CASA - The Contemporary A Capella Society

Some people prefer, and perhaps even insist, on being able to clearly hear the voices in each recording, yet within that camp there’s a division: some insist that it’s cheating to use effects and “plug-ins” (elements of a popular recording and mixing program called ProTools that allow you to manipulate the pitch, duration, volume, timbre and alignment of every note, often without being able to hear that it was altered).

Within the a cappella community, there are a number of singers and fans who enjoy armchair quarterbacking arrangements, performances and recordings, each with their own ideal.

I have my own opinion, perhaps one that’s rarely stated, in response to these discussions. They all seem predicated on the assumption that great artistry is to be expected in collegiate a cappella. I think this perspective is misguided.

Let’s take a step back. What exactly is collegiate a cappella? It’s a cappella music created by amateurs. Amateur singers, amateur arrangers, student directed and lead productions, from rehearsals to CD delivery.

Before you scoff, aghast that I’m implying this emperor has no clothes, please realize that I don’t think the word “amateur” to be a slight. The French etymology of the term means “for the love of,” and that’s exactly what goes on at college campuses around the world. Students, only a small percentage of them music majors, join a group as an extracurricular activity. Even considering the increased involvement of the leaders in each ensemble, almost all collegiate a cappella singers spend only a handful of hours working on their craft.

Again, this isn’t meant to insult collegiate a cappella groups anywhere, but rather to realistically assess their focus, involvement, input, capabilities.

In other words, the fact that there's significant artistic merit so much in a cappella is something amazing, not something to be expected.

Among passionate collegiate a cappella singers and fans, this is perhaps a hard pill to swallow. After a decade of exemplary BOCA tracks, fantastic ICCA performances, and much careful consideration going into each new recording by the best known groups, why should we not expect greatness from them?

My answer? Because it’s unrealistic. It’s the extremely rare group that’s able to maintain a high level of quality year after year, with members and directors graduating on average every 2-3 years. Those groups should be celebrated for their statistic-defying success, instead of chastised for failing to live up during a “rebuilding” year, or when they try something new on their latest album.

Let’s look at this from a broader view. Whereas there have been some fantastic advances in technology recently, as well as some wonderful forward motion in the use of voices in collegiate a cappella, I don't think singers today are considerably better than they were 20 years ago. If anything, I'd argue they're on average worse, with less money going to the arts in public schools around the country.

By the same token, people aren't necessarily better leaders or managers now than their predecessors a generation ago. Voices aren’t better, leadership isn’t better, so why are albums and performances so much better?

Groups are spending more time and money, and have a tradition of more complex and varied a cappella to build upon. In addition, there are more groups now, so the top 2% is perhaps 20 groups now, as opposed to 4 groups back in 1985. And as I mentioned, technology helps make great recordings, and there is now a network of professionals who can help teach you how to be a great arranger, leader, director as well as how to make a great album. All of this is important, and helps your average group reach new heights.

Nonetheless, we’re still dealing with students – extremely busy students – who have many things vying for their attention, time and money. These amateur singers, working together at a common hobby, are in many cases spinning gold from straw, and we should all be extremely happy, and thankful, for what they’re able to achieve.

I do think we should all keep urging greater artistry from college groups. The discussions are fascinating, and help drive collegiate a cappella to new sounds, new styles, new heights. But to expect it does a disservice to the 98% of groups who don’t release a pioneering, landmark album. There’s an amazing amount of wonderful collegiate a cappella being made each year, and that should be celebrated, not expected.

Sure, there will be glimmers of greatness every once in a while, but to take a specific group and hold them up to a standard now that's essentially that of a pro group (fantastic, emotionally moving recordings and flawless performance) is as unrealistic as walking down your dorm hall and wondering why every girl isn't as beautiful as the airbrushed model on the cover of this month's Elle.

Speaking of collegiate a cappella greatness, a hearty congrats to BYU Vocal Point, and all the finalists at the 2006 ICCAs. I’ve heard from many that it was the most impressive lineup in the history of the competition.

Vocal Point has been a superlative group for many years now, under the watchful eye of such Utah a cappella legends as Extempo’s Bob Ahlander, but we all know there’s only so much an outsider can help. The amazing performance from Vocal Point came from within the singers as a result of the time and care they put into rehearsing and perfecting their craft. They, along with all the groups at the finals, the groups on this year’s BOCA, and many others are taking the amateur art of collegiate a cappella up another notch. I can’t wait to see and hear what’s in store for us all in the future.