Disciplinary Text Sets

A cappella, or "without instrumental accompaniment" is a form of music and singing where just the human voice is used to create all kinds of music. It is one of the oldest forms of singing, since any time someone sings without an instrument, it can be considered "a cappella". That being said, a cappella is one of the oldest forms of human self-expression. We use our voice to be heard and to convey messages and stories, to tell who we are. We turn that into coordinated sound, and we create music that expresses who we are and how we relate to the world around us. Teaching a cappella in a classroom setting is always changing since the way a cappella presents itself is always changing. This text set showcases many resources including history, groups to learn from, how to build arrangements, discussions on gender identity in music groups and much more. This collection of texts is fitting for a music appreciation class, an extracurricular a cappella group, general music classes or even for an individual who would like to gain knowledge on this beautiful form of singing. 

Text 1:

Sharon, D. (2016, June 27). Top 10 A Capella Groups to Learn From. Performer Stuff https://performerstuff.com/mgs/top-10-a-cappella-groups-to-learn-from/  

The text presents a good dive into the broad spectrum of a cappella groups. Deke Sharon, producer of NBC's The Sing-Off, provides a well informed Top 10 list of a cappella groups and what each group can teach to other a cappella groups no matter the age, experience or personnel. No two groups in this text are the same, with each group either performing in a unique genre than the others, or provides a unique quality that the other groups do not share. It really shows that music is always about expression and that there is more than one way to become an a cappella group. 

The average age level for this text comes in at about 8.8, meaning that 8th grade students could be introduced to this article to ponder and keep in mind as they go into high school and prep themselves if they would like to try out for a high school a cappella group. They can also hold onto the article throughout high school as qualitatively, the text is an easy read, with it being mainly music videos and an average of three sentences per video. The text simply states the group in the corresponding video and what the group does well. 

I would show students this article as it doubles as a visual and auditory learning experience. The students can read what each Top 10 group specializes in as well as seeing and hearing them perform this special quality. Students in a cappella groups are always trying to get to that "Pitch Perfect" level and having video examples as well as identified strengths of each of these famous groups right there on print are good references for the group. When they need better vocal textures, they just watch and listen to The Bobs and see where they could improve and so on with each other group and their specialties.

Vocabulary for your consideration: dense harmonies, doo-wop, vocal textures, genre-busting, quartet, quintet, collegiate, pioneering, blending

Question: Being in an a cappella group, where would each of these lessons learned from listening each of these groups come in handy (i.e. where would learning about instrumental sounds from listening to the Mills Brothers be most helpful in an a cappella group)?

Text 2: PBS Wisconsin. (2020). A Very Brief History of A Cappella Music. Youtube. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD0OAlRe0rE 

PBS Wisconsin provides a helpful and short introductory video on how one of the oldest forms of singing began as strictly religious music and evolved into Barbershop, to Doo-Wop and eventually the global phenomenon of modern a cappella. The video has Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School's Vocal Point narrating the video, showing the easy comprehension of the video since high school students are capable of understanding the text enough to teach it to other students.

Due to the simple, introductory nature of this video, its transcript has an average reading level of 8.1. The video is also under two minutes so students can get a quick understanding of a cappella history and not get lost in the details or length of the video. The qualitative nature of this video does not require much prior knowledge about a cappella or singing and music in general, thus making it's place as an introductory video more fitting.

This video would work best in a short Introduction to A Cappella unit in middle school to get students accustomed to new, more advanced ways of singing that they could potentially pursue in high school. Many students grow up watching Pitch Perfect and might not know the origins of the craft so this video would be a good way to open the door as to how and why the substitution of instruments with voice has been so popular throughout history.

Vocabulary for your consideration: vocal jazz, Middle Ages, imitating, resurgence, contemporary, exposure

Question: What instruments were substituted by voice throughout each era of a cappella music (i.e. in the renaissance, what instruments were imitated versus the doo-wop era)? How does the human voice recreate these sounds?

Text 3: DK Music Academy Godalming. (2014). Stay With Me A Cappella - How to build a vocal arrangement. Youtube. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti8ZyNucq10

This video provides a step by step layering of different voice parts for an a cappella arrangement of Sam Smith's Stay With Me. DK Music Academy vocalist, Sam Black does an excellent job of pacing each addition to the arrangement and explaining what each part is and how what it does or adds to the arrangement. The choice of song is very appropriate, as it is a song that is not as complicated and is very repetitive in words or music, so as to keep the layering simple for the viewer.

The transcript of this video is 8.3, but I feel that the complexity of the layering is a bit more complicated than what middle schoolers could handle, they could be introduced to the video to understand how to build the arrangement and what parts all go into it, but I would reserve actually having students build an arrangement for high school, if not the later high school students. Students in high school will have more range to fill out the parts better as well.

Like I stated earlier, this video can be introduced to middle schoolers, but elaborated more in high school. This video could stem a term or unit long project, either with a full choir being broken up into groups, and at that the end of the term or unit, each group performs an a cappella arrangement they picked out, built and worked on. Either that or an extracurricular group that is more experienced in a cappella could make their own recording like the one provided, this would give them the opportunity to learn the difference between singing for a recording and singing for a live audience. The video can also be resource for any number of students wanting to create their own out of school recording, showcasing their arrangement building.

Vocabulary for your consideration: track, bassline, harmonies, rhythm, chord sequence, breakdown chorus, harmonic string line

Question: Now this is all fun and dandy and sounds really phenomenal, but this is a processed, video format. How would you translate this to a live performance where you have much more space to fill and more challenges with balancing sound?

Text 4: Ari. (2016, June 1). 10 Steps to Starting Your Own All-Grrl A Cappella Group. Autostraddle https://www.autostraddle.com/10-steps-to-starting-your-own-all-grrl-a-cappella-group-339061/

This article was one of my favorites to read pertaining to a cappella. Ari, a writer, for Autostraddle who is also an artist and educator, provides a step by step article on how to establish an "All Grrl" a cappella group. What I love most about the article is Ari's approach to what "All Grrl" means. Ari states that they felt "female" was too medical and not all "females" were assigned female at birth, so All Grrl gets the point across that members of that group, feel they belong in an all female group, and that regardless of gender identity, they are still great at what they do. This can be very helpful to those in middle to high school who are struggling to find who they are and find music as a source of expression and community with others who feel the same way.

This average reading level for this text is 8.5, so once again another text that could be introduced in middle school. I find this article very easy to follow, with only nine long sentences and an average of around four sentences per paragraph. Each step is not too long and drawn out and gets to the point while still keeping the purpose up front and known. The quality of the writing is paced well and very comforting for those who might be struggling with identity. This reading validates many feelings a student might have regardless of age, and empowers them by stating that no matter what they are "badass" and deserve to be in a group of others who feel the same way and can share their love of music together. 

I would introduce this text to an all-female group or students who feel they belong in an all-female group to help them gain their footing on creating their own group. The steps all lead to a sustainable, fun and independent group that would not require much assistance from myself or other educators. If I were to have a group like this, I would assign the most experienced, mature and willing leaders to read this article and apply it to the group and then assist them with getting them music and any other assistance that students can't do for themselves, with the end result being an All-Grrl group that operates primarily on its own to prepare students for life after high school.

Vocabulary for your consideration: non-binary, neo-soul, Afrofuturism, choreography, aca-bop, assigned at birth

Question: As an All-Grrl group, define in your own words what "All-Grrl" means and what other steps could be made to make this group more inclusive and accepting to those who feel they belong in an all-female group. Also, how could you make the executive board fair and prevent it from becoming a dogmatic hierarchal club instead of an equal and equitable fun group?

Text 5: Wicks, D. (2019, July 5). Classical vs Contemporary Singing Technique. Total Voice Student https://www.totalvoice.com.au/classical/

Darren Wicks, PhD, provides an excellent comparison of two singing techniques that are often debating against each other. The two techniques are Classical singing, most notably used in Opera, Art Song and Lieder, and Contemporary singing, which is used in many of todays popular musics like pop, rock and CCM or contemporary commercial music, the type of music you hear on the radio. There is much debate on whether learning one technique is superior to the other and Wicks elaborates on the characteristics of each technique and ultimately gives a very unbiased consensus on the two techniques

I was happy to find that the average reading level of this text was 11.7, it is a good article to assign to the more experienced students in an a cappella group or in any vocal group. This article uses a lot of vocabulary that will need some preparation before reading due to the topic being one that begins to get introduced in late high school to early collegiate teachings. But the quantitative information is well placed and is very supplemental. It is not a long article but establishes all of the information in a very efficient way. 

This article I would save for more experienced students that would potentially pursue music when they graduate high school or pursue music in college. It is a read that is very factual and can be used to debate those who would claim one technique is better than the other. I can also see using this text as a way to introduce high school students to different singing techniques. This article will be very helpful to students involved in a cappella since a cappella is mainly CCM and require contemporary singing which would contrast the classical technique needed in a traditional choir setting. However, madrigal singing is a form of a cappella but would require use of classical technique. Identifying the differences between the two and when to apply them in different settings helps a vocalist become versatile and a much more effective singer. 

Vocabulary for your consideration: repertoire, arpeggios, vocalises, CCM, improvisation, scales, modes, Spirituals, gospel, larynx

Question: What famous vocalists would you consider to be experts in classical singing, contemporary singing, or both singing techniques as a crossover artists? Why do you think so?