to answer questions they might have. Other than that, you
need to stay out of the engineer’s way. They know how to get the best takes and
how to get the best out of singers. You may want to “direct” the recording, but
believe me, they have it covered.<o:p></o:p></div>
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7) Triple track<o:p></o:p></div>
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Did you know that a cappella groups triple track their
parts? I sure didn’t. What is triple tracking? It’s making sure that every note
sung by each singer has two additional tracks with the same notes. Basically,
everything you sing has to be done three times, so that when they are mixed
together, it creates a “fuller” sound.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’d like to end this post by personally thanking The Vocal
Company for a productive and fun weekend, especially our engineer Mel Daenke.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Marc Silverberg</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Follow the Quest For The A cappella Major:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
twitter.com/docacappella</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
acappellaquest.blogspot.com</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
docacappella.tumblr.com</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
facebook.com/Docacappella</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Docacappella.com</div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-30610657616411252562016-03-09T10:20:00.001-08:002016-03-09T10:20:55.864-08:00Happy (Belated) 4th Birthday!The Quest For The A cappella Major has turned 4 years old! I can finally go to pre-school!<br />
<br />
After working on it for a few years, I'm happy to say that I got myself a birthday present: A brand new website called Docacappella.com!<br />
<br />
Here it is:<br />
<a href="http://www.docacappella.com/">Www.Docacappella.Com</a><br />
<br />
What will you find on this new website? Well, you'll find answers to such questions as...<br />
1) What do you look like when you wear a blue polo shirt?<br />
2) Where can I purchase sheet music to your funny songs?<br />
3) Where can I find awesome a cappella-related websites that don't belong to you?<br />
4) Where can I find educational materials, for free, that I can use in my classroom?<br />
5) Where can I take a really stupid, a cappella-related, quiz?<br />
6) Where can I find links to all of your videos without having to spend the extra 10 seconds searching on Youtube?<br />
7) Where can I find copies of your blog posts, in case I want to re-read them with a gray background?<br />
8) Where can I find a link to a website that lets me adopt penguins?<br />
<br />
Don't worry, this website is not closing down. This is still the main place to read new, and WACKY posts about a cappella education.<br />
<br />
Marc Silverberg<br />
<br />
Follow The Quest For The A cappella Major:<br />
Twitter.com/Docacappella<br />
Acappellaquest.blogspot.com<br />
Docacappella.tumblr.com<br />
Facebook.com/Docacappella (NEW!!!)<br />
Docacappella.com (NEW!!!)<br />
<br />Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-7340901173083465772016-03-02T11:29:00.003-08:002016-03-02T11:35:37.249-08:00Sight-Reading Is Stupid<div class="MsoNormal">
Before you freak out over the title, let me put this into
context…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I teach four semesters of sight-singing (not at the same
time) at Five Towns College. I also direct an a cappella ensemble, for credit. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The a cappella ensemble is a non-auditioned choir. By the
laws of the school, I’m not allowed to audition for it (don’t ask…long story)
so anyone can register and start singing a cappella. This is actually a great
way to promote a cappella, and it gets as many people singing as possible, but the
quality suffers in specific ways. For most of these ensemble members, the black
dots on the page are just that: black dots. They can’t read music at all.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One day, a student comes up to me after rehearsal and asks: “Why
do you make us sight-read when we’re clearly going to learn the notes by ear
anyway?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My answer: “Because you are getting a music degree in a
music school and you should be able to learn how to sight-read.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His response: “I’m a film major. (Yes we have those too...) I’m in this group because I
enjoy singing, but I don’t know how to sight read and I will never use that
skill.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My response: “You don’t think sight-reading is a valuable
skill for musicians?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His response: “Sight-reading is stupid.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This begs the question…is sight singing a valuable tool for all
a cappella singers?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s discuss…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1) Yes, you idiot. Sight singing is important.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s pretend that you meet a scientist on the street. You
ask him/her what they do, and he/she says “I’m a rocket scientist.” Then you
ask him/her if they know the periodic tables, and he/she says “No…what’s that?”
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You’d probably think he/she wasn’t a very good rocket
scientist, right?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The same goes for professional musicians. If you are going
to graduate with a music degree, you better know the ins and outs of music to
survive in this dog-eat-dog world. That includes being able to sight-read.
There are numerous advantages to sight-reading:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-Sight-reading helps you learn music faster and more
efficiently, thus giving you more time to work on expressive musical attributes<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-Sight-reading helps you tune chords, because you know what
note you are currently singing within the harmonic structure<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-Sight-reading helps you identify pitches that are
incorrectly sung/played by other members of the ensemble<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-The ability to sight-read will give you an edge over other
musicians who cannot learn music as quickly as you can<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think the reason more people don’t know how to sight-read
is because of three factors: A lack of consistency, a poor sight-singing
method, and a “why should I care about this?” attitude.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Consistency simply means that we, as educators, don’t
reinforce these skills enough. Now, this does not apply to many music
educators, including a cappella friends of mine, who I know for a fact
incorporate sight-reading into every lesson. But how many of us have forgone
the day’s sight-reading lesson because the winter concert is coming up and we are
pressed for time? That small gap snowballs into a bigger absence of
sight-reading. Sure you forget to do it one day, and then maybe two days, and
then maybe three days…sooner or later you haven’t done a sight-reading lesson
in months and picking it back up again is too difficult because you’re not even
sure where you left off.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A poor method is the one I blame the most for a lack of
sight-reading practice. I HATE sight-singing books. All of them. Berkowitz,
Ottman, Melodia, Bauguess…in my mind, all these books, on their own, are
terrible. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve found that to really train a class in sight-reading,
you need to give them multiple examples of the same concept. These books
introduce new concepts too quickly, without leaving time for a student to
master the previous concepts. For example, maybe a chapter that introduces<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> a </span>DO-SOL skip will have two or three melodies
with that particular jump. Then all of a sudden, the book starts adding in new concepts to the next
few melodies OR they put it in a different clef OR they put it in a difficult
time signature…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I introduce my sight-singing classes to a new concept,
new interval, etc. I give them 24-32 examples (you read that correctly) before adding something new to
their plate. Granted, that’s easier to do when the entire class period is just devoted
to sight-singing, but the same method holds true for choral classes. If you
want your students to master something, you need to give them a lot of practice
first.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Speaking of practice, I have found that when approaching a
new melody, the students often stare at the example like a deer in headlights.
Why? Because I’m asking them to read complicated rhythms PLUS use solfege
words PLUS sing the correct pitches in tune. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The most success I’ve had teaching sight-reading is with a
method I developed. We practice this method in class with every new concept
until the students feel comfortable enough to skip a few steps in the method
and go straight to singing the example. I call it the “7 steps method.” (And
the award for most clever name of anything goes to…)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 1- Write the numeric counts out for the rhythms above
each note.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is so they understand which rhythms fall on the beat
and which ones fall on upbeats.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 2- Read the counts out loud, in tempo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Use a metronome. This is non-negotiable.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 3- Speak the rhythm on a neutral syllable while
counting in your head.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
DON’T CLAP RHYTHMS. You can’t hold claps out. Clapping a
whole note sounds exactly like clapping a quarter note with three rests.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 4- Write the correct solfege for each note under the
staff.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Solfege requires its own mental process, as it is a musical
language. This needs to be isolated until the students can speak the language
fluently.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 5- Speak the solfege in rhythm, in tempo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 6- WITHOUT rhythm, sing the example, one note at a
time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Go through the example and hold each note. Make sure the
students understand what each interval jump sounds like and don’t let them move
onto the next one until they sing it perfectly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Step 7-Sing the example, using correct pitches, correct
rhythms, and solfege.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This method helps isolate each obstacle in sight-reading. Obviously,
the goal is to eventually eliminate some or all of the steps until step 7 is
the only one they need.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are going to use a sight-singing textbook…I’M BEGGING
YOU... find multiple textbooks and use multiple examples, OR write your own. Don’t move on to the
next concept until the students have mastered the first one.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The third factor, that students often wonder why they even need sight-reading, is its own challenge…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2) No you idiot. I don’t need no stinkin' sight-reading.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 2013, I attended the a cappella festival Singstrong DC,
where one of the big headliners was Maxx Factor, the female barbershop quartet featured on The Sing-Off, and, at the time, the number one ranked barbershop
quartet in the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During a Q&A session, they were asked the following
question by someone in the audience:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How do you learn music? Do you know how to sight-read?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Their answer was (and I’m paraphrasing here):<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We learn everything by ear. None of us read music. We learn
our notes with learning tracks or someone teaches it to us and we work solely
on musicality.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This answer got me thinking…If the number one ranked
barbershop quartet didn’t know how to read music, then why did any of my students
have to?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Take a look around your choir. How many of those students do
you think will go to college/grow up to be musicians in some capacity? Unless
you teach at a very specific school, the answer is definitely not 100%.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why are we teaching students, who will most likely never
sing again once they graduate school, to sight-read? Better yet, since most
college a cappella groups are partly made up of non-musicians who don’t know
how to sight-read anyway, why do we care so much?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The argument against sight-reading is this: Music is much
more than black dots on a page. Notes and rhythms are important, but we spend
too much time on them. What we should be doing is working on everything else,
from dynamics to articulations to lyrical meaning to emotional expressions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If your group learns much faster by ear than it does trying
to read, then that shouldn’t bother you or anyone else.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
True, sight-reading speeds up the note learning process
significantly. That just can’t be argued, but it takes an incredible amount of
time to teach a skill like that. And to teach someone who, after they graduate,
will never use that skill again…that doesn’t make sense to me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a former high school choir director, I was much more
focused on getting kids to enjoy music than worrying so much about the musical
skills that most of them will probably never use. I wanted them to realize
there was a world of great music out there that wasn’t popular radio hits, and
that often took so much time and convincing that sight-reading was not even on
my radar. Plus, I worked mainly on vocal technique.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you believe that sight-reading is important, then great. Go
forth and multiply. As a college professor who teaches four semesters of
sight-singing, I agree that sight-singing is absolutely vital…to anyone who
wants to be a musician. The rest of us who sing in a cappella groups for the
fun of it…here are some learning tracks you can use. And there's nothing wrong with that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Marc Silverberg<o:p></o:p></div>
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Follow The Quest For The A cappella Major:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Twitter.com/docacappella<o:p></o:p></div>
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Acappellaquest.blogspot.com<o:p></o:p></div>
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Docacappella.tumblr.com<o:p></o:p></div>
Marc Silverberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17087166260682168316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187271665081218600.post-31877737239475592742016-02-22T09:12:00.000-08:002016-02-22T14:38:22.412-08:00Theory For Arrangers<div class="MsoNormal">
One reader of the blog emailed me the following question:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m an aspiring a cappella arranger. However, I never
learned any music theory. What should I learn in order to make decent
arrangements?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Excellent question! First of all, Holy Crap! Someone actually reads my blog!<br />
<br />
Hopefully, the following options will
give you enough to go on:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1) My Humble Opinion:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you're doing your very first arrangement, you can probably skip over a few things.<br />
<br />
When I arrange, here are the skills I feel like I rely on
the most:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A. The letter names of each line and space on both the
treble and bass clef<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
B. All 12 major and minor key signatures- What they look
like and how each line and space on the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
staff is affected.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C. The ability to spell out each major and minor (natural
and harmonic) scale on staff paper<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
D. The triads built from each major and minor scale<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
E. An understanding of meters<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
F. Being able to write rhythms, from whole notes to
sixteenth notes, in each meter<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
G. Being able to recognize the chords of a song, and being
able to spell them out on a staff<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, this list looks like a LOT of stuff, and admittedly, it
is. However, this is the bare bones of music theory. I’m skipping over major
chapters including:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A. Secondary Dominants<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
B. Jazz Harmonies (Although I use lots of jazz harmonies in my arrangements, you probably don't </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
want to start with this until you get a few arrangements under your belt)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C. Non-Chord Tones<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
D. Four-Part Writing (You need this too...Thanks Deke for showing me the way...)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
E. Cadences<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And SO MUCH MORE<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So…how do I learn this stuff if there isn’t someone to teach
me?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2) Learning Theory<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Obviously, the best way to learn theory is to take a theory
course. When that isn’t available, there are other alternatives.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have a real problem with online instruction. Most online
courses describe things in very detailed ways, but I’m a hands-on learner. I
only learn when I repetitively do something. That being said, try to avoid
theory books that don’t have practical exercises and online courses that don’t
have instructor feedback. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With that in mind, here are some hands-on resources that can
teach you theory while also making you practice theory:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Musictheory.net (Website)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
www.musictheory.net<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emusictheory.com (Website)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
http://www.emusictheory.com<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Theory Lessons (Smartphone App)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/theory-lessons/id493157418?mt=8<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Music Theory For Beginners (Smartphone App)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/music-theory-for-beginners/id435161137?mt=8<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If none of these work, you could simply Google “learn music
theory.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3) Study The Greats<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Igor Stravinsky, one of the greatest composers in music
history said the following:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good composers write. Great composers steal.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you want to be great, you need to study the greats. There
are actually a lot of a cappella arrangements online for free- Deke Sharon’s
website, totalvocal.com has many. The A cappella Educators Association also has
a few. Plus, you can purchase most existing arrangements that you hear on BOCA,
SING, or Voices Only.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even people who know theory, like myself, often find
inspiration (a.k.a “steal”) from other arrangements. The only way you get
better is to add to your ongoing collection of tricks in your arsenal.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But when you study an arrangement, don’t just copy effects.
Really look at how the chords are voiced. Study the horizontal line of each
part. You can copy a chord no problem, but if the space between voices isn’t
right, you will only be making it worse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4) Baby’s First Arrangement<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The quickest way to learn a cappella arranging is to
transcribe a cappella arrangements. What does transcribe mean? It means
listening to something and writing it down, note by note.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, notice that I said quickest, but not easiest.
Transcription is not easy. In fact, it’s one of the hardest musical skills to
master. But NOTHING will teach you more about music more thoroughly than
transcription, because transcription trains both your ears and your brain. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The problem with transcription is that you have to be able
to notate music in some form. For transcription to work, you’ll need to be able
to do these things:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A. Know the letter names of each line on the treble and bass
clef staff<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
B. Know the major and minor scales of all 12 keys and their
key signatures<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C. Be able to write rhythms in any meter, from whole note
rhythms to sixteenth note rhythms.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still challenging, yes. But a lot easier than the first list
I wrote.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5) Theory Is Stupid<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having interviewed multiple, very successful a cappella
arrangers for my dissertation, one pattern started to emerge: Many successful a
cappella arrangers do everything by ear, and nothing by Finale or Sibelius. In
fact, they use Pro Tools, record the parts by singing them, and then transfer
those files to someone who can decode them. This is not to suggest they don't know theory. In fact, these arrangers DO know quite a bit of theory. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If they can do it by ear why can’t you? Theory is
an obstacle- one that you may be willing to cross, but maybe not. I say in every
improvisation workshop I teach, “If someone asks you about music theory, tell
them to shut up.” If you have the ear and you have the mind, theory could
actually be a hindrance to you instead of a helper.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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To find out if you do need theory, try this simple test: Use
one of the many audio programs (Loopy, Audacity, Pro Tools, Logic, Garageband)
and try improvising an arrangement of a verse and/or chorus. If you really like
what you did, then you could probably get away with less theory. If you hate
it, then theory is your friend, not your enemy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Marc Silverberg</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Follow The Quest For The A cappella Major:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Twitter.com/docacappella<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Acappellaquest.blogspot.com<o:p></o:p></div>
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