A Capella

[braztaz]

A Capella is basically a song where one only uses their mouth and voice to sing and recreate instruments. It's really neat and looks like it takes a lot of time to completely perfect it...check these videos out for some examples.

 

 

 

What do you think? Have any videos of some great A Capella artists?

 

-Braztaz

[mwm1444]

Forgive if I'm wrong, but I always understood a capella music to just be purely vocal music, not necessarily trying to emulate instruments with the voice; a barbershop quartet doesn't attempt to recreate instruments, they just fill in the gaps 'left' by the instruments, with their voices. It doesn't really matter either way, just saying that my understanding of a capella music is that it's type of music that spans as wide a spectrum as 'normal' music (with standard instrumentation/orchestration) does. Somebody who actually knows a little about music can correct me, happily.

 

 

Lots of apologies for that rant - I love a capella, the human voice is a great instrument itself. I've heard some fantastic a capella folk groups on some of the radio programmes I listen to, and, in terms of recreating a whole sonic landscape with just a voice, Bobby McFerrin is a genius. If all the listener knows is 'Don't Worry, Be Happy', I'd strongly recommend they watch the Pixar short 'Knick Knack' - the whole soundtrack is just Bobby McFerrin's vocalisations.

[braztaz]

^You may be right, but as of late there's been an explosion of A Capella with replicating instruments. Even take Glee for example, like their Don't Stop Believing cover.

[mwm1444]

^ Yeah, that's what I was thinking when you brought it up, and it's a valid form of a capella anyway. And I guess even that guy who made the Star Wars noises, and people who can beatbox, could count as a capella artists!

 

Mike 'I LOVE the human voice' Moody

[abstruse]

A capella involves any voice-usage as long as it does not use an instrument, by rough definition. Therefore, I would consider this an A Capella. Choir, single voice, beat-boxing, etc. I do believe would be considered a capella, although I could be incorrect.

 

Nevertheless, these videos are pretty rad. Particularly the Pokemon one.

[mightbeawannabe]

Forgive if I'm wrong, but I always understood a capella music to just be purely vocal music, not necessarily trying to emulate instruments with the voice; a barbershop quartet doesn't attempt to recreate instruments, they just fill in the gaps 'left' by the instruments, with their voices. It doesn't really matter either way, just saying that my understanding of a capella music is that it's type of music that spans as wide a spectrum as 'normal' music (with standard instrumentation/orchestration) does. Somebody who actually knows a little about music can correct me, happily.

 

No need to correct, you hit the nail on the head! A capella is simply using one's voice as an instrument to convey music without any 'mechanical modification' (meaning instrument in the traditional sense e.g. piano, violin, clarinet etc.). This is similar to a Vox Humana stop on a pipe organ, which in a reverse effect tries to imitate the human voice, but it can't. It sounds nothing like the human voice,but has its own unique sound.

 

Layered imitation is a relative description of this. Technically, it could be considered a capella, but this is an ensemble of imitation which happened over a long time. It wasn't an instant thing, whereas a choir with Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, and Bass singers without accompaniment are.

[derek_lentz]

I am looking foward to the Sing Off on NBC. I am curious to see how these A Capella groups do.

The Sing Off

[B-RadG]

Personally, I favor a crapella music

 

During my four years of chorus I was always under the impression that a cappella meant voices only (and it literally means "In the style of the church") and generally that was derived from Gregorian chants (the silly monk music where they all sound like a bunch of drunk, sleep-deprived men).

 

Seriously, however, I personally don't like a cappella renditions of modern music. It's all right with some songs but most it isn't.