AHHHH-cah-pell-ah

As you can see, I’m practicing spelling phonetically for those radio quizzes.

I saw a video on THE DAILY HOPE last night, which was of a group singing an a cappella rendition of Ben E. King’s ‘Stand by Me’. The thing that caught my attention wasn’t the video itself, but of respect that a couple readers had for this performance style.

Being a “singer” myself, I’ve always had an admiration for the stripped down bare vocals of a group or artist that could pull off a song without any instrumental accompaniment. I believe this is when a performer is most vulnerable because there’s nothing to hide behind. If you stop singing, silence is the only thing that’s left. There’s no guitar riff or drum beat to take the wheel for you while you catch your breath. The silence is a part of your performance. It’s actually quite a crucial part of it. It’s the moment where you either have everyone waiting for your next note or it’s the moment that everyone hopes is the ending. In group performances, harmonies are usually sung to create layers and substance. Now with harmonies, you don’t have to be a great singer but you do have to be spot on with your notes for it to work.

Here’s an example. This is an a cappella version on Bon Iver’s song, 'For Emma':



In exchange for the guitar, “doo-woppy” vocals and harmonies are sung underneath Justin Vernon’s tranquil falsetto. I also quite enjoy Sean Carey’s soulful third verse. Specifically, I feel the most soulful moments of his brief solo are the hard ‘R’ he pronounces on the word ‘lover’ and the sliding in the note of the word ‘along’.

Using your ears, you can hear that they’re all quite talented musicians but using your eyes, you can see that they are devoting themselves to their note and committing to each other to create the beautiful sounds we hear. If you interested in checking out some more Bon Iver, I suggest looking at more of their Blogotheque performances first. You should really just check out all of Blogotheque’s take away shows because they have many talented artists performing. They usually take place in random locations in European cities, filmed in an artsy style. Bon Iver’s debut album,’ For Emma, Forever Ago’, has all the sultry harmonies but they are all sung by Justin Vernon. The story behind this album is quite interesting which I might bring up in a later post.

I don’t think I’m going out tonight considering I work at nine in the morning and have to get interviews for an article I’m writing for the Projector right after. Perhaps I’ll fool around with some melodies and share some with you!