Why Veronica Mars Matters

Yesterday, I talked about the return of the Sing-Off. Today, I’m going to do something totally different…talk about the Sing-Off.

For years, my faith in the broadcast networks was shaky at best. I would fall in love with a new television show and then find out it was cancelled after three episodes. I’m the kind of person who can’t watch something if I know it never reaches a finite conclusion. (like Alphas or Pushing Daisies, both of which I stopped watching after hearing of their cancellation)

And like an obsessive fanboy, I get mad when these shows go off the air. I get mad enough to go on some crazy internet commenting spree, posting angry letters to the network on a website where I know no one will ever see them.

Such is the fate that befell the Sing-Off, and despite the a cappella community’s assurance that even getting the Sing-Off to television was a victory, it still felt like a loss.

The same story happened many years before the Sing-Off, to a wonderful show called Veronica Mars. I watched it because everyone raved about it. I fell in love with it, and it got cancelled, mainly due to the combination of two low-rated networks into the CW. (and the terrible ratings)

But as luck would have it, the Sing-Off has returned. And in an even more amazing twist of fate, Veronica Mars made entertainment history by funding a new movie project entirely on Kickstarter…They raised TWO MILLION dollars in ELEVEN HOURS.

It made me hopeful. It made me believe that despite our complete lack of control over which shows survive and which shows get cancelled, someone, somewhere, is looking out for us, and listening to the fans more than the powerful producers.

You’re probably wondering where all of this is going…I tend to draw parallels between the pop culture world and the a cappella community. I tend to let the real world events of today shape my philosophical views of a cappella music. I was stunned (STUNNED) to hear the Sing-Off was returning, but even more shocked (STUNNED…I mean…SHOCKED) to hear that Veronica Mars was making a triumphant return.

There will be people in this world who tell you that you can’t succeed in the a cappella world. There will be people who tell you that your a cappella group is not good enough to compete in the big leagues. There will be people who think they know more than you, because they have the experience and all you have is the dream.

They are wrong.

A dream is more powerful than twenty years of experience. Don’t misunderstand me…to achieve your dreams, you must work harder than you’ve ever worked in your life. You must study and practice. You must become a perfectionist. You must learn from those who already succeed. You must develop a higher order of thinking. You must become something more than average or ordinary. You must become extraordinary.

But what the return of the Sing-Off and the history making Veronica Mars Kickstarter campaign teaches us is…when the big boys told us we couldn’t have what we wanted, we proved them wrong. Even years after our dream was “killed,” we resurrected it.

This past week has showed us that no dream is ever truly dead, and if we want something bad enough, we can have it. That’s why Veronica Mars matters.

Oh…and it’s a darn good show. That helps too…

Marc Silverberg

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http://www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-why-veronica-mars-matters

When Singing Pigs Fly

The Sing-Off…a relic of our former mainstream a cappella days, has miraculously returned!

I’d like to think that this was karma’s way of paying me back for making me fat, but really, it’s because a cappella has gotten a lot more popular over the last two years.

Yes, it’s true ladies and gentlemen. NBC has brought the series back and auditions are posted online now.

But there’s always that small demon in your ear that’s saying…

Is it back for good? Are we going to get multiple seasons or just one more?

Speaking as someone who has zero hours of professional television experience, but millions of hours watching television eating potato chips, here’s my opinion on how the Sing-Off can stay for good from a purely outside perspective.

1) Find a happy medium season

Season 1 was four episodes long and aired in mid-December. Season 2 was 6 episodes long. Season 3 took some steroids and upped its game to 16 episodes.

You see the problem? 1 and 2 were too short. 3 was too long. We want to remember our favorites but get to the ending without overtaxing it.

2) Mondays are stupid.

The Sing-off was up against the CBS comedy block powerhouse, Fox Network’s House, and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.

And we still pulled in 3-5 million viewers!

Obviously, that wasn’t enough to save the show from cancellation. But if NBC makes the wrong scheduling call, we are just going to run into the same problem again. NBC, here’s what you need to do. Either put the show in a time slot where it isn’t going to mangled by the competition, or consider the fact that 3-5 million viewers is a SIGNIFICANT win. (Plus, it outperformed “Whitney” which is the worst show ever, but NBC renewed it and no one is really sure why)

3) Vary the challenges.

It was clear to me (at least) that after 10 episodes of season 3, the show was starting to run out of ideas for song categories.

Couldn’t we try competing with GLEE? Couldn’t you do a Broadway night? A comedy night? An indie night? A salute to Hollywood night? A television theme song night? A “take this really popular song and flip it upside down on its head” night?

Couldn’t you bring in guest mentors? Add some star power to the show?

I loved the final episode, when the groups performed with the judges. Do more of that.

4) Nick

Nick Lachey takes a lot on the chin. But from the stories I’ve heard, he works really hard and I respect that. Which means the problem doesn’t lie with him, it lies with whoever writes his material.

So to the writers…Please stop using terms like “Rapappella.” That’s not a thing, and Urban Method didn’t invent it (mastered it yes, invented it no). Please stop saying “swan song,” or at least vary it with something else. Please stop complimenting groups on how they “do all that with just their mouths.”

5) Give groups their due

I’m a big fan of Afro Blue. I’m a big fan of Ben Folds. But I did not like Ben Folds critique of Afro Blue, when during their rendition of “American Boy,” they added a musical quotation of “American The Beautiful.” I thought it was brilliant, and it sounded fantastic.

Not every group is going to be full of pop superstars. I know this is a television show, and ratings are the priority. But I also believe that being different sells. I felt like Afro Blue kept getting shut down week after week for their jazz style and, having seen Afro Blue in person before they were on the Sing-Off, they are at the pinnacle of vocal jazz a cappella.

6) Show me something new

Here’s an idea…show us a live riff-off. Even if it’s staged and rehearsed. Show us that it can be done and more people will want to do it.

Bring back more guest groups. Every week, give us a “host” group who performs one or two numbers. Show us that these former groups still exist and groups that aren’t on the Sing-off are just as successful.

Let groups play with costumes and lights. Make the groups do something more dramatic.

Like it or not, The Sing-Off is back with a vengeance. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Marc Silverberg

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http://www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-when-singing-pigs-fly

Improv-a-palooza

Improvisation is not only one of the nine national standards of music education, but I believe it could be the next evolutionary step in contemporary a cappella music.

Similar to musical skills such as sight-reading, dictation, sight-singing, and technical playing, improvisation is a skill that must be nurtured and practiced regularly. For too long, we choral teachers have attempted to improvise with our students on rare occasion, only to be met with failure, fear, or ignorance.

I suggest examining these ten steps to encourage group and solo improvisation.

1) Jump Right In!

In recent blog posts, I’ve outlined some improvisation games that can be played with absolutely no prior improvisation knowledge or practice. You can find them here:

http://acappellaquest.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-compete-in-riff-off-pa...

To demonstrate just how much fun improvisation can be, it is encouraged that you start with these simple games in order to motivate your students to learn more about improvisation.

2) Tear down the walls

Why are we afraid to improvise? To overcome the fear, we must understand the basis of the fear.

- Improvisation is much more difficult for a singer, since we do not have “buttons to push.” If a piano player wants a “C,” he or she pushes the button for a “C.” If a vocalist wants a “C,” he or she must know the key beforehand and find the “C” as it is relative to the tonic note.

- Improvisation is primarily thought of as a “jazz only” idiom. Singers believe that unless they intend to sing jazz music, they do not need to learn the skill of improvisation.

- Most colleges, music festivals, and organizations do not require improvisation to be an “essential musical skill” needed for entry.

3) Encourage groups of all sizes to improvise

Large Group Improvisation games

1. Call and Response
a. Begin a repetitive chord progression on the piano or with a circle song.
b. Choose one student to be the “leader.” He or she sings a short improvised riff over the chord progression and the ensemble immediately repeats it.

2. Sound Wall
a. Teach the entire ensemble a short, melodic phrase. Sing it several times until they are comfortable with it.
b. Ask each student to sing the melodic phrase, but at any speed or rhythm. They cannot deviate from the notes or the order of the phrase. They can only speed up or slow down the time. This will create a giant “wall of sound.”

4) Eliminate the fear of doing it alone

“Leave me alone, I’m improvising!” game.

1. Everyone stands up and finds an individual space in the room.
2. The teacher plays a recording of a song with a repetitive chord progression.
3. While moving around the room slowly, students begin freely improvising over the recording as quietly as possible. This gives each student the chance to explore long form improvisation without the fear of being embarrassed.

5) Figure out when to incorporate improvisation during your rehearsal.

You wouldn’t spend an entire lesson on sight-reading, so why spend an entire lesson on improvisation? Play one game a day, every day, as part of your warm-up exercises. A cappella groups who tend not to warm-up their voices (which is bad…) should try and play two improvisation games per rehearsal.

6) Develop an improvisation pay-off.

Why are you improvising? Just for the sake of improvising? That’s not enough motivation to get your group to do it every day. Try these goals:

1. Program a song in your concert repertoire that includes an improvisation solo
2. Do a live improvisation on stage or ask the audience to participate in a circle song
3. Train your group for a RIFF-OFF!!!

7) Relate improvisation to the national standards of music

A. Standard 1- Singing alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
1. Vary the genres of improvisation. Try a pop progression, a jazz progression, a classical progression, a blues progression, etc.

B. Standard 3- Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments
1. Teach your students a familiar melody and have each one change it slightly, either tonally or rhythmically.

C. Standard 4- Composing and arranging music with specified guidelines
1. Develop an improvisation that frames the base for a composition assignment.

D. Standard 5- Reading and notating music
1. Use improvisation to draw connections between chord progressions in popular music.

E. Standard 6- Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
1. Listen to recordings of popular vocal improvisers and follow along with the chord progressions. Discuss any motives developed or recognizable patterns.

F. Standard 7- Evaluating music and music performances
1. Compare and contrast improvisations from different vocalists on the same tune or chord progression.

G. Standard 8- Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts
1. Interpret abstract symbols as sound effects
2. Develop a story through sounds
3. Improvise lyrics or lines of poetry

8) Improvise Chord Progressions
http://acappellaquest.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-compete-in-riff-off-pa...

9) Train for a riff-off
http://acappellaquest.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-compete-in-riff-off-pa...

10) Develop the solo improviser

Several books have been written that provide aspiring improvisers with exercises designed to improve “hearing and singing” the chord changes.
Bob Stoloff- Scat!
Bob Stoloff- Vocal Improvisation
Michele Weir- Vocal Improvisation

I will be holding improvisation workshops at the ACDA National Convention in Dallas this weekend and BOSS in April. Let’s improvise together!

Marc Silverberg

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http://www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-improv-palooza

Mash-up vs. Medley

I think we misunderstand the definition of a mash-up and a medley. These two musical forms are a cappella’s bread and butter (mmm…butter), but what exactly do they mean? What separates a mash-up from a medley, and where did they first appear?

What is a medley?

The term “medley” refers to a collection of songs, performed together as one complete musical composition or work.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when medleys first appeared. My best educational guess (and it is a guess…) would be the musical form of Beethoven’s Ninth symphony. In the fourth movement, each of the three previous themes are played, and then quickly rejected in lieu of a fourth and final melody. (The famous "Ode To Joy.") The overture to Broadway musicals is a good example of an early medley, as each overture seeks to play the familiar songs of the show, one right after the other.

Here’s what makes a medley great (in my humble opinion):

1) Creativity of connection.

I’m sure if you are a singer, you have probably performed the famous choral medley of Les Miserables (arranged by Ed Lojeski). The connection between each song is clear- all selections are from the show. Another simple connection is by artist- “Four or five songs sung by Adele” is a popular one.

When I hear a medley, I’d like to believe the songs have a deeper connection than artist or genre. I once heard a medley of songs that had to do with the term “Mother Earth.” (It was at this previous year’s Sojam, performed by "Mix.")

Another time, I heard a medley of seemingly unrelated songs connected by a story. The entire medley was connected by the tune “Happy Birthday,” and each selection began with a different age, progressing from 5 to 100, as if the subject of the medley was growing older with each passing song.

The point is, the strength of a creative medley rests on the connection between songs. A medley of songs by [artist], a medley of songs by [genre], or a medley of songs about [topic] just doesn’t satisfy me anymore, considering how many medleys I’ve heard in my lifetime.

2) Transition

One reason I hate writing medleys is the problem of transitions. How do you go from one song to the next and make it as interesting or smooth as possible? Do you stop completely? Do you write two measures of original music that change tempo and/or key? Do you sing two songs together, fading out from one and fading into the other?

A clean set of transitions shows off the arranger’s musical prowess. I often judge a medley based on how smooth it is, and how easily it transitions into the next song.

3) Climax

A good medley shouldn’t just contain a bunch of seemingly related songs. You need to think of a medley as a whole musical composition. It needs to start with a bang, end with a bang, and go through various phases in between. The next time you compose a medley, structure the medley like you would an a cappella set: You wouldn’t put your weakest song last, you wouldn’t sing two very similar songs back to back, and you wouldn’t ignore the overall arc of the show.

What is a mash-up?

Okay. Let’s get this out of the way first: GLEE did not invent the term “Mash-up.” I will give it some credit…it definitely popularized the phrase and introduced it to the scholastic masses in a whole new way, but musical artists, including a cappella groups have been singing mash-ups for years before GLEE was on the air.

The term mash-up implies combining one or more songs simultaneously to create a completely new musical composition. The key difference here is the word simultaneous.

Mash-ups have appeared as early as contemporary classical music. The birth of electronic music made it possible for musicians to take pre-recorded sounds and combine them into a new musical composition. In fact, musicians like the famous Frank Zappa were using multiple sound sources in his compositions before the genre of techno became popular. Another popular mash-up (before GLEE) was a song from Linkin Park and Jay-Z called “Numb/Encore.”

When you compose an a cappella mash-up, you need to consider these factors to stay true to the form and produce a quality composition:

1) Is it really a mash-up?

Let’s say you are doing a mash-up of (what’s the most random combination of songs possible…) “Surfin’ Bird” and “Locked out of Heaven.” (Ahh…randomness…)

Does each song get equal representation within the entire composition? Is there a moment when both songs are performed at the same time? Is your arranger showing off his/her musical prowess by combining these songs in a new interesting way?

If the answer is NO to any or most of these questions, you are NOT singing a mash-up.

It’s more than likely possible you are doing a musical quotation. For example, let’s say you’ve chosen “Locked out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars. About halfway through the song, you suddenly, and inexplicably, break into “Surfin Bird.” Then, as suddenly as it came, it’s gone, and you are back to Bruno Mars.

This is NOT a mash-up. This is a song with an extra musical quotation. I’m not saying this is bad…by all means, let your creativity freak flag fly…but calling it a mash-up is incorrect. A mash-up would be if you introduced one song, introduced the other, and then combined them for a totally new musical experience. Or, you switched between them as fast as if they were on two different radio stations, and then combined them at the end. Or throughout the entire Bruno Mars song, “Surfin’ Bird” made dramatic and prevalent appearances, fading in and out.

2) Are you doing the actual work?

To compose a masterful mash-up, the arranger must find the musical link between two or more seemingly unrelated songs. Sometimes, this task can be too easy.

For example, take the BOCA 2006 track “Crazy Train” by the UNC Clef Hangers. They start with Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train and smoothly merge into the Lil’ Jon remix, and then back into Ozzy.

Would I call this a mash-up? No. (I’m not saying this is a fantastic recording…because it’s one of my all time favorite BOCA tracks.)If you combine two songs that share so much of the same familiar material, half of the mash-up work is done for you. A mash-up combines two seemingly unrelated songs into a new musical composition.

Sure, these songs need to have some familiar musical material, like a similar chord progression, or melodic content. But using the same backing tracks for the original and a remix does not make a mash-up.

3) Is it actually a medley?

The most common misconception is that a mash-up is like a medley, but only has two songs instead of three or more. This is untrue. A mash-up does exactly what the name says- it mashes up two songs. Think of these songs as two large pieces of meat. Put them in a grinder (mmm…ground meat) and something new comes out, a new meat product where it is almost impossible to tell where each separate element begins and ends. This is a true mash-up.

Singing only two songs back to back is not a mash-up. Quoting a completely different song in the middle of a longer song is not a mash-up. Singing the original and then the remix of a song is not a mash-up.

The criteria for a mash-up and a medley should not be how many songs are included, but how specifically they are used. Can a mash-up occur within a medley? Sure. Can a medley occur within a mash-up? Ummm…I’ve never heard it, but I suppose so.

While there is no definitive rule on what constitutes a standard medley or mash-up, we can recognize some differences between the two, and appreciate when someone uses the terms correctly. Make absolutely sure which one you are singing before you mislabel the song.

Marc Silverberg

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http://www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-mash-vs-medley

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose...Right?

The Quarter-final rounds of the ICCAs are almost over. Dreams have been fulfilled...and shattered. Tears have been shed. Voices have been lost. Complaints have been tweeted.

I’d like to draw your attention to a television show that illustrates this point very well, one that I’m sure you’ve criminally never watched, Friday Night Lights. The basic premise revolves around a high school football team and the ENORMOUS pressure they are put under to win.

Without spoiling anything (seriously…go watch this show…) I almost feel as if there are a cappella groups out there who put this kind of pressure on themselves, or receive pressure from their peers to take home the ICCA gold. (Why are you still reading this blog…the show is FREE on Netflix)

Let’s do the unthinkable and start a dialogue…Is it better to compete or not to compete? (Kyle Chandler won an Emmy...go watch him be awesome)

1) If I were to invent an equation that would equal success in a competition, it would be the following:

(Drive to win) + (Hunger for success) + (Diligent work ethic) + (Visually stunning) + (Priority given to musicality) + (Group cohesiveness) + (Dumb luck)= WIN!

Unfortunately, this is the equation I tend to see at competitions:

(Hunger for success) + (Dumb Luck)= Praying for the win

This is a complicated equation, and some groups have still never found the ICCA success they’ve been looking for. The point is, if you want to win, your set must reflect this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

The equation for success
Pro- This could really motivate your group to advance to the next level
Con- If your group is happier not competing, then this equation could be your group’s downfall.

2) The Next Step

Nobody tends to think past the immediate competition, but it’s a very important decision and for an obsessive-compulsive like me, the next step is key. There are three possible outcomes:

Outcome 1- You win a quarter-final or semi-final competition.

Congrats! You won! Now what…

You have to know that the next step will be twice as difficult as the last. Winning the quarter-finals means you’ll now be competing against…winners of the quarter-finals, so your “A game” needs to go to an "A+ game." Take the judges comments seriously. They are only trying to motivate you.

Outcome 2- You win the final round.

Congrats! You are the champions! Now what…

Does it make sense to go and defend your title? What did winning the whole competition do for your career? Your credibility? Did it help you reach new heights of musicality? Did you make life-long friends? Did you book bigger and better gigs? Couldn’t you have done all those things without winning the ICCAs?

From my perspective, the title of champion really only comes with one great prize…pride. ICCA champion doesn’t get you a record deal, a significant cash prize, or a legion of fans who will swear you are the greatest. It gives you an internal prize- one that lets you bask in your hard work, team unity, and school pride.

Outcome 3- You lose.

Okay. You’ve lost…Now what?

Let’s say for a moment that the ICCA was your single, motivating goal for the last few months. Now the competition is over and there’s nothing new on the horizon. What do you do? Give up and call the semester a wash?

NO!

You learn from it. You analyze what you did right and what you did wrong. And you keep singing.

Does losing hurt? As someone who has lost a lot, I can say with experience that yes, it hurts. No one is denying you the chance to be hurt, angry, sad, etc.

But you need to let it go and you need to use it as fuel for the fire. Losing a competition shouldn’t create rivalries, bitter feelings, or shame. You are singing a cappella music. You are participating in the single greatest form of musical expression (in my opinion) EVER! You are part of the evolution that will one day be studied and documented. Regardless of how well you did or how well you didn’t do, no one can take away the fact that you are a worthwhile musician.

The moral here is, whether you win or lose, the competition should teach you something about working hard, singing beautifully, and improving your performance. If the only drive to win is to “bathe in blood of your defeated adversaries,” maybe competing is not for you.

The outcome of the competition
Pro- You could learn your most valuable lesson from either winning or losing.
Con- Losing sucks, plain and simple.

3) Develop a Thick Shell

Now we come to the hard question…How harsh should judges be at competitions?

Here’s my opinion. If you are going to put yourself out there to compete in a national competition, whether it be the ICCAs, the ICHSAs, the Harmony Sweeps, American Idol, X-Factor, The Voice, etc., then you have to be able to be criticized harshly.

Judges can sometimes be harsh and mean. But beneath the scathing comments, there are some very useful suggestions. Remember, this is a competition. And like a football game (have you watched the show yet?) there is a winner and a loser. And the spirit of competition sometimes gets the better of us, to the point where we let our emotions overtake the rationality that we were just not ready to win.

There is a stark difference between reality singing shows and a cappella competitions. Television shows don’t care about fair. They care about ratings. They will deliberately put someone on camera who sings off key, because they know you will be talking about it the next day. So if we watch enough of these shows, we begin to make the connection that losing a competition means we’re only as talented as the off-key singer whom everyone is laughing at.

But this is totally untrue. A cappella competitions are not televised. Ratings don’t matter. And speaking from experience, the producers care if you have a good time, because in the end, the evolution of a cappella music is all we really care about. Just because you get some negative critique does not mean you are ever being laughed at, mocked, or degraded.

Criticism
Pro- Competitions give you the necessary feedback to improve your overall group.
Con- Negative criticism hurts, and it takes years of experience and patience to read between the lines of negativity to find the constructive critique.

There are pros and cons to competition. The next time you compete, think about all the factors in advance. And watch Friday Night Lights.

Marc Silverberg

Follow the Quest for the A cappella Major
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http://www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-clear-eyes-full-hearts-cant-loseright

Dear Do...where are you?

The more I rehearse, the more I arrange, the more I direct, I notice a pattern in the mistakes. It’s so simple that it’s staring me in the face, and I still ignore it time and time again, because I fail to recognize that this mistake is probably the cause of every wrong note for the next few measures.

Is it because the person who sings that part doesn’t know the notes? No.
Is it because the words are tripping them up? No.
Is it because the breath is not big enough? No.

It’s because they can’t find their first note.

I think sometimes we assume too much of our singers. Let’s examine the rehearsal process.

Most likely, each section learns the notes on their own, and they learn them section by section until they believe they have the entire song down.

Then the group puts the whole thing together, and it’s a complete and total disaster.

Wait a minute…didn’t you just spend a half hour going over these notes? What happened? Did you forget them? What are you…stupid?

No. That’s not it. Your singers are not stupid. The note-learning process is probably flawed. And the reason it’s flawed is because:

1) They have no idea where “Do” is.

Most a cappella groups learn by rote. It’s rare that a member, or several members of an a cappella group can pick up a piece of music and sight-read it on the first try. And if they can, everyone stares at them as if they are radioactive.

The skill required to find “Do” (or whichever note is the “home base” for the piece) is a skill in which music educator Edwin Gordon refers to as “Audiation.”

This is not a real word. Try typing it into a word-processing program and it will yell at you.

Gordon coined this terminology to mean:

“Hearing an comprehending in one’s mind the sound of music that is not or may never have been physically present. It is neither imitation nor memorization.” (Gordon)

For our purposes, it means hearing the “home base” note, even if it does not presently exist. The key to sight reading is always knowing where the “home base” note is and being able to understand the distance between your note and the “home base” note. (assuming you are not singing the “home base” note)

I’ve found myself altering my arrangements to fit the needs of the group, because I know that some singers simply can’t find “LA” if their last note was “MI.” That’s incredibly constricting for an arranger and the arrangement doesn’t sound as exciting, regardless of how much energy the group puts into it.

The next time you encounter a section of the music that forces everyone to find a new and unfamiliar note, take a healthy amount of time to make sure everyone is comfortable with finding that note. Make them hold it. Make them sing the note before and the note after. Reset the key, start from two measures before and hold it again. Chances are, the phrase is out of tune because someone is not starting on the correct pitch.

2) Your singers are unfamiliar with how they fit inside the chord.

Here’s a likely scenario. The baritone part has three F’s in a row. It’s a really simple part and everyone feels like they should be able to sing it without any difficulty. So the first two F’s go by fine and then…all of a sudden…the third chord goes out of tune. Naturally, the music director blames someone other than the baritones, because they are singing the same note over and over, so it can’t be their fault.

Ahh…but here’s the secret…In the first two chords, the baritones were holding an F in an F major chord (so they were holding the root) and then a B-flat major chord. (so they were holding the fifth.) In the third chord, their F was actually the seventh of the G dominant seventh chord. Suddenly, their F has a completely different harmonic function and everyone was caught off guard.

Yes…chord function matters. Assuming you want your singers to sing in tune. Make sure parts that sing repeated notes know how they fit within the harmonic structure.

3) Your singers are unfamiliar with how their note clashes against someone else.

The best chords (in my opinion) are ones that have dissonant notes- extra notes that add color to a simple, boring, major chord. The problem with writing color notes, even sevenths in jazz chords, is that there will always be a dissonant, hard-to-tune, interval between whomever has the color note and whomever has the most dissonant distance away.

Adding a seventh note creates a “tritone” distance between whomever has the third of the chord. Adding a ninth creates a “major second” distance between whomever has the root of the chord and the third of the chord. Adding a sixth note creates a “major second” distance between whomever has the fifth of the chord.

Even if you have no idea what that last paragraph meant, chances are that somewhere in your arrangement, two parts will have a difficult-to-tune interval. It’s imperative that those singers are made aware of that “clash” and focus their energy into listening and tuning it.

Music is more than just an imitation of what’s on the page and what you hear. If you are going to sing in a “group,” then you must understand that every part is just as important as yours.

Marc Silverberg

Follow the Quest for the A cappella Major
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http://www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-dear-dowhere-are-you

Six Seasons and a Movie!

Troy and Abed A cappella!

Okay. Let me preface this by saying that if you are not a fan of the show Community, this is probably not the blog post for you.

Community, one of my all time favorite shows, is finally returning to television on February 7th. Community is, like many shows of recent years, a critical hit and cult fan favorite, but a ratings disaster.

Basically, the show centers around a group of seven individuals (not counting other major characters) who attend Greendale Community College. The plots always start out simple, but then escalate to sheer chaos and insanity. In one particular, and well-appreciated episode, a simple house-warming party creates six different reality timelines, each spiraling the same events to different conclusions. And let’s not forget about the paintball episodes.

I love the show for many reasons. (and yes…every one of these reasons can tie into a cappella music…) Here’s why:

1) Abed, the pop-culture guru with a social disorder

The character Abed, played by Danny Pudi, is a pop-culture spouting super-geek with a very active imagination and an extreme social disorder. He knows every line from every movie, television show, and comic book. He’s a walking encyclopedia straight from the Nerdist Youtube channel, but he’s still unable to “know left from right without reciting the pledge of allegiance.”

Isn’t that the crux of a cappella music? A genre devoted to showing off our encyclopedic knowledge of songs long forgotten or showing off our musical theory prowess by tying two, seemingly unrelated, songs into a crazy mash-up?

Every time I listen to a new a cappella album, like a new box of cereal, there is always a surprise inside. Just recently, I heard an a cappella cover of a song from “A Goofy Movie,” one of my favorite animated movies as a child. (Credit goes to the AcaBellas)

But just like a kid sifting through the new cereal box, I always found that one prize was not enough and soon I’d have to live with boring old cereal. I challenge a cappella groups to make albums that constantly shock and amaze us. Let the other groups do top 40. I want to hear you sing another Weird Al tune.

2) The season-long, running gags

Community is one of the rare shows on television that gives the audience hidden gems to find and doesn’t care if you find them or not. (It’s sort of like LOST, but funnier)

For example, over three seasons, the word “Beetlejuice” was uttered by one character. When the name was said in the third Halloween episode, Beetlejuice walked by the window.

It’s a gag that would only appeal to anyone who had watched the show enough to see the connection, but it’s a payoff that makes me respect the show even more.

I don’t think a cappella groups can have running gags from concert to concert, unless they are sure that their audience is usually the same every time. Running gags certainly wouldn’t work at every stage of the ICCA, because you’d have to assume that you will even progress to the next stage, and every stage is in a different state.

But one of the things I love about a cappella arrangements is our ability to slip in musical jokes when no one asked for them. A cappella is such a unique genre, in that the human voice is capable of making more than one sound (unlike a trumpet, which sounds like a trumpet). Plus we have the benefit of using words.

I challenge a cappella arrangers to slip at least one “hidden gem” into their next arrangement. And don’t worry if no one catches the reference. That’s not what matters.

3) The homage

Like many comedies today, almost every episode of Community pays homage to another television show or movie. One episode was almost a pitch-perfect re-creation of Law and Order. GLEE has been spoofed twice. Mockumentary shows like The Office and Modern Family also got their due.

A cappella music is almost nothing but an homage to other genres of music. Singing “Come Together” in the style of Stevie Wonder, singing “Teenage Dream” in the style of Imogen Heap, etc.

Since this is common knowledge, my challenge to you is to combine two, COMPLETELY DIFFERENT styles together and hopefully create something brand new. What about singing “Purple Haze” in the style of Britney Spears? Put a reggae spin on Metallica. Turn a Beyonce song into an “Eric Whitacre” arrangement.

4) The theme of togetherness

One overall theme of the show is “community.” I know that’s kind of obvious, since the show is called “Community,” but it should be addressed anyway.

The members of the study group, or as the show calls them, “The Greendale 7,” creates quirky situations by grouping together seven strangers, who are as different as different can be, and forcing them to get along.

This is about as close to the definition of “a cappella group” as you can get. These differences shouldn’t be ignored, but encouraged. Like a republican and democrat forced to compromise, so should you learn how to use everyone’s strengths to counteract everyone’s weaknesses.

And everyone fights. Oh boy, how they fight on the show. This leads to some of the greatest moments, like when Jeff chops the study table with an axe out of frustration, or they ranked each other by popularity in order to avoid being lab partners with a random stranger. The point is, they may fight, and the fights may be big, but they always get back together in the end, even if it is to fight bullies on top of a nativity scene.

5) The underdog status of the show

The thing I love most about Community is how it keeps fighting back against the powers that be. If the fan base wasn’t so committed, NBC would have cancelled it a long time ago. NBC even put the show on hiatus during season three and the internet literally exploded with “NBC hate.”

Will the show last past season four? Probably not. The show is truly a ratings disaster and NBC has every right to pull it from their schedule, but the fans are so hardcore and so devoted that the show has, miraculously, hung around. It is the ultimate underdog, fighting a war it shouldn’t have been able to win and still hasn’t.

There are probably several groups out there who feel like they are the underdog, battling a sea of phenomenal on-campus groups that seem to hold all the power. Take Community’s struggle as a lesson on how to be the underdog:

1) Develop a small, but incredibly loyal fan base
2) Produce tracks on a regular basis and market them
3) Find concert venues outside the college or school to boost group confidence
4) Make humorous viral videos to show your college that you are, in fact, still around, and still
alive
5) Develop a single identity that will differentiate you from the rest

All in all, the pop-culture world we live in today can and should have an impact on how you approach a cappella music. Don’t just look to other a cappella groups for inspiration. Turn on the television and see what’s on.

Cool, cool, cool.

Marc Silverberg

Follow the Quest for the A cappella Major
twitter.com/docacappella
acappellaquest.blogspot.com
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http://www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-six-seasons-and-movie