A cappella (Italian: “at chapel” or Latin: "From the chapel/choir") music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Vocal music is Music performed by one or more Singers with or without non-vocal instrumental accompaniment Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. In Music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with a soloist or ensemble, often known as the Lead, in a Supporting manner A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato style. Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 - 1600 In Music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent Melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice ( Monophony Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750. Concertato is a term in early Baroque music referring to either a genre or a style of music in which groups of instruments or voices share a melody usually In the 19th century a renewed interest in Renaissance polyphony coupled with an ignorance of the fact that vocal parts were often doubled by instrumentalists led to the term coming to mean unaccompanied vocal music. ^[1] In modern usage, a cappella often refers to an all-vocal performance of any style, including barbershop, doo wop, and modern pop/rock. Barbershop Vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1940s-present is a style of A cappella, or unaccompanied Vocal music characterized Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based Rhythm and blues music which developed in African-American communities in the 1940s and which achieved mainstream popularity both in the 1950s

Religious traditions

A cappella music originally was, and still often is, used in religious music, especially church music as well as anasheed and zemirot. Christian music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life Anasheed (from the Arabic plural noun أناشيد is Islamic Vocal music that is either sung A cappella or accompanied by percussion instruments Zemirot (זמירות (singular zemer) are Jewish hymns usually sung in the Hebrew or Aramaic languages but sometimes also in Yiddish Gregorian chant is an example of a cappella singing, as is the majority of sacred vocal music from the Renaissance. History Gregorian chant was organized codified and notated mainly in the Frankish lands of western and central Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries with later additions Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 - 1600 The madrigal, up until its development in the early Baroque into an instrumentally-accompanied form, is also usually an a cappella form. A madrigal is a type of Secular vocal music composition written during the Renaissance and early Baroque eras Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750.

Christian

Present-day Christian religious bodies known for conducting their worship services without musical accompaniment include some Presbyterian churches devoted to the regulative principle of worship, Old Regular Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Plymouth Brethren, Churches of Christ, the Old German Baptist Brethren, the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church and the Amish. Presbyterianism is a family of Christian denominations within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity The regulative principle of worship is a 20th century term used for a teaching shared by Calvinists and Anabaptists on how the second commandment and The Old Regular Baptists are an American Christian denomination based primarily in the Appalachian region of the United States Primitive Baptists (also known as Old-School Baptists) are a group of Baptists that have a historical connection to the Missionary / anti-missionary controversy The Plymouth Brethren is a Conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland The Churches of Christ discussed Old German Baptist Brethren (OGBB descend from a pietist movement in Schwarzenau, Germany, in 1708 when Alexander Mack founded a fellowship The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Amish (ˈɑːmɪʃ are members of an Anabaptist Christian denomination best known for Simple living, Plain dress and resisting modern conveniences Many Mennonites also conduct some or all of their services without instruments. The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after Menno Simons (1496&ndash1561 though his teachings were a relatively Sacred Harp, a type of religious "folk" music, is an a cappella style of religious singing, but is more often sung at singing conventions than at church services. Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of Sacred choral music that took root in the Southern region of the United States.

Christian a cappella polyphony began to be developed in Europe around the late 1400s; early works are often identified with Josquin des Prez. In Music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent Melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice ( Monophony Josquin des Prez (c 1450 to 1455 &ndash August 27 1521 often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. The early a cappellas seem to have had an accompanying instrument, although this instrument doubled the singers and were not independent. By the 1500s, a cappella polyphony had been fully developed; Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's works are considered excellent examples. In Music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent Melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice ( Monophony Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (between 3 February 1525 and 2 February 1526 - 2 February 1594 was an Italian Composer of the Renaissance. After Palestrina, the cantata began to take a cappella's place. A cantata (derived from the Italian word 'cantare' meaning 'to sing' is a vocal composition with an instrumental Accompaniment and often ^[2]

Examples and instruction for New Testament Christians included only singing: Matthew 26:30, James 5:13, 1 Corinthians 14:15, Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16. There is no reference to instrumental music in the worship of the first century church; the first recorded example of a musical instrument in Christian worship was an organ introduced by Pope Vitalian in Rome in 666. The pipe organ is a Musical instrument that produces sound when pressurized air (wind is driven through a series of pipes, controlled by a keyboard Pope Saint Vitalianus was Pope from July 30, 657, until January 27, 672.

Instrumental worship was not widely practiced until the 18th century, and it was opposed vigorously by notable Christian scholars such as Justin Martyr (100–165), John Calvin (1509–1564), and John Wesley (1703–1791). Saint Justin Martyr (also Justin the Martyr, Justin of Caesarea, Justin the Philosopher, Latin Iustinus Martyr or Flavius John Calvin (or Jean Calvin) (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564 was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and John Wesley (ˈwɛslɪ ( – March 2, 1791) was an Anglican cleric and Christian theologian who was the founder of the (Evangelical

Jewish

Traditional Jewish religious services do not include musical instruments. Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut The use of instruments is traditionally forbidden on the Sabbath out of concern that players would be tempted to repair their instruments, which is forbidden on those days. (This prohibition has been relaxed in many Reform and some Conservative congregations. ) Similarly, when Jewish families and larger groups sing traditional Sabbath songs known as zemirot outside the context of formal religious services, they usually do so a cappella, and Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations on the Sabbath sometimes feature entertainment by a cappella ensembles. Zemirot (זמירות (singular zemer) are Jewish hymns usually sung in the Hebrew or Aramaic languages but sometimes also in Yiddish Moreover, many Jews consider the 49-day period of the counting of the omer between Passover and Shavuot to be a time of semi-mourning when instrumental music is not allowed. Counting of the Omer (or Sefirat Ha'omer, Hebrew: ספירת העומר) is a verbal counting of each of the forty-nine days between the Jewish holidays This has led to a tradition of a cappella singing sometimes known as sefirah music. ^[3]

Muslim

Many Muslim musicians also perform a form of a cappella music, which are called anasheed. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion Anasheed (from the Arabic plural noun أناشيد is Islamic Vocal music that is either sung A cappella or accompanied by percussion instruments This is due to the possible prohibition of certain musical instruments in Islam, though Muslims remain divided on this issue. Islamic music is Muslim religious Music, as sung or played in public services or private devotions

A cappella in the United States

A strong and prominent a cappella tradition was begun in the midwest part of the United States in 1911 by F. Melius Christiansen, a music faculty member at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. St Olaf College is a Coeducational residential four-year private liberal arts college in Northfield Minnesota. The St. Olaf College Choir was established as an outgrowth of the local St. John's Lutheran Church, where Christiansen was organist and the choir was composed at least partially of students from the nearby St. Olaf campus. The success of the ensemble was emulated by other regional conductors, and a rich tradition of a cappella choral music was born in the region at colleges like Concordia College (Moorhead, MN), Luther College (Decorah, IA), Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Concordia is the name of other universities and colleges (and seminaries) International University Concordia Audentes, Estonia Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in St Peter, MN), Augustana College (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), and Augsburg College (Minneapolis, MN). Augsburg College is a selective Liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Minneapolis Minnesota. The choirs typically range from 40 singers to 80 and are recognized for their efforts to perfect blend, intonation, phrasing, and pitch in a large choral setting.

Major movements in modern a cappella over the past century include Barbershop and doo wop. Barbershop Vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1940s-present is a style of A cappella, or unaccompanied Vocal music characterized Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based Rhythm and blues music which developed in African-American communities in the 1940s and which achieved mainstream popularity both in the 1950s The Barbershop Harmony Society, Sweet Adelines International, and Harmony Inc. The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America Inc Sweet Adelines International is an organization of female Barbershop music singers host educational events including Harmony College, Directors College, and the International Educational Symposium, and international contests and conventions, recognizing international champion choruses and quartets. This page lists the Barbershop Harmony Society 's international chorus champions by the year in which they won This page lists the Barbershop Harmony Society 's international quartet champions by the year in which they won

The King's Singers are credited with promoting interest in small-group a cappella performances in the 1960s. The King's Singers are a celebrated and long-lived British A cappella vocal ensemble. In 1983 an a cappella group known as The Flying Pickets had a Christmas 'number one' in the UK with a cover of Yazoo's (known in the US as Yaz) Only You. The Flying Pickets is a British A cappella Vocal group, that had a surprise Christmas number one hit in 1983 in the UK singles chart Yazoo (known as Yaz in the US) are an English Synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex. " Only You " is a Ballad written by musician Vince Clarke. A cappella music attained renewed prominence from the late 1980s onward, spurred by the success of Top 40 recordings by artists such as The Manhattan Transfer, but it was The Persuasions who saved the dying art and opened the door for such artists as Bobby McFerrin, Huey Lewis and the News, All 4 One, The Nylons and Boyz II Men. The Manhattan Transfer is the name of two incarnations of an American vocal group with Tim Hauser being the only link between the two groups Robert "Bobby" McFerrin Jr (born in Manhattan, New York, on March 11, 1950) is a ten-time Grammy Award -winning Jazz All-4-One is a Grammy Award -winning male R&B group best known for their hit single " I Swear " from their self-titled 1994 debut album The Nylons are an A cappella group founded in 1979 in Toronto Canada, best known for their covers of The Turtles ' " Happy Together Boyz II Men is a four-time Grammy Award -winning American R&B / soul singing group from Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Jerry Lawson, former lead singer, arranger and producer of The Persuasions left The Persuasions after 40 years and in 2007 released his 23 albums with his new a cappella group Jerry Lawson and Talk of The Town.

Recording artists

One of the legendary 50's R&B groups were the Nutmegs, who were also known as the "Rajahs of a cappella". They were the first of these groups to proudly showcase an a cappella format which became their trademark. Later, many other groups recorded at least one a cappella song. The Classics, singers of "Till then", scored a very popular a cappella hit, "I Apologize". Later in the 1970s, The Belmonts released a seminal a cappella album entitled Cigars, Acappella, Candy,^[4] which is representative of the genre. The Belmonts are a Doo wop group that originated in the mid 1950s

Contemporary a cappella includes many vocal bands who add vocal percussion or beatboxing to create a pop/rock sound, in some cases very similar to bands with instruments. Vocal percussion is the art of creating sounds with one's Mouth that approximate imitate or otherwise serve the same purpose as a Percussion instrument, whether One such group is Rockapella. Rockapella is an American A cappella musical group best known for their series of Folgers Coffee commercials and the Where in the World is Carmen There also remains a strong a cappella presence within Christian music, as some denominations purposefully do not use instruments during worship. Examples of such groups are Take 6 and Acappella. Take 6 is an influential American A cappella Gospel music Sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Acappella is an all-male Contemporary Christian vocal group that was founded in 1982 by Keith Lancaster who has variously played the role of singer songwriter and producer

Arrangements of popular music for small a cappella ensembles typically include one voice singing the lead melody, one singing a rhythmic bass line, and the remaining voices contributing chordal or polyphonic accompaniment. In Music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent Melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice ( Monophony

A cappella can also describe the practice of using just the vocal track(s) from a multitrack, instrumental recording to be remixed or put onto vinyl records for DJs. A remix is an alternative version of a song different from the original version Artists sometimes release the vocal tracks of their popular songs so that fans can remix them. One such example is the a cappella release of Jay-Z's Black Album, which Danger Mouse mixed with the Beatles' White Album to create The Grey Album. Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4 1969 better known as Jay-Z, is an American Rapper and former CEO of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella The Black Album is a 2003 Hip hop album by rapper Jay-Z. It was promoted as his final studio album although Jay-Z subsequently announced a return Brian Joseph Burton, better known by his Stage name Danger Mouse, is an American artist and producer. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 The Grey Album is an album by Danger Mouse, released in 2004.

A cappella's growth is not limited to live performance, with hundreds of recorded a cappella albums produced over the past decade. As of December 2006, the Recorded A Cappella Review Board (RARB) had reviewed over 660 a cappella albums since 1994, and its popular discussion forum had over 900 users and 19,000 articles. The first a cappella song ever to reach number one on the bilboard Hot 100 was Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry, Be Happy. " Don't Worry Be Happy " is the title and principal lyric of a Song by musician Bobby McFerrin.

Collegiate a cappella

Main article: Collegiate a cappella

See also: List of collegiate a cappella groups

One of the oldest collegiate a cappella groups is The Whiffenpoofs of Yale University,^[5] formed in 1909, which once included Cole Porter as a member. Collegiate a cappella (or college a cappella) ensembles are student-run and -directed Singing groups that perform entirely without instruments This is an incomplete list of A cappella musical groups at colleges or universities The Yale Whiffenpoofs are the oldest collegiate ''a cappella'' group in the United States established in 1909 Cole Albert Porter (June 9 1891 &ndash October 15 1964 was an American Composer and songwriter from Peru, Indiana. ^[5] Collegiate a cappella groups grew throughout the twentieth century. The numbers of these groups exploded in beginning in the 1990s, fueled in part by a change in the style – voices used as modern rock instruments, including vocal percussion/"beatboxing. Vocal percussion is the art of creating sounds with one's Mouth that approximate imitate or otherwise serve the same purpose as a Percussion instrument, whether " Some larger universities now have a dozen groups or more and the total number of college groups grew from 250 circa 1990 to over 1,000 now. In 2006, Columbia University's Kingsmen were featured in the film The Good German. Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. The Good German is a 2006 feature film adaptation of the novel by Joseph Kanon. The groups often join one another in on-campus concerts, such as the Chimes' Cherry Tree Massacre, a 3-weekend a cappella festival held each February since 1975, where over a hundred collegiate groups have appeared, as well as International Quartet Champions, The Boston Common, and the contemporary commercial a cappella group Rockapella. This page lists the Barbershop Harmony Society 's international quartet champions by the year in which they won Boston Common is the Barbershop quartet that won the 1980 SPEBSQSA international competition at Salt Lake City Utah. Rockapella is an American A cappella musical group best known for their series of Folgers Coffee commercials and the Where in the World is Carmen Some other groups include the Harvard Krokodiloes^[6], On The Rocks (University of Oregon), and Simmons Sirens from Simmons College (Massachusetts) in Boston. Founded in 1946 The Harvard Krokodiloes are Harvard University 's oldest A cappella singing group On The Rocks is a Collegiate a cappella group from the University of Oregon. The Simmons Sirens are the official A cappella group of Simmons College in Boston Simmons College is a liberal arts women's college in Boston Massachusetts. Co-ed groups have produced many up-and-coming artists including solo musician John Legend, an alumnus of the Counterparts at the University of Pennsylvania, and Siddhartha Khosla, lead singer of the band Goldspot (featured on the OC), an alumnus of both Off the Beat and Penn Masala at the University of Pennsylvania

A cappella is gaining popularity among South Asian youth with the emergence of primarily Hindi-English College groups. John Stephens (born December 28, 1978) better known by his Stage name John Legend, is a Grammy Award winning American soul The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn) is a private University located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Goldspot is a Los Angeles based band first introduced by tastemaker DJ Nic Harcourt on his morning show KCRW's "Morning Become Eclectic" Penn Masala is the world's first Hindi A cappella group formed in 1996 by students at the University of Pennsylvania. The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn) is a private University located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Examples of all-male groups include Penn Masala in the University of Pennsylvania and Raagapella in Stanford. All-female groups are less common, but still exist. An example of an all-female group is Illini Chandani, from the University of Illinois. Co-ed South Asian a cappella groups are also gaining popularity. Ektaal, founded in 1999 within the University of Virginia, recently went co-ed in 2006, but prior to that, was an all-female group. Several similar groups exist in other colleges. These groups have attained significant critical acclaim with their distinct style of mixing songs and applying a cappella to styles of different cultures. Penn Masala has songs in Hindi, Arabic, English, Punjabi and Gujarati, with lyrics from different languages in the same song.

Increased interest in modern a cappella (particularly collegiate a cappella) can be seen in the growth of awards such as the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (overseen by the Contemporary A Cappella Society) and competitions such as the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella for college groups and the Harmony Sweepstakes for all groups. The Contemporary A Cappella Society (of America or CASA is a 501(c(3 charitable organization dedicated to fostering and promoting A cappella Music of all styles The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, originally the National Championship of Collegiate A Cappella ("NCCA" a play on NCAA) is an international The Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival is an annual showcase and competition for A cappella groups of all vocal styles

Emulating instruments

In addition to singing words, some a cappella singers also emulate instrumentation by reproducing the melody with their vocal cords. The vocal folds, also known commonly as vocal cords, are composed of twin infoldings of Mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the Larynx. For instance, "Twilight Zone" by 2 Unlimited was sung a cappella to the instrumentation on the comedy television series Tompkins Square. " Twilight Zone " was a hit single released by the Dutch Eurodance group 2 Unlimited. 2 Unlimited was a Eurodance act formed in 1991 The project was the brainchild of Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde and was fronted by a A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U Another famous example of emulating instrumentation instead of singing the words is the theme song for The New Addams Family series on Fox Family Channel (now ABC Family). The Addams Family is an American Television series based on the characters in Charles Addams ' ''New Yorker'' cartoons. ABC Family is an American Cable television network currently owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, a division of The Walt Disney Company ABC Family is an American Cable television network currently owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, a division of The Walt Disney Company Groups such as Vocal Sampling and Undivided emulate Latin rhythms a cappella. Vocal Sampling is an all-male A cappella musical group from Cuba. In the 1960s, the Swingle Singers used their voices to emulate musical instruments to Baroque and Classical music. Vocal artist Bobby McFerrin is famous for his instrumental emulation, and Deke Sharon has taught seminars on how to sing a variety of instrumental sounds. Robert "Bobby" McFerrin Jr (born in Manhattan, New York, on March 11, 1950) is a ten-time Grammy Award -winning Jazz Deke Sharon (born December 12, 1967) is an American Singer, Arranger, Composer, director, producer and

The Swingle Singers used nonsense words to sound like instruments, but have been known to produce non-verbal versions of musical instruments. The Swingle Singers are a vocal group formed in 1962 Paris, France with Ward Swingle, Anne Germain Jeanette Baucomont and Jean Cussac Like the other groups, examples of their music can be found on YouTube. YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload view and share Video clips YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees Beatboxing is a form of a cappella music popular in the hip-hop community, where rap is often performed a cappella also. Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos. Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting, or just rhyming) is the Rhythmic spoken delivery of Rhymes wordplay and

References

See also

• Collegiate a cappella
• List of collegiate a cappella groups
• List of professional a cappella groups

External links

• Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA)
• The Recorded A Cappella Review Board (RARB)
• VocalSource - A Cappella Recording Community