Powerful Voices: The Musical and Social World of Collegiate A Cappella

Conclusion

Conclusion In his seminal work on American music, Richard Crawford distinguishes between “composer’s music,” which upholds the authority of the composer’s score and aims for transcendence of time and place,and“performer’s music,”in which a notated score is merely an outline for musicians as they create as accessible a performance as possible.1 This distinction is helpful for determining the purpose of a musical genre or practice, but how does it apply to collegiate a cappella ? Although certain aspects of the composer’s original musical work must be reproduced in an a cappella rendition, the fact that instruments are denied rules out any strict ‹delity to a notated score (which may only be present due to an arranger’s aural-analytical analysis). Moreover, as a music in which great liberties may be taken in performance and new layers of meaning added through humor , gesture, choreography, and recording technologies, it might seem as if a cappella ‹ts more comfortably in the category of performer’s music. However, paying attention to the lived experience of a cappella—what it is like to be an a cappella musician—reveals a practice that might suggest a new dimension of performer’s music, different perhaps from what Crawford originally intended. A cappella is a tradition that, while certainly aiming for accessibility among its audience(s), simultaneously serves purposes beyond those that may ‹rst come to mind when considering the popular musicians the category was originally intended to entail. When imagining “performer’s music,” one may initially think of personal ‹nancial gain, celebrity, or even social or political commentary, but those are largely lacking in a cappella. Group members generally do not keep any portion of their group’s revenues, and any celebrity is primarily local (on one’s campus) and, as graduation approaches, ›eeting. And 179 while groups like Brandeis University VoiceMale certainly used their music for social and political commentary, most groups I observed focus more exclusively on their music. So what additional purposes does a cappella serve? For one thing, a cappella groups provide their members with social support at precisely the time in their lives when they are distancing themselves from the support systems offered by their families. The Harvard University Fallen Angels ’ practice of “check-in”illustrates the importance of talk (or“troubles talk”) as a mode of sociability, particularly in women’s groups. Men’s groups, on the other hand, tend to socialize through activity. In all cases (including mixed groups), music and socialization foster trust, which enables musical and social risk taking, the demonstration of musical skill, the mastery of a habitus of singing, and the accumulation of social capital. Several a cappella singers reported that, in order to balance the demands of their group with their academic obligations, they learned to better manage their time. Many also learn business skills by taking on their group’s administrative tasks. Most develop their vocal technique, and many foster musical abilities in arranging, vocal percussion, performance, and recording. More broadly, a cappella singers learn to navigate and negotiate the social, political, and cultural terrains of the world in which they live while enjoying a certain “safety net” of support provided by the bonds of friendship forged through common musical pursuits. The creation of community through participation in a cappella may be observed in the genre’s rituals,such as the alumni song,and in the broader,Internetbased discussions where ideas are shared and constructive criticism and advice are on offer. But it is perhaps most strongly felt emotionally, through the act of musicking, effecting “fellow feeling.”2 Susan, from the Fallen Angels, explained: It’s the feeling you get when you’re singing your heart out in your block [i.e., background] part, and you look at the person next to you, and they’re singing their heart out on the block part, and you smile at them because you know that they’re feeling the exact same feeling that you have right now. Just singing your part and knowing that everyone around you is having that same feeling . . . And I think the power of that personal experience, combined with group experience , is what the music does to bring people together. Thus, like many choral practices, a cappella not only meets the needs of its particular community, it creates community. The close connection between musi180 powerful voices cal and social life may not be new...