A Cappella pop singing . . . it's the hottest trend in the nation! Author Brody McDonald's award-winning ensemble, Eleventh Hour, was the first high school group to appear on NBC's The Sing-Off, and now you can similarly challenge your top high school and collegiate age singers with this book! With a foreword by Deke Sharon, topics include forming your ensemble, music selection, rehearsal techniques, sound reinforcement, vocal percussion, and much more!

In this highly anticipated sequel to A Cappella Arranging, Deke Sharon and Dylan Bell provide even more tools and insights to help musicians master the craft of a cappella arranging—including new creative principles and theoretical techniques to expand the palate, as well as arranging in various musical genres spanning several decades of music. Since the publication of the original book in 2012, a cappella as a genre has grown enormously. Using conversational yet instructive tone, A Cappella Arranging 2.0: The Next Level picks up where the previous book left off, helping people deepen their a cappella arranging skills. In four parts, the book addresses a variety of topics including: The creative process An advanced understanding of vocal ranges Counterpoint and polyphony Harmonic concepts and techniques Arranging for the studio Live looping arrangements Instrumental idioms Arranging in different styles, including world styles Medleys and mashups This is the perfect resource for taking your a cappella arrangements to the next level.

Chronicles the competition between three contending groups for the Collegiate A Cappella championship, evaluating how their achievements reflect a rising surge in the music form's popularity, as well as the diversity that has shaped its expression.

(Choral). What choral conductor or soloist has not looked around for new ideas for warming up the voice? Here are over 39 creative exercises which do more than just warm up the voice: they help to relax the body, train the ear and develop an awareness of dynamics and rhythm. Two top authors, Deke Sharon and J.D. Frizzell, have provided a wide array of warm ups specifically designed for pop and jazz choirs but these warm ups will work well for contemporary a cappella groups of all sizes and styles. Every vocal ensemble has its strengths and weaknesses which vary from year to year. The warmups within can to help polish your weak spots and hone your strengths. Regardless of your group s strengths, this book is can help you address the full range of skills required for great musicmaking. Topics include: Rhythm, Syllables, Tone, Intervals, Dynamics, Intonation, Blend, Balance, Pitch, Improvisation, Solo Techniques, and Vocal Percussion.

From amateur collegiate a cappella groups to professional ensembles like Straight No Chaser and Pentatonix, contemporary a cappella has exploded onto the world pop music scene. In So You Want to Sing A Cappella, Deke Sharon combines historical context and a comprehensive look at the a cappella community with a detailed discussion of vocal techniques, rehearsal practices, and live audio support needed to sing great a cappella. Additional contributed chapters discuss singing and voice science, vocal health, vocal percussion, and audio technology. The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and each book features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.

Collegiate a cappella, part of a long tradition of unaccompanied singing, is known to date back on American college campuses to at least the colonial era. Considered in the context of college glee clubs, barbershop quartets, early-twentieth-century vocal pop groups, doo-wop groups, and contemporary a cappella manifestations in pop music, collegiate a cappella is an extension of a very old tradition of close harmony singing---one that includes but also goes beyond the founding of the Yale Whiffenpoofs. Yet despite this important history, collegiate a cappella has until now never been the subject of scholarly examination. In Powerful Voices: The Musical and Social World of Collegiate A Cappella, Joshua S. Duchan offers the first thorough accounting of the music's history and reveals how the critical issues of sociability, gender, performance, and technology affect its music and experience. Just as importantly, Duchan provides a vital contribution to music scholarship more broadly, in several important ways: by expanding the small body of literature on choruses and amateur music; by addressing musical and social processes in a field where the vast majority of scholarship focuses on individuals and their products; and by highlighting a musical context long neglected by musicologists---the college campus. Ultimately, Powerful Voices is a window on a world of amateur music that has begun to expand its reach internationally, carrying this uniquely American musical form to new global audiences, while playing an important role in the social, cultural, and musical education of countless singers over the last century.

More than any other person, Deke Sharon is responsible for the current success of pop a cappella. Founder of the House Jacks (the original “rock band without instruments”), Deke continues to influence through his work with The Sing-Off, Pitch Perfect, Pitch Perfect 2, and Vocalosity. Combine Deke’s expertise with that of directors Ben Spalding and Brody McDonald, add a foreword by Ben Folds, throw in advice from contributors like Peter Hollens, and you have the most comprehensive volume ever created on the subject of contemporary a cappella singing. Sections include: * Setting the Stage * Getting the Band Together * Arranging * Preparing * Technology * Making a Name * and more!

(Piano/Vocal/Guitar Songbook). Recreate the performances of your favorite a cappella groups from the show with these complete keyboard arrangements. Chord symbols, lead vocal lines, and full vocal harmonies provide pianists and vocalists with everything they need! The book features 18 songs, including: Apologize * Final Countdown * Landslide * Mercy * Under Pressure * Use Somebody * With a Little Help from My Friends * and more.

The undergraduate years are a special time of life for many students. They are a time for study, yes, but also a time for making independent decisions over what to do beyond formal education. This book is based on a nine-year study of collegiate a cappella - a socio-musical practice that has exploded on college campuses since the 1990s. A defining feature of collegiate a cappella is that it is a student-run leisure activity undertaken by undergraduate students at institutions both large and small, prestigious and lower-status. With rare exceptions, participants are not music majors yet many participants interviewed had previous musical experience both in and out of school settings. Motivations for staying musically involved varied considerably - from those who felt they could not imagine life without a musical outlet to those who joined on a whim. Collegiate a cappella is about much more than singing cover songs. It sustains multiple forms of inequality through its audition practices and its performative enactment of gender and heteronormativity. This book sheds light on how undergraduates conceptualize vocation and avocation within the context of formal education, holding implications for educators at all levels.

(Methodology Chorals). Henry Leck, Founder and Artistic Director of the Indianapolis Children's Choir and Director of Choral Activities at Butler University, has influenced thousands of young musicians and teachers through his dedication to choral excellence and the idea that children can perform music with artistry and understanding. This comprehensive text, written with Dr. Flossie Jordan, is an insightful guide for choral directors in the field and in training to help develop the teaching skills, leadership abilities, conducting technique, knowledge of repertoire and organizational skills necessary for success. Chapters include: 1. Going Beyond the Craft of Music Making 2. Vocal Techniques for the Young Singer 3. Director Preparation 4. Musical Expression through Visualization 5. Dalcroze Techniques in the Choral Rehearsal 6. Creating Artistry Through a Kodaly Curriculum 7. The Boy's Expanding Voice: Take the High Road 8. Leadership Style 9. Organization 10. Epilogue As an added bonus, the book includes a CD-ROM with dozens of helpful forms and documents from the Indianapolis Children's Choir covering organizing a children's choir, auditions, governing documents, managing volunteers, fundraising, grant writing and much more!