Why I like A Cappella Music

Music & Worship

My favorite non-obligatory thing in life is music. Hands-down, I love music more than any other reasonable thing.  (Hopefully, the obvious things like God and family are just that: obvious first choices.)

As a subcategory of music, I love vocal music.  And as a subcategory of vocal music, I love vocal group music. Even more specifically, a cappella music.

I am opinionated when it comes to music, particularly a cappella music.  (Don’t believe me?  Just ask!) A good 50% of what I think about a cappella groups comes from experience, and the other 50% comes from making it a study, albeit primarily outside the official classroom. , I remain simply enthralled with what the human voice can accomplish, particularly when more than one voice work together. 

God has taught me a lot, and I’ve had my share of humbling experiences.  During early college, I could tend to see people as a way to build music, whereas now, I see music as a way to build people. But I’m jumping ahead.

I do a lot of vocal overdubbing, creating my own groups out of my own voice.  I’ve got some CDs of this out there and plan to do more. (It’s a lot of work!!!) What most people don’t realize, however, is that this is actually a substitute.  I prefer to sing with a live group, with all the subtle interactions with the voices that can only happen singing live with other people.  There is no replacement for this. 

It can be simulated, and I try to do this with my overdubbing.  But real, live people singing a cappella can be pure enjoyment at a most basic level.

Getting a bunch of people together to sing is not difficult.  But that doesn’t make it a real group. A real group is something better, something deeper.  10 soloists singing together can sound horrible without even realizing it.  For a group to be good, and for that group to experience something beyond simple enjoyment of others’ company, they have to become conscious of so much more than simply “singing parts.”

A good group will realize that human voices can tune better than any piano.  They will realize, even if they don’t know the terminology, that 4 voices singing in perfect, absolutely perfect, harmony will generate extra notes, so 4 voices becomes 6, or even 8.  The ability of a group to phrase together, to breathe together, to emote as one voice: that is a thing most people will never experience.

A real group does more than simply sing accurately.  They know how to shape vowels identically; they know how to sound like each other so much, the listener sometimes loses who is singing what. 

As a Christian, I believe music is part of God’s very nature.  Music is not an end in itself.  But I also understand why people without a biblical worldview can believe that music can bring the world together.  It is a powerful language of the emotions.  And this communication multiplies exponentially when you combine true musicians, masters of the craft, together.

I won’t take the time to go into detail on the roots of a cappella music or its evolution into the compromised, computerized monster it is today. (One of those opinions. . . ) But I do want to point out that with today’s technology, any person, even a near monotone, can be turned into an “amazing” singer with pitch correction, digital sampling, and other studio tricks.  Perfect harmony can be forced using a computer. (The crew from The Today Show was turned into an a cappella group doing this recently.)  I’m not saying it is wrong for people to use these tools.  I have tuned out-of-pitch notes myself.  But what I am pointing out is that there are fewer genuine musicians today than there were even 15 or 20 years ago.  True masters of the craft are getting harder to find. Why master it if you can fake it?

That’s where the joy of teaching comes in.  Nothing can compare to teaching someone about this multidimensional universe of music.  Nothing can compare to that moment when you see the proverbial light turn on in someone’s eyes as they hear something they’ve never heard before. And, what’s more, they are creating it themselves!

Some of My Own Background

I first learned about the possibilities of something beyond mere “part singing” from the Barbershop Harmony Society in my junior high years.  There was a local chapter in Bay City, Michigan, about 20 minutes down the highway.  The chorus sang in bars on a regular basis, so that prohibited me from joining, not to mention I had a very busy life with church and school and sports etc.  But it was from these men that I heard about “ringing a chord” (the generation of extra notes due to immaculate tuning on certain chords[1]).  This started a passion to learn about these extra, “hidden” secrets you could learn in music.

My dad introduced me to the King’s Singers, the world-renowned 6-man vocal group.  I would listen to cassette tapes for hours at night, straining my brain to take in not only each individual part, but also the group sound as a whole.  A great music group is more than the sum of its components.  When you listen, really listen, it’s almost like this sound is something tangible, something you can hold in your hand if you could just find the handle.

Surprisingly, at least to me, was the discovery of the biggest key to a cappella singing in a band camp, of all places.  David E. Smith was conducting the advanced band at Freedom Christian School in out-of-the-way Pittsford, Michigan.  He would spend what seemed like an eternity tuning the band.  What high school band spends 30 minutes tuning?

It was a good group of kids. Nobody seemed bored. In reality, I actually wasn’t.  First, Mr. Smith was my dad’s publisher and I had heard things about him that clued me in that if I didn’t pay attention, I’d miss something important. (Mr. Smith has a way of sliding in a great concept disguised in a short sentence or humorous remark.)  But secondly, and most importantly, he said something that still makes me nod my head in agreement.

“Most people think a spread sound is a big sound, ” he said.  “But the way to the biggest and best sound is actually to be focused in tone and absolutely in tune. We’re not just looking for a big sound: we’re looking for THE sound.”

He emphasized the last statement with both his hands.  I wondered what he was talking about.  What is “THE” sound? We experienced a little bit of it later that week as we played. 

THE sound is the perfect harmonization of all instruments, perfectly in tune, perfectly in balance, perfectly . . . . perfect.  THE SOUND actually carries farther because it is tuned properly, and there isn’t any inherent imperfections that inhibit the tone. You know it when you hear it. 

And once you hear it, you can’t be satisfied with anything less.

I filled my brain with the best vocal groups.  The King’s Singers were a main part of my musical diet.  The Swingle Singers showed me that it was possible to have a mixed group achieve similar results.  I absolutely devoured barbershop quartets, even painstakingly hitting the pause and rewind buttons for hours as I transcribed arrangements to try out myself. 

I also listened to a group called Glad, a group that was Christian in origin.  (I remained blissfully unaware throughout my high school days that they were not only an a cappella group, but also a Christian rock group.[2]) I was selective in listening to Glad, but the complicated, classically-influenced arrangements of the earlier a cappella albums along with the concept of an easy-going tenor solo voice singing on top of the mix are 2 concepts that have shaped my own a cappella arranging and singing more than any other.

There were more groups I heard by the time I went to college, but by then my musical palette had been formed.  I wanted to emulate the sounds of these groups, and so I began creating groups of my own.

I learned so much with each group.  Academy Accappella was my first group.  And yes, it was misspelled like that, just like the immensely popular Christian group “Accappella” spelled their name at the time.

After that, it was the Bible Revival Quartet with a traditional SATB voicing.  We had some times with some great chords!  The door was starting to swing open in the sense that I saw it was possible to get close to some of these sounds using voices of friends of mine.  I was blessed to be in a high school that had a healthy amount of raw musical talent at the time, as well as teachers dedicated to developing that talent. 

The “never-be-satisfied” gene comes from my mother.  She was my choir director, both in school and in church.  She was able to maximize the potential of any group she worked with.  We reached some milestones as a choir and as various ensembles under her direction.

Different Colleges

I went off to Maranatha Baptist Bible College. God used the music teachers at MBBC to influence me greatly.  I was only there for 3 semesters, but the music training was tremendous.  I became a Chamber Singer and learned under Dr. Ledgerwood.  I learned more from Dr. Budahl out of the classroom than in the classroom.  Dr. Rick Townsend came to MBBC my last semester there, and I drank in his expectation of excellence. He brought with him the idea that being a small Christian college was no impediment to making excellent music.

I was playing tuba at the time, which I still consider my main instrument.  I got to experience the sense of being the foundation of the orchestra, or brass ensemble.  No matter what complications you introduce into chords and chord progressions, you’ve got to understand your bass line!

At MBBC, I had many friends who were musical from the inside out.  In a musical sense, it was a magic time. You could walk down the hall and start singing and 3 or 4 other guys would chime right in with good harmony. The only complete coloratura soprano I’ve ever known was at MBBC.  Music was everywhere. Even the football team had guys who could sing and loved music.

I would stand in the back stairwell of Old Main and work on crafting perfect notes. I thought of them like bubbles from the first press of air to the last closing of the tone to let it float away. Notes that would sail up the 4 floors and back down without a hint of imperfection. I took it dead seriously. I worked for hours covering my falsetto break, something I now teach any vocal students I have. I called it “painting” over the break.  I’ve since discovered that this is a technique professionals use.  I didn’t know that at the time; I discovered it for myself.

The Lord had plans for my life and I transferred up to Northland Baptist Bible College.  The music program was different than at Maranatha. It did not have the same percentage of students with the same musical level of understanding.[3]  Regretfully, my first year at Northland I resisted learning from Mr. Barry Gerdt, the leader of the Northern Lights ensemble with which I was privileged to sing. I really missed Maranatha, and I wrestled with a bit of an attitude my first year. The Lord was working on my heart spiritually that year, and I actually learned much more from Mr. Gerdt in the years I wasn’t in the ensemble.  But that was my own fault, not his.

I formed a group called Cloud Nine.  I’m trying not to spend too much time describing individual groups, but it is impossible to avoid mentioning this one. It was originally a quartet, and was comprised of Heidi, a friend from high school and the Bible Revival group; David, a complete natural at harmony and an all-around good guy; and Amanda, the deepest alto I had ever heard.  This group was one of the best groups I have ever sung with.  We had a chemistry like no other.  I arranged music in close, Four Freshman-style harmony.

After a few months, I doubled the size of the group.  Although I’ve thought for years that it was a poor decision musically-speaking (we lost some of that powerful, dynamic stage presence),  I certainly didn’t regret it in regards to the people I met.  Through the group, I began singing with Duane. 

Duane simply has the best voice I have ever heard.  He was studying classically, but he could sing first countertenor in the best King’s Singers impersonation possible.  The important thing about Duane was that he could match anything I could do musically.  He understood music in a way few people do.  I grew to respect him greatly. I felt I had an equal in every way, and in many ways he surpasses me still.

I had some great times with fellow collegians Matt, Nate, Kevin, Eric, and more, singing loosely-based barbershop.  I re-formed the Bible Revival group into a traveling team out of the college for 5 years and worked with some great people and a few exceptional voices.  It was with the 1999 Bible Revival Team that I actually got to experience THE SOUND a few times.  I like to think that we discovered it together as a group, literally singing in a lobby between two sets of double doors.  We actually found THE SOUND by straightening our vibratos so they matched up perfectly.  It was like a gun went off the difference was so stark.  It was really that obvious.

It was during this time that I learned about vibrato adjustment and straight-tone singing technique.  I was able to ask my heroes, The King’s Singers, about it at one of their concerts in Green Bay, WI (of all places). 

“Vibrato on every note is like putting ketchup all over the music.” – King’s Singers

A Metaphoric Slap in the Face

It was Duane, however, that changed my musical direction.  Up until this point, nearly every arrangement I had written was for the purpose of entertainment.  Barbershop songs, Cloud Nine songs, etc.  I had arranged 50 or so secular pieces, and I could count on one hand the number of sacred pieces. 

Duane marched in on me one Saturday as I was working on yet another entertainment piece.  He looked at me with a look of disgust and said, “Why do you waste your time on all this stuff?  Why don’t you create THE SOUND with something that will matter for eternity?”

That stung, but it woke me up. Immediately after this conversation, on a trip for the college somewhere, we ended up listening to the Swingle Singer’s a cappella version of “Gabriel’s Oboe.”[4] We were fascinated by the emotional content of the song, especially considering it is without words. He told me I should write like that for an eternal cause.

The next week I wrote my first genuine sacred a cappella orchestral arrangement, a 6-part arrangement of “My God is Near.”

I say orchestral because writing for 4 traditional parts is one thing, but writing for voice as though it is capable of orchestral scope is quite another.  It is a mindset. You don’t follow voicing rules the same way because you’re treating the ensemble as an instrumental group. It is something that I’ve been working on ever since.

I ended up marrying that alto from Cloud Nine.  What’s kind of funny is that I never considered marrying an alto.  I always thought I would marry either a pianist or a soprano.  You never know!

After getting married and graduating from Northland, I was able to stay on for 2 more years on staff.  Although in hindsight part of me wishes I would have hit the road immediately after graduation, staying on allowed me to work with some younger voices that I wouldn’t have been able to had I left.  A not-as-serious reincarnation of Cloud Nine was enjoyable, but it was being able to sing for one year in a quartet (named “Uncalled Four”) with my own brother Joe will always be a highlight of my life.  Strictly musically-speaking, Uncalled Four was the best. (Voicemail is a really close second.) I have a few recordings around here somewhere. . . .

The Church as a Choir

I believe group vocal music is an excellent picture of the church.  In a choir, for example, you have multiple people with different voices singing different parts.  SATB, but the overall effect should be one of unity.  It’s a difficult and annoying thing to find a soloist who can’t (or won’t) submit his or her own voice to the sound of the group.  One person singing off can ruin the sound for everyone.  It truly is a spiritual example.

In working with church choirs for a decade, I’ve learned to keep my expectations a healthy balance between musical achievement (aka, chasing THE SOUND) and the practical need to prepare a song for the following Sunday, or delivering the cantata on time for Christmas!  But I always try to leave a choir at least a step or two ahead of where they were in musical awareness than when I began.  It’s always exciting to learn something, and it’s always exciting to teach something!

After all, true teaching occurs when you leave the room with what the teacher brought into the room.

[1] http://youtu.be/sCdQVqQXkzc Listen really high. The overtones actually interfere with the Youtube sound and make it go in and out.

[2] I am not in support of Christian rock music, believing that the very title is an oxymoron. You may disagree; music philosophy is not the scope of this article. 

[3] I’m not insulting those with whom I went to school; I’m merely saying the percentage of students who had musical comprehension was lower.  There were still good music students; just not as many. And through my whole experience with Northland, there was always a wider gap between those who knew music and those who didn’t, with a bit of a stigma attached to the former.  It puzzles me a bit to this day.

[4] http://youtu.be/etjl15wt3jM Disclaimer on their performance outfits.