Men in striped suits and straw hats, singing romantic, old-timey lyrics. This is a traditional barbershop quartet - what a Capella singing used to be like. A Capella has come to mean “without instrumentation," though it originally meant "choral style" in Italian.
It was a style that became popular in the 1930s and 40s. Though it’s gone through its ups and downs, a Capella is back in vogue today - more than 80 years later.
Right now, Western Michigan University has no less than five A Capella groups. The newest of which is an all-female group called Here Comes Treble. Here Comes Treble will host a concert on Saturday, April 8th at 3 p.m. at Western Michigan University’s Kanley Memorial Chapel.
Why is a Capella so hot right now? Like most things with pop culture, it’s hard to pinpoint any one thing in particular. With social media, it’s certainly easier to find videos of a Capella groups - some of which have gone viral. A Capella has also appeared on the screen with the reality TV competition The Sing Off, the hit show Glee, and the movie Pitch Perfect.
Western Senior Abby Klopfenstein says it’s easy to see why people are fascinated with the style.
“Because you have to do all of the bass, all of the different things usually instruments would cover. So I think that’s what a lot of people are really intrigued with,” she says.
Some a Capella groups have taken that instrumental idea a bit further. Here Comes Treble has all female vocalists, but they do have a male beatboxer - Ryan Loney.
Sophomore Amanda Kuszak is the president of Here Comes Treble and arranges all of the music for the group. She says a Capella is a chance to be creative. The group decides which parts of the song to sing and how they want to convey those sounds.
“It’s not just listening to the song and transposing it. For me at least I want to change things, I want to make it my own a little bit - twist it around. So even if two of the groups did the same exact song, they’re still going to sound completely different,” says Kuszak.
Junior Irene Kivinan says it’s blending all of those sounds together that makes a Capella challenging:
“We all have our own strengths and weaknesses, but I think when you’re in an a Capella group and you have to blend and create harmonies with people. Your ability to work with the group, to listen to other people around you, and to not overshadow people but also to have your part be heard is really important.”
Kuszak says it’s also easy to get off key:
“When you have the instruments playing they stay in the key for you and you can hear them, but with a Capella it’s really easy to get flat or sharp. It seems like it’s just easy singing just like the instrumental parts that you hear, but it can be really hard to find that too.”
Freshman Emma Dunlop says practicing on your own makes it easier, of course - even if it does feel a little odd.
“It’s kind of weird because it’s a lot of like do-do-do-do, but even listening to the actual song and singing your specific part along with it helps a lot so it’s totally possible,” says Dunlop.
Freshman Eden Scott also sings with Western’s Collegiate Singers. She says she loves choir too, but a Capella is more of a release:
“In that choir everything is very structured. We go in there, we warm up, and we sing for 50 minutes. But here we come, we talk for a little bit, you know we warm up. It’s the same idea. We’re still making music together, but there’s just a more relaxed tone to it. And sometimes that’s just…that’s what you need after a long day.”
The a Capella group Here Comes Treble will hold its spring concert on Saturday, April 8th at 3 p.m. at Western Michigan University’s Kanley Memorial Chapel.
