A cappella should be at Comic-Con

There's only one thing everyone is talking about this weekend...Comic-Con 2012. Comic-Con is the biggest entertainment conference of the year. Not only does it promote comics, but it also promotes television shows, movies, video games, and anything else classified as "geeky."

As a fully fledged geek, I, like thousands of people, have been curious to see what events were brought to Comic-Con 2012. With all the movies being promoted, I was hoping to see "Pitch Perfect" somewhere within the convention.

In October, Universal Studios is releasing the first all a cappella movie, "Pitch Perfect." This is indeed a milestone in the history of a cappella music and the inclusion into mainstream media. So why doesn't "Pitch Perfect" have a panel at Comic-Con, or at least have an honorable mention?

Are we, as a cappella fans, really so different from comic book fans that there is no need for cross-promotion? If a cappella fans keep complaining that we are under-appreciated, then we should start promoting ourselves outside of "a cappella only" conventions.

It's obviously too late to insert ourselves into Comic-Con, but if there are any a cappella groups out there going, do me a favor- SING AT COMIC-CON!!!

A cappella needs to promote more. Social media is great for promoting concerts, but really, how many collegiate a cappella groups have advertised their concert outside of their respective college? I'm willing to wager that only a few have ever thought to do this. Professional groups have it even tougher. They have to build their own fan base.

What is the solution? We stick our nose into conventions that don't necessarily focus on a cappella music.

Here are some other conventions we should start sticking our big nose into:

1) ACDA and NAfME (formerly MENC)

I've said it before, but these are the two biggest musical organizations in the country and the a cappella presence is sorely lacking. Nothing could be better for the promotion of a cappella music, and a cappella education, than to show off a cappella techniques to thousands of choral directors who haven't a clue how to start an a cappella group, let alone know what CASA.org is.

2) Other comic book/geeky conventions

NY-CON, APE, Wonder-Con, W00Tstock, Denver-Con...There are probably hundreds of other geeky conventions that would probably welcome the addition of a new musical exploration that has more and more become reliant on technology and pop-culture.

3) Conventions that have absolutely nothing to do with music

Okay. Go with me on this. If some company presenting at a major conference (E3 perhaps?) featured an a cappella group and someone took a video of it, I bet it would go viral. We don't need to do an entire presentation, we just need to have a presence.

4) Sports Games

This isn't new. All-star games have featured a cappella groups at half time shows, and most baseball teams have featured some a cappella group singing the national anthem. I say let's take it further. Put an a cappella group behind the featured singer in the Super-Bowl halftime show. Sing the national anthem at one of the World Series games. Record a sports-anthem that gets some airtime at a sports game. (The a cappella equivalent of "Who Let The Dogs Out")

Let's get our name out there. If one group promotes a cappella music, we all win.

Marc Silverberg

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http://www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-cappella-should-be-comic-con

A cappella is like Atari

The 40th anniversary of Atari video games was celebrated just a couple of days ago. Being both a video game geek (though I don't play nearly as much as I used to) and also an a cappella geek, I saw parallels between the rise and fall of Atari (especially the 2600) and the production of a cappella albums.

Understanding the history of one of the fastest growing companies in the United States will actually help you produce better a cappella albums! Confused? Read on.

Here's the short-short-short version of Atari's rise and fall:
When Atari first premiered their video game system- the 2600- with the idea of interchangeable cartridges in the 1970's, video games were the "new thing." In fact, Atari became the fastest growing company in the history of the United States. Due to poor management skills by the corporation, employees soon left and started their own video game company, Activision, in 1982. Because Activision was a more efficient and well-managed company (mainly due to actually paying their employees when one of their individual games sold very well), Activision replaced Atari in 1983 as the fastest growing company in the history of the United States.

So other companies said "Hey! Activision can make money! We can too!" and so there was a flood of games coming from all different companies. And in short...they were bad. Really bad. Really really bad.

In fact, the video game market was so cluttered with bad games, that everyone associated Atari with making bad games. These new companies failed to learn a very important rule (pay close attention a cappella fans): Making games (a.k.a albums) is an ART FORM, not a by-the-numbers output of programming code.

And so to cut through the clutter, Atari tried to make video games out of popular titles, like Pac-Man and the upcoming movie, E.T. And they failed. Miserably. They failed because they thought that the name alone would bring them recognition and it didn't matter if the game was good or not. (Starting to see where I'm going with this?)

Here is an interesting web series called "Play Value" that gives a much better recount of everything I just said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlVBfh5oDFU

Okay, so take the above history, replace "video games" with "a cappella albums" and you'll see where this is going. The more I try to increase my knowledge of A cappella music by purchasing recordings, the more I am disappointed.

A cappella music is Atari. What I mean by this is, contemporary a cappella music is still in a new, unfamiliar phase of its life where our identity is still being established, and we are growing and evolving, much like the history of video games. Our markets are flooded with a cappella albums. FLOODED. There are literally hundreds of thousands of a cappella albums, and we are a little over 20 years old.

For a fan like me, cutting through the clutter, like Atari tried to do, is difficult. Here's what we as a community can do to make sure our album is listened to by lots of people and not get lost in the clutter.

1) Understand that A cappella, and making an album, is an art form.

One very important thing I learned from my time in A cappella Boot Camp was that way too many a cappella groups are hasty in making album choices, because they fear that time spent on perfecting an album is time wasted, because the album is not being promoted. This is not true. The more time you spend on crafting an incredible album, the better your reception will be.

Just look at Pentatonix, who released their first EP, "Volume 1," three days ago. They took six months to make a seven song album, something that arguably could have been done in only a few weeks. But they were smart. They crafted each song from the arranging stage to the mastering stage, and now they are number five on the iTunes album chart.

And the reason is simple- they understand that a cappella is an art form and needs time to be crafted, much like Activision understood when making video games.

2) Treat your album mixer with kindness and let him/her offer opinions.

I admit it. Before I attended A cappella Boot Camp, I thought that album mixers were program monkeys, here to do our bidding and be treated slightly above human scum.

I realized that I could not have been further from the truth. A cappella mixers not only have the technical know-how to make you sound amazing, but they have the experience and expertise to know what sounds good and what doesn't, because they have listened to hundreds or even thousands of recordings (millions if they are Bill Hare). Treat them with respect, don't waste their time, and take their opinions into consideration, especially if you are releasing your first album.

3) Make unique, original albums.

If you're going to spend time and money crafting an album, please make sure it's something we have never heard before. Deke Sharon wrote a fantastic plea to professional groups about crafting an album like a work of art:
http://www.casa.org/content/mirrors-and-paintings

Pentatonix gave us something we really have never heard before. And personally (I know I'm going to be slammed for this opinion, but I don't care) I prefer their version of "Somebody That I Used to Know" over the original. In fact, I think its better.

4) Why are you making an album?

Your group wants a physical record of what you have done so far. You don't care about pleasing a cappella fans, you just want something to cherish.

Awesome.

Don't start a kickstarter campaign. Don't spend money promoting it. Don't put it up for a review on RARB and then complain if they don't like it. Don't make 1,000 copies.

5) Your song choice doesn't matter. Your arrangement does.

Learn from Atari's mistakes. They thought the name brand alone was enough to sell copies. Just because you put out a recording of a big hit song [Pac-Man or E.T.] does not mean it is going to be a good record [like Pac-Man and E.T.] The name brand does not matter. The arrangement does.

You need to pay attention to the nuts and bolts, the production quality, the in-tune singing, the artistic choices, etc.

These matter way more than "OMG! Random A cappella Group just released their version of 'Call Me Maybe!'"

If your version of "Call Me Maybe" isn't good, then no one cares.

6) Don't flood the market

The moral of this story. A cappella fans are going to search out and find great albums that they can listen to. But it is very overwhelming for someone to search a cappella and get THOUSANDS of hits. Which album do I buy? Which group is awesome?

I'm of the opinion that if you are going to arrange a song, you can blow me away by doing one of two things: Either your version sounds so much like the original that it's impossible to tell which is which, or your arrangement is so different than the original that I need to decide which one I like better.

Of course, I prefer the latter. Recording a song to match the original is very cool when you listen to it for the first time, but it loses its punch after multiple listenings. Honestly, for my money, turn the song into something brand new, or I'm just going to revert back to the original recording.

We are Atari. Pentatonix jet released their "Donkey Kong." Now, someone needs to give us a cappella's "Super Mario Bros." or "Tetris." That can be anyone.

Marc Silverberg

Bibliography

Play Value. (2011. April, 4.) Play value: The fall of atari. [Web Video] Retrieved June 29, 2012 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlVBfh5oDFU

Sharon, D. (2012). Mirrors and paintings. [Web log post] Retrieved June 29, 2012 from
http://www.casa.org/content/mirrors-and-paintings.

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Game changers part 1

Presently, I am in Chicago attending the A cappella Boot Camp- a five day intensive on a cappella recording. Those interested can check it out here:

http://acabootcamp.com/

I consider the A cappella Boot Camp to be a "game changer." That is, the A cappella Boot Camp doesn't just add to the already overflowing pool of a cappella talent; It changes the face of a cappella music.

Let's face it. With the rising number of a cappella groups all over the world, monumental groups can get lost in the crowd. If someone were to teach a class or curriculum on a cappella music, (soon...I promise) they would have to defend the material presented. In other words, groups/people/festivals that are considered "game changers" show us how a cappella music has evolved over the last twenty years.

So what exactly defines a "game changer?" I'd like to think the definition goes something like this:

A person, ensemble, event, recording, video, or tool that makes a substantial impact on a cappella music by starting a trend, influencing multiple artists, or altering the current direction of a cappella music.

The number of "game changers" is substantial, but recently, the number has been dwindling. You can even see the frustration on the internet. More and more articles/blog posts have been criticizing groups for not being unique, dynamic, or original. But on the other side of the fence, becoming a "game changer" is a very difficult thing to do. More so, attempting to become a "game changer" for the sake of changing the game is retroactive. The "game changers" are the ones who don't realize they have become one until someone recognizes their accomplishments. The other pitfall of becoming a "game changer" is that fame/recognition alone is not an authentic reason to become a "game changer."

Part one of this series (series? topic? saga?) discusses what I believe to be the most recent game changers from the last year or so.

1) Peter Hollens- Right now, the big name in solo a cappella videos and releases (and iPhone apps!). Peter proves that you can do it all and sound better than most groups attempting to perform the same song. The process by which he records and posts is a valuable lesson on a cappella recording, promoting, and solo performing.

2) Pentatonix- Top album on the iTunes pop chart. Yesterday, they were #13 on the top overall iTunes chart...and the album hasn't even released yet. It has been a dream of mine to see an a cappella group hit the mainstream media (besides the Warblers...who are really the Bubs) and I think they have the best shot.

3) Live Loopers- Mister tim, Julia Easterlin, Kid Beyond, Dylan Bell, etc.- Performers are making a living showing off their a cappella chops without the input of other people. They are literally their own a cappella group, and they have achieved what we always thought impossible- they are singing their own chords.

4) Pitch Perfect- Have you seen the trailer? Pitch Perfect is a Hollywood movie that doesn't just feature a cappella, it's actually about a cappella. In 5 months, i predict the songs performed in that movie will become a cappella mainstream, the lines they quote will be posted on every a cappella fan's Facebook status from East to West coast, and the movie will change something about how we view a cappella music. I honestly don't know what yet, but something is about to change, and I'm very excited.

These are only a few "game changers" who exist today. Who do you consider to be "game changers?" Who has changed the way you view a cappella music?

Oh, and sign this:
http://www.change.org/petitions/national-association-for-music-education...

Marc Silverberg

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www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-game-changers-part-1

Every body needs an A.R.M.

National A cappella day you ask? Yes! Sign this:

http://www.change.org/petitions/national-association-for-music-education-declare-a-national-a-cappella-day-in-honor-of-unaccompanied-singing

A cappella festivals are at the cutting edge of presenting fans with a cappella techniques and materials. In fact, these festivals, mostly run by CASA, Singstrong, or a neighboring college, have become so popular that tickets sell out weeks in advance, much like Comic-Con. In fact, you could say these festivals are the body of a cappella education.

But for a cappella junkies (like me), 5 major festivals a year does not satisfy the need to explore what is fast becoming a much larger community of singers. But even with directing 2 college groups and 1 community group, time together is time spent on rehearsals. These rehearsals satisfy the need to sing, but not the need to discover.

What is there to discover you ask? LOTS!

-Improvisation exercises

-Hundreds of thousands of unpublished arrangements

-Compositional style

-Millions of a cappella CD’s and tracks

-Rehearsal techniques

-Recording techniques

-Unknown a cappella resources

Going back to the title of this blog post, it seems that every body needs an arm.

And like the Contemporary A cappella League who supports developing a group in your hometown, I posit that the same can be done with an A cappella Roundtable Meetings (A.R.M…Get it?)

Why shouldn’t we do it? All college choral groups have reading sessions and roundtable sessions. These are monthly gatherings of choral directors, who sit down and share new ideas, sight read their way through 50 or so pieces of choral music, and learn from each other. It’s like a choral convention in miniature scale. Instead of taking place over several days, it lasts a few hours (or however long you want it to last).

So here’s how it works:

1) You and your colleagues/friends/bitter enemies pick a place and time to meet, preferably somewhere like a classroom, studio, or house/apartment.

2) Someone (or everyone) brings resources to discuss. These can be arrangements to read through, recordings to listen to, videos to watch, books to read, techniques to try, etc.

3) Everyone learns from each other, just like an educational roundtable.

4) Everyone goes home with a little more knowledge about a cappella music.

5) Rinse. Repeat.

This can be a weekly meeting, a bi-monthly meeting, a monthly meeting, whatever. Roundtables could be the cure for the a cappella summer blues. Imagine having a local meeting place that functions like a shorter collaborative a cappella festival. What could be better?

In fact, that’s what myself and several others are trying to put together.

The website, meetup.com has a group listing for these A cappella Roundtable Meetings localized in New York City. Follow the link for more information:

http://www.meetup.com/A-cappella-Roundtable-Meetings-New-York/

Let’s work together to spread the education of a cappella music…and also eat cookies.

Marc Silverberg

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http://www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-cappella-roundtable-meetings-every-body-needs-arm

A cappella day petition

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy A cappella day…wait…no…lies…when is it again?

Oh that’s right. We don’t have one. How can we change this?

Simple. Change.org!

It seems that national a cappella day is more than just the wish upon star dreams of a cappella fans. We now have the technology and the motive to make it happen. Go to the link below and sign the petition. Then get every single person you know, and several that you don’t, to also sign the petition. Then sign it again.

http://www.change.org/petitions/national-association-for-music-education-declare-a-national-a-cappella-day-in-honor-of-unaccompanied-singing

With your help, and the help of everyone you coerce, we can start a national movement to get people to sing….and possibly save the Sing-Off…

Marc Silverberg

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A cappella Day and S.O.S (Save Our Sing-off)

Did you know that National Show Choir day is August 20^th?

Did you know that National Barbershop Quartet day is April 11^th?

Did you know that March is music in our schools month?

Did you know that a cappella day is…wait…what is it?

Can you believe it? We don’t have a national a cappella day!!!

I know! [Cue Huge Gasp]

Why not? 20+ years after the breakthrough of contemporary a cappella and no way to celebrate it? Oh…and the Sing-Off was cancelled. Let’s address both ideas at the same time.

I know all too well the power of online petitions (Yay Community!) but I think if we want to save the Sing-Off, I think we need to go the extra mile. While many of our favorite programs entertain, the Sing-Off has educational value. Music educators are using the popularity of this program (and shows like Glee) to help justify the existence of music programs in schools and recruit more singers. Sure, anyone could argue that almost any show has some educational value (Survivor teaches you how to swallow bugs!) but I have seen first hand the kind of impact shows like the Sing-Off has had.

So I propose that an online petition is not the only thing we can do:

PEOPLE! WE. ARE. MUSICIANS. Stop talking and SING!!!

Let us swarm the masses! Gather your friends together and sing for the NBC executives. Send massive amounts of copies of your latest album to their mail room and flood the system. Call NBC and sing over the phone. Post an a cappella plea to NBC on Youtube. Call your famous friend and have him/her record the newest iTunes single a cappella.

Or better yet…let’s make a national a cappella day! A day where everyone in the country gathers together to sing for anyone in any place for any amount of time. And I’ll start by making a few suggestions:

1) June 14^th- If we want to simultaneously attempt to save the Sing-Off and create a national a cappella day, June 14^th would make sense. It is 6 months after the premier of the first episode of the Sing-Off. Problem is, it’s during the summer and this year it falls on a Thursday, which is awkward.

2) Sometime in March- March is already Music in our Schools Month. Let’s bolster that spirit with a day dedicated to the art of a cappella.

3) The day CASA.org was founded

Any other date works- as long as it falls on the calendar year. (August 32^nd is probably not going to work)

Losing the Sing-Off is a heavy blow to the proponents of a cappella promotion and education. While the upcoming movie Pitch Perfect will help bring our music back into the mainstream, we must fight to protect what we have. This means banning together and, in one loud voice, proclaiming that we are not going away.

Marc Silverberg

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http://www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-cappella-day-and-sos-save-our-sing

ACDA Inclusion

The march 2012 edition of the Choral Journal, the official magazine of the American Choral Director’s Association, contained an interesting editorial written by the chairperson of Repertoire and Standards, Kirk Marcy. Professor Marcy leads one of the top vocal jazz groups in the country in Washington State and sings in the a cappella group “Just 4 Kicks.”

The article, entitled “Contemporary Unaccompanied Singing: Where Does It Fit in ACDA?” discusses the possible inclusion of a cappella singing (that’s us) into the standard repertoire of ACDA national conventions (that’s them). It’s like uniting the Jets and the Sharks- seemingly impossible, until Tony gets shot…wait…I’m getting off track…

The issues in uniting these two major factions are numerous and difficult to overcome, but not impossible:

1) Defining our sound

ACDA has determined that a cappella singing (such as the Sing-Off) is to be called “Contemporary Unaccompanied Singing” until a name is decided upon. This is our challenge. We must unite and determine what to call ourselves. “Contemporary Unaccompanied Singing” does not define us, because it reduces our music to the only label we are currently recognized for: Unaccompanied. This would mean that all music, from Lady Gaga to Eric Whitacre are sung exactly the same way, and we all know they are not. “Pop A cappella” does not fit us, because to use the word pop assumes that we are excluding Jazz, Barbershop, Doo-Wop, and all other types of unaccompanied singing.

“Contemporary A cappella” has always been my vote (mainly because the first two letters of CASA stand for Contemporary A cappella) but that name faces the same challenge as “Contemporary Unaccompanied Singing;” It is very ambiguous. So first, before we promote ourselves, we must have a name.

2) Educational Value

The main criticism of a cappella music is that it has no educational value. In a time where choral directors wish to connect the dots between Bach and B.O.B., a cappella ensembles are stubbornly refusing to sing anything before 1950. (the exception is vocal jazz and Barbershop- but even then, those ensembles sing repertoire before Faure) And though we are not doing it on purpose, our lack of inclusion shows the other side that we refuse to acknowledge they exist.

I’m not suggesting that we go back and sing Bach. That’s not the solution. The solution is to continue the work done by teachers- Connect the dots- Show how singing in an a cappella ensemble builds ear training, improvisation, sight singing, group management, performance skills, etc.

The other major concern with a cappella music is that we are viewed as strictly a commercial venture. A cappella groups are marketable- we have managers, we book gigs, and we care about performance venues. Katy Perry would never be invited to perform at ACDA, and we perform Katy Perry covers- ergo, we are not invited to perform at ACDA conventions.

3) Storm the Barracades

It is much easier to attend a CASA event than it is to attend an ACDA event. The reason? ACDA costs much more. But if we all made a gamble, and had our presence felt at the next national convention, people would take notice. Sure, one convention isn’t going to bring down the Berlin wall, but it’s a start. I urge every choral director who is a member of both ACDA and CASA (and I believe there are more of you than you are letting on…) to attend both conventions. The more we talk about the value of a cappella singing, the more people will understand the value of a cappella singing. And unfortunately, students alone are not enough. We need trained teachers, successful arrangers, pioneers in the fields of a cappella music to go and make appearances, present workshops, discuss research, and sing on the street corner.

4) Why are we including ourselves? Do we care?

Do we want to be recognized by ACDA? It’s like the popular kids at the lunch table- Do you want to concentrate all your efforts on getting a seat there, or do you just not care? In this scenario, I believe the right answer is “be who you are.” We should not try to change our values just to be something we are not.

However, the purpose of this article is not to change who we are, but rather strengthen us as a group. Regardless of whether or not we are ever recognized by ACDA, NafME, or any other major musical organization, evolving into a genre of music with an established canon will only help us grow. I am not trying to suggest that we are the unpopular kids, begging to be accepted. I am suggesting that we not become a clique, closing ourselves off from the rest of the school and seek to better ourselves by discussing the educational implications of the music we are making.

The Jets and the Sharks finally united. We just need to find our Maria.

Marc Silverberg

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http://www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-acda-inclusion-be-or-not-be