A Cappella Musings

This week, I’m going to touch on a topic that’s pretty close to home. It’s a little embarrassing, and part of me thinks that I’d maintain more of whatever credibility I might have by withholding this info, but what the heck.

Confession: Like Andy Bernard, I am a former collegiate a cappella singer.

Say what you will about the “genre”; I probably agree with you. It’s a questionable form of musical expression at best, and at this point I can’t listen to most collegiate a cappella without cringing and fleeing the room as fast as I can. What’s the point of recreating songs with silly vocal syllables and those crazy mouth contortions that pass as a substitute for drums? It’s never going to be better than the original. Yet hordes of high school and college students flock to concerts, often willing to sit through two-plus hours of this stuff. If you’re confused by this, I understand; it's rather baffling.

That said, I can’t completely throw a cappella under the bus. I had a great time doing it, and occasionally the result is enjoyable—sometimes even beautiful. Take, for example, this live recording from Rajaton, a professional Finnish group. The song is called “Butterfly,” and it really shows the heights to which a cappella music can ascend.

Rajaton – Butterfly (Live) (YSI) (filesavr)

The arpeggiated vocal parts create a bubbling background that resonates beautifully, over which the soloist adds the melody. The song exciting climbs from hushed beginnings, to a stirring climax, and then back down to a barely audible yet impeccably tuned ending. Check it out; it might force you to modify your views on a cappella.

To close, I leave you with a track from the obscure a cappella quartet, 3 Bros and a Trick. It’s a balls-to-the-walls all-male rendition of Whitney Houston’s classic “I Will Love Again,” and it’s a terrific song to jam out to as you drive down the highway, as I know from experience. Enjoy.

3 Bros and a Trick – I Will Love Again (YSI) (filesavr)