Simple Music Secrets

Acapella refers to the art of unaccompanied singing. It began in the church with Gregorian chant and has progressed over the centuries through many stages. In 20th century America it has been known through barbershop, doo wop and various choral ensembles. Barbershop is known for its four part harmonies and doo wop for inventive harmony parts which may imitate other instruments as well. Doo wop also gave rise to the Persuasions, a group that personified vocal music in the 1960’s.

African acapella
In Africa singers commonly imitate animals and even thunderstorms with clapping hands and finger clicks. The melodies in African acapella are particularly rich and satisfying.

Modern artists such as Bobby McFerrin have taken acapella to a unique art form in his imitative explorations. The unaccompanied voice is still very much alive in the church also as well after hundreds of years.

Where to find acapella?

You may begin singing acapella with a school choir or small group of your own. I would recommend the college or community choir especially if it is a madrigal group or other unaccompanied group. A madrigal is an acapella style from the 16th and 17th century, very common to find in college courses. It is can be very complex and fun to sing. Even if it is not something you are really attracted to it is a good way to begin to sing acapella in a group environment.

There may be barbershop or doo wop or even African style acapella groups in the area that you live. You can form a group of your own if you have the desire and can find others that share that same desire.
There are also groups that support the acapella form such as the Barbershop Harmony Society and Chorus America.

Sharpen your ear

Acapella sharpens your ear more than your vocal abilitlies. You absolutely have to listen to the other voices and respond because there is no musical reference for your tone center. If you can’t find it, you are stuck. If you go flat it will show, no doubt.
Acapella can be one of the most satisfying experiences in music as it is the purest form of music, the human voice in all of its forms.

Our voices are the most fragile musical instruments you can imagine. Every day, we use our voices for much more than singing, and our bodies endure conditions and stressors that can deteriorate our voice quality, if we don’t take measures to protect it from harm.

Factors That Can Affect Your Voice
Weather conditions, second-hand smoke, noisy environments, what we eat and drink, coughing, clearing your throat, medications, allergies – the list of things that can directly or indirectly impact your voice is numerous.

You certainly can’t stay in a bubble or prevent exposure to everything that might affect your voice, but the best way to manage these individual hazards is to think of your overall health and take precautions whenever possible to protect your voice.

Protect Your Voice, Water It
The basics for your body’s health also apply to your voice. Water is a singer’s best ally, since it provides natural hydration without taking vital fluid out of your system in digestion. Staying hydrated during hot weather in summer and dry conditions in winter while indoors are especially important. Cool-mist humidifiers can keep the indoor humidity at a comfortable level in winter.
The vocal folds within your larynx are, in effect, small muscles that need to be conditioned and exercised with caution to build their strength without damage. They also need to be well lubricated. Drinking water steadily over the course of every day helps maintain the right density of water in your tissues, including your throat and this tip alone will help to protect your voice dramatically.

Steam is also healthy for the outside of the vocal folds in your throat. Some vocal experts recommend taking a hot shower or using a hot vaporizer for a few minutes twice a day to generate some much-needed moisture for your vocal chords.

To sing backup, you must learn to serve the music, not yourself. The meaning of singing backup is to sing behind someone, not compete with them. Backup singing is for those who can be content playing a support role to the idol of the show.

This is a difficult skill to learn and is not much understood or appreciated. The ability to listen and be responsive  is paramount is this style of singing. You have to begin and end the phrase exactly as the main singer does, you must breathe as they do. It may well be good to think of yourself as the singers shadow, never noticed but always present.

Hopefully you have some input or control over where you sit or stand on stage. See to it that you can see the singer at all times. If you cannot see the face of the singer your job will be difficult indeed. You must watch the main singer always. If you are watching the singer you can see when they make a mistake or intentionally take another repeat etc. Watch the singer intently and always be on the lookout for a simple nod of the head or gesture that may indicate a repeat or change of course.

Learn to blend your phrasing to the will of the singer. You can start your line just behind the singers melody if you want to blend properly. Sometimes you are not sure of how loud the singer will be so start quietly and gradually come up to the proper level after the line develops. Be very aware of consonants at the beginning of a line and try to not emphasize them. Two consonants sung slightly after each other will sound disagreeable and is largely avoidable.

The end of melodies are just as necessary as the beginning. You can avoid embarrassment to yourself if you only will ease off your phrase as the singer comes to the end of theirs. So learn to blend phrases, listen and watch the main singer and you can be a backup singer every band wants to hire.

Vocal harmony is simply two or more voices singing together, usually in a pleasing way but not necessarily. The harmony parts are most often the third, fifth or seventh of the chord. Most common today is two or three part harmonies. To be the best harmony singer you can it is helpful if you learn a little about chord structure. You have to learn to hear the other parts in the song, to separate them. Music theory may also be learned by taking a college course if you like.

If you listen to all music with an ear toward harmony you will begin to hear more and more detail. Try to pick out a harmony part and sing along with it as the song plays out. Try to find another person who is interested in singing and practice with them. If you both trade off who sings which part, that can be fun and give you each an opportunity to sing the harmony as well as the melody. You may of course have to transpose songs into other keys so that you both are comfortable with your parts.

The local college usually has a choir you can join or class you can take. At first you may be nervous, but everyone is there because they love to sing. There are choirs, madrigals and musicals just to name a few. Another excellent choice in music for learning harmonies is folk or bluegrass.

Sing Vocal Backup