Every once in a while I stop and think to myself, “It’s a little bit crazy, this thing we do: gigging.” This leads me to two conclusions: first, that there’s nothing about gigging that’s natural. That is, nowhere is it written that gigs have to be done a certain way or called by certain names. Conventions have evolved in musical communities (including the a cappella world and beyond) over time based on social, musical, historical, and economic factors; it’s just that they change so slowly and we’re so used to things being the way they are that they seem normal. Second, those things we call “gigs” are actually not all the same. There are lots of different kinds of gigs with different things going on musically and economically. Ever the academic, I did a little research on gigs and related it to my broader research on contemporary collegiate a cappella. Here’s a little snippet of what I found— perhaps you can find some similarities and differences between gigs in another musical genre and our own.
In his 1980 study of semi-professional rock bands in Colorado, "On Becoming a Rock Musician", sociologist H. Stith Bennett proposes a taxonomy of gigs, including what he calls social, ceremonial, bar, and concert gigs. Social gigs are events like dances or parties, where the music is integral to the attendees’ participation but not the focus of their attention. Fraternity parties are an important example. Ceremonial gigs are events like weddings where music is an integral part of the occasion, but the employer is more specific in his/her musical demands. The sequence of events is often culturally determined. Bar gigs are exactly what the name suggests: a performance in a bar to which the band attracts patrons and gets a portion of the money collected at the door. At bar gigs, the band itself hopes to be the attraction, rather than ancillary entertainment. In Bennett’s study, concert gigs are the rarest. These occur when a local band is invited as an opening act for a big-name group appearing at a nearby venue.
Contemporary collegiate a cappella groups give performances that fall into all of Bennett’s categories, but their distribution is different. Nearly all groups offer at least one major concert per semester, intended as the musical culmination of the semester’s activities. These are a big deal, as any singer can tell you. All the students’ friends come, and sometimes their family too. The concert may be the biggest expense of the semester, but also the greatest source of revenue. And it stands as a symbol, if not the realization, of their best possible performance from a musical standpoint.
A cappella groups typically book a number of ceremonial gigs throughout the academic year, including appearances at institutional ceremonies such as convocation, baccalaureate, or commencement, as well as events run by university offices and departments. Unlike concert gigs, the employer specifies the length of the performance, the formality of dress, and may make other requests (such as specifying a particular song). In a formal ceremony, the performance may be a brief interlude in a larger program. At a departmental reception, the group may be featured for a brief performance, or may function as background music accompanying the guests’ chatter. Payment is exchanged for the performance itself; it is less common for the group to sell its CDs under these circumstances.
Social gigs are a mainstay of the collegiate a cappella experience. These include performances at student parties, whether hosted by fraternities, sororities, student clubs, or friends of group members. Monetary rewards for these gigs vary if they exist at all—the primary benefits are social (demonstrating one’s skill and hard work for friends, and receiving recognition and compliments), while these appearances also serve as advertising for the group’s other performances, such as a concert. Groups can expect greater control over the content and presentation of their performance at a social gig, as opposed to a ceremonial gig, as well as the opportunity to sell their CDs.
So next time you or your group talk about gigging, or are actually doing it, take a moment to think about what it is you’re actually doing. It fits into a much larger, but often hidden, cultural system of musical activity. Just because that system is usually invisible, however, doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate and understand it.
Joshua S. Duchan is a Ph.D. Candidate in Ethnomusicology at the University of Michigan. He is currently writing his dissertation on collegiate a cappella. But he’s not just an academic: he also sang with and directed the University of Michigan Amazin’ Blue and the University of Pennsylvania Counterparts, and his arrangements have been featured on the “Best of College A Cappella” 2004 and 2005 albums. He can be reached at jduchan@yahoo.com Add as favorites (30) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1633
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