1) Best defined as: a way of approaching a cappella to create with voices the complete experience of listing to other music of the same style.

No one style of music: pop, rock, funk, r&b, jazz, hip-hop, salsa, world, folk, etc. In fact, one group may span several styles: Take 6 blends the repertoire of gospel music, the chord voicing of jazz and the melodic sensibilities of R&B along with a smattering of pop to make their own sound, and style.

QUESTION: Four perameters of sound: Pitch, duration, loudness &... timbre. Previous styles of a cappella don’t make use of the full range of human vocal timbre (in fact, in the history of music in general, little does. People usually stand in the front and sing).

Remember - the human voice is the most timbrally diverse of all “instruments,” and whereas a string quartet or rock band will have a “sound” that’s determined by instrumentation, an a cappella ensemble has the ability to span musical styles limited only by their expertise. King’s Singers and Swingle Singers are two notable examples. Many contemporary a cappella groups defy traditional stylistic catigories.

2) How are voices used in a contemporary a cappella group?

Lead vocal remains most predominant, but all other voices are used in a variety of ways - as harmony voices, replicating instrumental sounds, anywhere inbetween. One singer in one song can end up singing a melange of syllables and musical lines - the important end result is the overall cohesive effect of having heard a “complete” piece of music.

3) Birthplace? A variety of convergent events brought the movement to life, including:

     • a backlash from the increasing role of electronics in music

     • experimentation in the college a cappella scene

     • the internet, allowing fans to unify, and organizations to reach new fans

     • the growing exploration of new vocal techniques: i.e. “human beatbox” in rap

     • Convergence of several professional groups experimenting at the same time

       (somewhat like the invention of Calculus - Newton and Leibniz “discovered” together)

4) For the first time since the charts were started in the 1950’s, a cappella music arrived in the “top 40.”

   First Billboard A Cappella Hit in US? Nylons - 1987 - “Kiss Him Goodbye” #11

   First Billboard #1 Hit in US? Bobby McFerrin - “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”

5) Look at chart comparing Barbershop, Doo-wop and Pop

6) What’s the future of contemporary a cappella?  No one knows. 

Some think interest in a cappella right now is slowing, others think it’s gaining.

We’re not even really sure what all this will be called in 20 years. The term “contemporary a cappella” wasn’t coined with the future in mind (tell story of dorm room & CAN). It’s possible the term will stick (much like “bossa nova” in Brazil, literally “new sound”), but it’s also possible it’ll have a new name. Or no name at all.