Let’s Start an Acapella Group!

Uh… so I suppose this wasn’t the most original idea, but joining an acapella group has been one of the crown jewels of my college career. I don’t have many regrets from that time, but had I had the opportunity to join/create the group earlier, I would go back in time and chastise myself vehemently for not doing so.

I ended up arranging about 90% of what we sang during my time there and I still write for the group. Now I don’t claim to be a professional, but I did get a degree in music composition (so it has been on my mind lately). Here are a few tips about things I’ve noticed in my own workflow, and hopefully if people are remotely interested in the process, it will be an informative and enjoyable list.

10. Not every song is worth your time… choose wisely.

Everyone was always suggesting songs to me… my group, my really good friends, myself… it was hard to please everyone. I found picking a good few selections (and only working on two or three at a time max) allowed me to meet the deadlines. I found how to recognize easier songs.

9. Theory is a must, but feeling the groove is even better!

So I am always jamming at the piano – figuring out someone else’s tune or making up my own. The most important arranging skill is learning how to recognize musical patterns and simplifying them for other people. You can’t be afraid to sing things or mess up or play things really slow until they make sense… piano skills are REALLY useful here.

8. Bassline and Melody first!

Some people don’t know where to start – my classical training has me listening for both melody/bass relationships and chord progressions (which is usually just the bassline). It’s easy to get the bassline wrong or fill in the chord with a weird note… it’s easy to catch if you play your arrangement back. Trust your ears, especially in realtime.

7. Decide right away how faithful you are going to be to the original.

One of my earliest arrangements was Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody… I copied the recording tone for tone. In a version of Blackbird, I got the guys singing a completely different chord progression (because I felt the guitar picking wasn’t going to translate well for the whole song). Just make up your mind on these things, I’ve screwed up sections because of inconsistency.

6. Simple is better… usually.

I say this because complications in rhythm and harmony can add interest – but it can also turn youraudience off and increase rehearsal time manifold.  There are exceptions. Even more impressive is solving a complicated musical problem (like a pulsating piano line) with an easy solution (splitting it up the part into two or three digestible ones).

Wow… this list is long.

5. It’s slow at first, but over time you will get faster…

I was painfully slow at the beginning of all of this… so much so that I would not finish whole songs, cause I’d lose the excitement. Just remember Patience is a virtue.

4. Second time around, change something.

This is the first bit of practical arranging advice – and most good recordings follow this rule: almost nothing is repeated verbatim. The slightest addition to the texture during the next verse will be infinitely felt by everyone’s ears – as is every explosion of sound after a rock songs finishes the first “subdued” version of it’s hook. Just make the song grow.

3. Test drive!

Recording yourself is not vanity. Assuming you can get over the sound of your voice – first hand testing will improve the quality of your arrangements by 200%.

2. Highlight elements that can be reproduced accurately with voices!

I’m speaking here of range and timbre. The closer those match to the original the easier it is for people to identify the song (it’s more important than the key!) The most easy thing to reproduce acapella is lush vocal tracks.

1. Know your group – write for your people and to their strengths!

More than anything else, the success of an arrangement rides on individual performances. If you have an outstanding tenor, that opens doors for your arrangement. A group of strict baritones? Be careful how wide you voice things. There’s comfort level, what people tell you they can sing, and what you know will sound good come the concert. Be wise and gracious to your singers.

Well, that’s it for the Top 10 Arranging Tips… I might do another one someday, maybe with less running commentary. Peace.