FAQ: rec.music.a-cappella Frequently Asked Questions (Intro)
Brendan Quinn
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Since the inception of the alt.music.a-cappella newsgroup in early
April 1993, a cappella singers and fans the world over have been
discussing all manner of topics on both that and the new
rec.music.a-cappella newsgroup, and, as people come and go, the same
questions will no doubt be asked several times. To make the newsgroup
a better place for us all, please read this file before asking a
question that might have been asked before. Of course, if your topic
is not covered within to your satisfaction, feel free to discuss it on
the net.
The topics are arranged in Q/A form. I was going to list the names and
email addresses of people who asked the questions and responded to
them, but this would have made the list too difficult to read and too
hard to organize, so I decided to simply list the facts and only
include names where the opinions of specific people are shown. The
names of everyone whose posts I have used are listed in the
"Contributors" section. If you want to find out who posted about a
specific topic, either look in the archive, or ask me via email.
The questions have been arranged into three sections: Questions from A
Cappella Singers, A Cappella Groups & recordings, and Internet A
Cappella Resources. Part Three was kept separate so that the first two
parts would be relevant to everyone, not just network users, so you
can print out that part and distribute it to your friends if you want.
(By the way, you can do anything you want with this file - it's fully
in the public domain)
I have kept reviews of, and advertisements for, albums separate from
this file. Although some may say it isn't fair to include
discographies and such for professional groups and not for collegiate
groups (for example), I have included these because people asked about
them. Posted reviews are well received all round, but including them
in this file would make it much larger than it is. Hopefully, a
separate list of discographies and of reviews will be created in the
near future. Any takers?
Todd Biske <bi...@cs.uiuc.edu> has volunteered to keep a file
of advertisements for collegiate albums posted on the net, which he
posts periodically to the newsgroup and which is stored on the archive
at Princeton. If you have anything to add to the list, please email
him.
If you have any ideas for questions to add to the list or information
to add to the answers, then please contact me! I can be emailed by
replying to this post, or mail direct to
sv...@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au> if for some reason you can't
reply using your news software. You can also ask me questions
concerning the list, a cappella music, or life in general; I will
endeavour to answer them or at least refer you to someone who can.
_DISCLAIMER_: Most of the information contained in this file I have
gathered from the Internet. I cannot vouch for its accuracy, but I
have interests in keeping it accurate (eg the money I sent off to the
CASA address). If any of it is wrong, it is not my fault! Please tell
me about any errors or serious omissions in the text, and I will fix
them straight away.
So happy a cappella-ing, and remember to keep the questions pouring
in!
Brendan Quinn.
PART ONE: QUESTIONS FROM A CAPPELLA SINGERS
Questions on A Cappella Singing
* _ What is a cappella? Is there a standard definition of "a
cappella music", and what makes an "a cappella group"?_
* _ How do I learn to sing in an a cappella group? Can just anyone
do it?_
* _ What is the range of the various vocal parts?_
* _ Can anyone give some tips on transcribing music from a
recording?_
* _ Can anyone give some tips on translating an SATB score for use
by my TTBB/SSAA group?_
* _ Can anyone recommend any books on arranging popular a cappella
music?_
* _ What is the best microphone technique for a four part a-cappella
group? Does one mike work well or should everyone have a mike?_
* _ What types of microphone are best for a quartet?_
* _ What should we do about members missing or being late for
rehearsals?_
A Cappella Organizations
* _ Are there any organizations of a cappella singers and/or fans?_
A Cappella Workshops
* _ Does anyone give a cappella workshops?_
A Cappella Mail Order Sources
* _ Do any mail order catalogues exist for a cappella music and/or
recordings?_ __
Questions on Copyright Issues
* _ Questions about Copyright & Legal Issues_
PART TWO: A CAPPELLA GROUPS & RECORDINGS
* _ Are there any compilation-type albums of modern a cappella
music? _
+ Modern A Cappella
+ Spike & Co. Do It A Cappella
* _ Are the rumours true about an all a cappella musical in New
York?_
* _ Everything you Never Wanted to Know About..._
+ The Blenders
+ The Bobs
+ College A Cappella Groups
+ The Edlos
+ The Flying Pickets
+ The House Jacks
+ The Kings Singers
+ Ladysmith Black Mambazo
+ Mint Juleps
+ Moxy Fruvous
+ Nylons
+ Rockapella
+ Take 6
+ Zap Mama
PART THREE: INTERNET A CAPPELLA RESOURCES
* _ What's the difference between rec.music.a-cappella and
alt.music.a-cappella?_
* _ Is there a rec.music.a-cappella FTP site?_
* _ Can we store arrangements at the FTP site?_
* _ Does anyone have the <code>_lyrics/chords>to <song>?
* _ Do any CD directories exist over the Internet?_
* _ Do any music tutorials exist for FTP access?_
+ Jazz Primer
+ rec.music.compose GEMS
* _ Are there any music typesetting programs I can use?_
* _ Are there any electronic mailing lists dealing with a cappella
music?_
+ Friends of the Bobs
+ Barbershop singing
+ Sacred Harp (Shaped Note) singing
CONTRIBUTORS
Many thanks to the following 'netters who contributed, directly or
indirectly, to this FAQ list. Everybody's name and email address is
provided, so they can get at least a little gratification for their
efforts. If you want to know who contributed to a specific section,
either ask me or look at the archive at princeton.edu.
Tom Arneberg to...@cray.com
Paul Bartholomew pdb...@ipl.jpl.nasa.gov
Joel Baxter jba...@getalife.stanford.edu
Klaus Birken zrcb...@servus06.rus.uni-stuttgart.de
Gary Bolles ga...@bbsqtet.EBay.Sun.COM
David Boyes dbo...@is.rice.edu
William Bradley wbra...@thor.ece.uc.EDU
Joachim Charzinski charz...@ind.uni-stuttgart.d400.de
Dave Clouser clo...@lf.hp.com
Jay Crawford ja...@hubcap.clemson.edu
Ruth Cross nor...@usht10.hou130.chevron.com
Dave Damouth dam...@wrc.xerox.com
Nicole Discenza ndis...@bach.helios.nd.edu
Robert Dover do...@crchh583.bnr.ca
Hans Dulimarta duli...@ahmeek.cps.msu.edu
Bruce Edelstein bru...@mothra.rose.hp.com
Noam D. Elkies elk...@zariski.harvard.edu
Mark Engelberg m...@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov
Sharon Fenick fen...@husc10.harvard.edu
Matthew Fields fie...@eecs.umich.edu
Ross Fletcher srg...@newshost.grace.cri.nz
Randy Goldberg gu...@nntpxfer.psi.com
Seth Golub se...@hilco.com
Don Gooding dgoo...@accel.com
Greg Halbe gha...@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
Jed Hartman lo...@cathay.esd.sgi.com
Chris Hebert che...@mondavi.sanramon.sgi.com
Tammy Heinsohn szhe...@hamlet.ucdavis.edu
Frank Henderson hen...@mail.auburn.edu
Doug Henkle hen...@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu
Jesper Holck ho...@dat.ruc.dk
Richard Hsu m22...@mwunix.mitre.org
Ping Huang psh...@athena.mit.edu
Will Johnson ad...@access.digex.net
Ari Kahan aka...@netcom.com
Ron Knight r...@med.unc.edu
Jon Krivitzky jh...@cec2.wustl.edu
Mark Maimone mw...@cs.cmu.edu
Nancy McGrath nmcg...@world.std.com
Russ Paden ru...@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
Shawn Pearce orp...@nebula.lib.vt.edu
Jane Peppler jpep...@acpub.duke.edu
Andrew Poe six...@umich.edu
Adam Porter por...@acapella.rutgers.edu
George Poynor poy...@david.wheaton.edu
Ken Purchase k-pur...@uiuc.edu
Anne Raugh ra...@astro.umd.edu
Paul Sabourin pas...@next02wor.wam.umd.edu
Deke Sharon ca...@netcom.com
Chris Short int...@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au
Steve Simmons s...@lokkur.dexter.mi.us
Greg Skinner g...@york.cs.ucla.edu
Warren Steel mu...@sunvis1.vislab.olemiss.edu
David Tamkin dat...@genesis.mcs.com
Dina Torok dinu...@ravel.udel.edu
Dave Wegman ST00...@brownvm.brown.edu
Greg Weiss grw...@phoenix.Princeton.EDU
Dan Wilson AT...@ASUACAD.BITNET
Max Ziff zi...@cs.uchicago.edu
Quito ??? IIC...@ing.puc.cl
_________________________________________________________________
Please send comments, corrections, info to Brendan Quinn,
<sv...@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au>
Brendan Quinn
Version: 2.0
Last-modified: 2 May 1994
PART TWO: A CAPPELLA GROUPS & RECORDINGS
* _ Are there any compilation-type albums of modern a cappella
music? _
+ Modern A Cappella
+ Spike & Co. Do It A Cappella
* _ Are the rumours true about an all a cappella musical in New
York?_
* _ Everything you Never Wanted to Know About..._
+ The Blenders
+ The Bobs
+ College A Cappella Groups
+ The Edlos
+ The Flying Pickets
+ The House Jacks
+ The Kings Singers
+ Ladysmith Black Mambazo
+ Mint Juleps
+ Moxy Fruvous
+ Nylons
+ Rockapella
+ Take 6
+ Zap Mama
A Cappella Groups & Recordings
_Q. Are there any compilation-type albums of modern a cappella music?_
"Modern A Cappella", out on Rhino records.
Available from the Primarily A Cappella Catalog, or phone Rhino direct
on 1-800-432-0020.
Tracks, in order:
National Anthem En Vogue
I Feel Good Bobby McFerrin
Only You The Flying Pickets
Zombie Jamboree Rockapella
Higher and Higher The Mint Juleps
Caravan of Love The Housemartins
Spread Love Take 6
Unomathemba Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Heaven Longhouse
Silhouettes The Nylons
My Husband Was A Weatherman The Bobs
Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow The Persuasions
Mighty Love Todd Rundgren
Leave It Yes
Walk Like An Egyptian The Bangles
The Hallelujah Chorus The Roches
"Spike & Co. Do It A Cappella", Elektra ELE60953
Also avalibale from Primarily A Cappella.
Tracks:
I Need You True Image
Don't Let Your Heart The Mint Juleps
Zombie Jamboree Rockapella
Looking for an Echo The Persuasions
"Down in the Mines" Ladysmith Black Mambazo
I Want to Live Easy The Mint Juleps
Under the Boardwalk Rockapella & True Image
Up on the Roof The Persuasions
Higher and Higher The Mint Juleps
Get Away Jordan Take 6
"God Bless Africa" Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Pass on the Love The Persuasions
The Lion Sleeps Tonight Ladysmith Black Mambazo &
The Mint Juleps
This was originally a documentary produced by Gerard Brown and Spike
Lee for PBS in 1990. A 90-minute video cassette is available for
$19.95 + about $3.50 postage and handling, within the US. Call
1-800-336-1917. The album is also available from the Primarily A
Cappella Catalog.
Gerard Brown mentioned at the CASA Summit in 1993 that he had started
work on Do It A Cappella II, but would not give any more information.
Don't worry, when something happens, you'll hear it first on
rec.music.a-cappella...
_Q. ARE THE RUMOURS TRUE ABOUT AN ALL A CAPPELLA MUSICAL IN NEW YORK?_
Don Gooding, <dgoo...@accel.com>, told us of an all a
cappella musical called "Avenue X" which played at the Anne G. Wilder
Theatre off Broadway from January 28 to March 13 1994.
"It has 25 a cappella songs! The plot (this is 3rd hand) centers
around Italian and African-American doo-wop groups that hate each
other, but must cooperate in order to enter a singing contest. Molly
says the singers are great. She went to a rehearsal in December, and
heard 3 tunes."
_Q. EVERYTHING YOU NEVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT..._
Discographies, contact addresses, and ordering information for some
professional a cappella groups around the world.
The Blenders
A four part, Nylons-esque group with tight harmonies and great
style. They are currently touring the college circuit (schedule
available from the Princeton FTP site ), and their albums are
"Totally Whipped", from '92, and "From The Mouth", from this year.
Ordering information:
"Totally Whipped"
CD - $15.00
Tape - $10.00
T-shirts - $15.00
Posters - $5.00
Add $2.00 per ORDER for shipping/handling/postage/etc.
Mail orders to:
The Blenders
P.O. Box 26037
Minneapolis, MN 55426
(612) 476-6400
The Bobs
The Bobs are a California-based group who possess some rather
wacky songs and a large fan base. They have a fan club called
FOBS, Friends of the Bobs. They can be contacted at
<fobs-r...@netcom.com>. The FOBS FAQ can be obtained
via FTP from netcom.com, directory pub/fobs/faq, or by sending a
message to <fobs-r...@netcom.com> with the subject
"send faq".
College A Cappella Groups
Todd Biske <bi...@cs.uiuc.edu> keeps a list of
advertisements for collegiate albums posted on the net, which he
posts periodically to the newsgroup and which is stored on the
archive at Princeton. If you have anything to add to the list,
please email him.
The Edlos
The Edlos are an unsigned professional group. They have a World
Wide Web home page under the Internet Underground Music Archive,
which stores a picture of them and a sample song. The URL is:
http://sunsite.unc.edu/ianc/IUMA/build/bands/The_Edlos/index.html
The Flying Pickets
The original members of the group were: Rick Lloyd, Ken Gregson,
Kareth Williams, David Brett, Brian Hibbard, and Red Stripe (no
joke - that's his name). The group was formed in 1980, and their
first single, 'Only You', was Number 1 in the UK for six weeks in
1983. After a few years Brian and Stripe returned to acting, after
which the group disbanded.
Rex Solomon, of the CASA Texas chapter, has compiled a tape of 22
different cover versions of 'Only You', mostly by college groups.
So if you're thinking of covering it, think again to save our
sanity.
Deke found this address, current in 1990:
The Flying Pickets c/o Judy Totten
28 Alexander St.
London W2 5NU, ENGLAND
Apparently the group reformed with a couple of the original
members, and since then has undergone changes after which none of
the original members are still in the group. However they are
putting out albums from a label in Austria, albeit with a somewhat
different style to what we are used to.
Discography (sort of):
"The Best of The Flying Pickets", Virgin Records VVIPD 111
[ Apparently only available in the UK ]
"Flying Pickets Live", recorded 1984-5
"Waiting for Trains"
"Lost Boys", Moving Target MTD 021
[ The only album directly available in the US ]
[ This the "new Flying Pickets" ]
"Blue Money", 1992. From PMF records, 90 637-2
"The Warning", 1993.
If you can't get the albums from a local import shop, try writing
to the following CD mail order company in London:
HMV UK Limited
Mail Order Department
150 Oxford Street
London, W1N 0DJ
England
The House Jacks
Started by Deke Sharon, president of CASA and contributor to this
newsgroup, the House Jacks are the next big thing in a cappella
(according to Deke anyway :-)
Their CD, "Naked Noise", came out recently.
Here is the full merchandise list:
Naked Noise CD $15
Naked Noise Cassette $12
House Jacks "A Cappella In Your Face" T-Shirt $12
House Jacks "A Cappella On My Butt" Boxers $12
House Jacks Sweatshirt $25
Photo Pack (4 different 8.5" x 11" glossies) $10
Sticker Pack (3 stickers with House Jacks logo) $5
Shipping and handling charge is:
1 to 4 items $3
5 to 9 items $5
10 or more $9
Mail orders to:
The House Jacks
c/o Prince/SF Productions
1135 Francisco St.
San Francisco CA 94109
(415) 775-9627
Make checks out to "The House Jacks".
King's Singers
A group started by ex-students at King's College, Cambridge 25
years ago, now one of the most respected a cappella groups in
history. They sing mostly madrigal and classical style music,
including a cappella arrangements of famous classical pieces, and
have recently branched out into the contemporary scene, making a
successful album of Beatles covers and, last year, "Good
Vibrations" which is full of contemporary tunes.
For information or subscription to the King's Singers Newsletter,
contact:
Suzanne Zaffarano
The King's Singers Newsletter
3108 Ross Road
Ames IA 50010
(515) 292-2834
(515) 233-6960 (FAX)
An annual subscription is $5.00 and the newsletter comes out
quarterly.
Anne Raugh <ra...@astro.umd.edu> posted a list of sources
for King's Singers arrangements, which is available for FTP from
princeton.edu (see Part Three).
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Discography at "ftp.uwp.edu (131.210.1.4)", directory
/pub/music/artists/l/ladysmith.black.mambazo/discog
Apparently Headman Mbelele, one of their singers and brother of
Joseph, the group's leader, was recently murdered.
Fan Club info:
Ladysmith Black Mambazo Fan Club
Roger Dean, President
104 Worral Drive
Newark, Delaware
19711 U.S.A.
Mint Juleps
They've made a few CDs, one only released in Japan:
"One Time", Stiff CECC-00396
The only way I know how to get this CD is by paying US$35 to have
it imported (Sound City 2000 - P.O. Box 22149, Portland, OR 97269,
phone (503) 654-2196).
A live album was recorded in Germany in 1990 at the Women In
(e)Motion festival, and four tracks in a London studio this year.
The tracks are:
baby baby/round our way/i heard it through the grapevine/jesus
gave me water/stay gone/i want to live easy/set me free/dont let
your heart/higher and higher/shout/mumblin boy/who knows/the
snake/loves me like a rock/aint he got nerve/hey girl
Klaus Birken tells us this album's number is T&M 104, and may (or
may not) be available from:
Tradition & Moderne
Musikproduktion
Fehrfeld 28
28203 Bremen
Germany
Also, they have apparently just released another album in Germany.
More info as it comes to hand.
If you want to get in touch with the group, try contacting:
Rita Ray at Flash Choice Management
46 Broomwood Rd.
London, SW11 6HT
England
Phone: +44 71 228-1161
Moxy Fruvous
A Canadian, not-all-a cappella group which seems to have many fans
among the Internet community.
Moxy Fruvous fan club
1436 Queen Street West
P.O. Box 90005
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M6K 1M2
Nylons
[ I wrote most of this off the top of my head, so if something's
wrong or you want to see more, you know what to do... ]
A Canadian male quartet, singing contemporary covers and some
originals. They have been around for years and have been an
inspiration for many of today's a cappella singers. The members
for most of their recordings were Paul Cooper, Marc Connors,
Arnold Robinson and Claude Morrison, and hit songs for this group
included Up the Ladder to the Roof, Happy Together, Kiss Him
Goodbye and The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
For the group's latest release, Live to Love, the lineup changed
to Micah Barnes, Claude Morrison, Billy Newton-Davis and Arnold
Robinson, and the sound is less traditional, using extensive
percussion and synthesized bass on some tracks.
Now the group has changed yet again; according to Nancy McGrath,
Billy has quit and is being replaced by Garth Mosbaugh from
Toronto, and Micah will soon be replaced by Garth Hope, a
20-year-old from Alberta. Apparently they were recording in
January.
Rockapella
Rockapella has, so far, recorded three albums on their own, "To
N.Y.", "From N.Y.", and "Bash!" which were released in Japan only.
You can only get these on import, so be prepared to pay a lot more
than usual.
One address which was posted to the group is:
Beastone Records
24-15-405
Atsubetsu-chuo 4-2
Sapporo 004 Japan
They apparently want US$36 for each CD including shipping, and you
must pay by cash or international money order.
All albums can be obtained from Sound City 2000 at (503) 654-2196
for more than US$40.
A fourth Japanese album, "Vocobeat", was released on April 21, and
is now available from Sound City.
The soundtrack to the childrens' game show "Where in the World is
Carmen Sandiego?" features Rockapella and the Persuasions, and is
available from the Primarily A Cappella Catalog.
[ Much more detailed information is included in the Rockapella
Mini-FAQ by Steven Coyle sc4...@csc.albany.edu>, posted
irregularly to the newsgroup and stored at the Princeton archive
site. ]
Take 6
A six-voice male a cappella "Contemporary Christian" (gospel)
group, with large jazz influences. They started in the late
eighties at school in Hunstville, Alabama and have gone on to
receive critical acclaim, including several awards from the Gospel
Music Association and, for their three albums, three Grammies in
the Jazz category.
The following address was posted to the newsgroup by a person
named Quito from Chile, thanks Quito!
Club TAKE 6
c/o Holley ink
P.O. box 78009
Nashville,TN 37207
The good news is that the rumours of a new Take 6 album are true.
It is apparently coming out around May this year.
The bad news is that it's accompanied, ie not a cappella.
Apparently they have decided to try out the waters with
accompanied harmony singing, and if that doesn't work, they'll go
back to a cappella. So let's all hope that this album is really
unsuccessful ;-)
Zap Mama
Their album "Adventures in Afropea 1" was released in March '93 on
CD - Warner Brothers WAR45183.
Brendan Quinn
Version: 2.0
Last-modified: 2 May 1994
PART ONE: QUESTIONS FROM A CAPPELLA SINGERS
_Q. What is a cappella? Is there a standard definition of "a cappella
music", and what makes an "a cappella group"?_
The phrase "a cappella" is Italian in origin, as are most
musical terms. Literally it translates to "in the style of the
chapel", which does _not_ mean "unaccompanied". It refers to
choral music without _separate_ instrumental accompaniment.
Instruments may be used to double the vocal parts, eg using an
electric bass to strengthen the vocal bass line, and the piece
is still a cappella.
In light of this, an "a cappella group" is one that sings a
cappella music, with or without instrumental doubling. But does
a group such as the Nylons, who often use synthesized bass, or
Boyz II Men, who perform some a cappella but mostly
accompanied, qualify as an a cappella group? This question is
left to individual discretion and opinion.
The spelling of "a cappella" can also get on some people's
nerves if not done properly: a letter to the editor in the CAN
(see below) commented:
... in truth, "a capella" means "in your hair", "a cappello"
means "in your hat", and "A Capella" is an astronomical
reference to the first planet circling the star Capella in the
constellation Auriga.
_Q. How do I learn to sing in an a cappella group? Can just anyone do
it?_
Like most things in life, it takes practice. Some people are
better at it than others, but with hard work you can learn how
to do it. A good sense of pitch is important, as is a good
singing voice (particularly one that can blend with others).
What you might do is try to find a vocal teacher in your area
who specializes in a cappella music.
_Q. What is the range of the various vocal parts?_
The range, or compass, of the traditional parts is as follows:
(with C4 = middle C, C3 = C below middle C, etc)
Soprano: C4 - A5 (Also known as treble)
Alto: G3 - D5 (Also known as contralto)
Tenor: C3 - G4
Bass: F2 - D4
You should arrange (or transpose) your music so that your
vocalists can stay roughly within these boundaries, unless you
know that a specific vocalist can sing outside them
comfortably.
_Q. Can anyone give some tips on transcribing music from a recording?_
[ These tips were posted by Shawn Pearce ]
When transcribing a song, listen for the bassline first, then
the lead, then the harmony parts. Write these in the same
order. It is to my experience that with even the most difficult
songs, if you have a bassline and a melody, you can usually
figure out the rest.
Know the ability level of the group you're writing for. This
will help you make certain decisions in the arranging, i.e.
range of parts, difficulty level etc.
Listen for basic chord progressions from one song to the next
(eg I-vi-IV- V-I) 50's and 60's music are notorious for beating
this progression to death... If you know what that progression
sounds like, it will save time with the arrangement, trust me
:)
_Q. Can anyone give some tips on translating an SATB score for use by
my TTBB/SSAA group?_
Noam Elkies <el...@zariski.harvard.edu>/code> posted some
tips:
For women, have the first sopranos read S, and the seconds read
T up an octave (not A); the first altos sing A as written, and
the seconds sing B up an octave. Same idea, mutatis mutandis,
for a men's group: Basses read B, Baritones read A down the
octave, second tenors read T, firsts read S down the octave.
Schematically, then:
Men Mixed Women
T1 (-8ve) S S1
B1 (-8ve) A A1
T2 T S2 (+8ve)
B2 B A2 (+8ve)
The point is that this preserves the relation between the outer
voices and automatically transforms many common open voicings
into standard closed voicings with the four parts in the
natural order; e.g. the open D-major chord D-A-F#-D becomes
D-F#-A-D.
_Q. Can anyone recommend any books on arranging popular a cappella
music?_
[ This is basically a straight copy of a post by Chris Hebert:]
There is a large manual available from the SPEBSQSA on
barbershop arranging, the Arrangers Manual. It is very
thorough, with lots of examples, and details three different
methodologies for approaching an arrangement. It goes into such
things as song forms, harmonic progressions, chord vocabulary,
chord voicings, etc. There is also a smaller manual called The
Theory of Barbershop Harmony, which you should know first
before starting to arrange.
A very good text on SATB arranging is Choral Arranging by
Hawley Ades, Shawnee Press, Inc. 1966.
It is loaded with examples, both classical and popular in
nature. Tables of contents includes: principles of part writing
for voices, 4-, 3-, 2-, and multi-part writing, contrapuntal
techniques, special effects, treble voices, male choruses
(includes glee and barbershop, but not much detail), key and
tempo changes, intros and endings, planing arrangements,
scoring arrangements, chorus with instruments, etc.
Hawley Ades was the arranger for the Fred Waring's
Pensylvanians, and in the 60's he did all their radio show
music (five 30 minute shows a week plus a one hour evening show
over 7 years, so he has done a lot of arranging). Mr. Ades
believes that the techiniques in part writing apply to all
styles, voices, etc., and a firm foundation in music and
harmony is necessary as well.
This has been the only book I have gotten my hands on that
discusses choral arranging (and was published within the last
30 years). In the bibliography section he mentions the normal
books on harmony and counterpoint that most music students use
in their undergraduate work, and some more books that I have
never found:
Delamont, Gordon. Modern Arranging Techniques - Kendor Music,
NY 1965
Wilson, Harry. Choral Arranging - Robbins Music, NY 1949
You also might try to find books on vocal jazz arranging. I
believe you might have better luck, as this style is currently
more popular than standard choral stuff.
If arranging is new to you, I would definitely recommend this
book!
_Q. What is the best microphone technique for a four part a-cappella
group? Does one mike work well or should everyone have a mike?_
Four directional mikes are great _if_ you have a competent
sound person, who understands that a properly-balanced quartet
does _not_ mean that all four parts are of equal volume.
Next best is one omni-directional mike. Here, though, you need
to work very carefully to keep the singers at equal distances
from the mike. Some places provide two directional mikes, which
is awful. With this set- up, try pointing the two at the center
of the quartet and cluster your group very close together.
An important consideration is that low voices need to be closer
to mikes than high voices. Each singer needs to take
responsibility of getting closer to his/her own mike at bottom
of his/her range.
It's safer to have individual mikes, practise your technique
and be sure to have an alert sound tech. Or consider the
intermediate approach - two singers on each of two mics. If the
heights are close enough, this works pretty well.
_Q. What types of microphone are best for a quartet?_
[ From David Boyes ]
For one mike, you must have strong vocalists, and a _very_ good
omnidirectional. Sennheisers work acceptably well, but it's a
lot easier to get good sound levels and balances for recording
with individual mikes.
One or two PZM-style surface mikes with extension stands work
well for larger groups; for individuals and studio work, the
Sennheisers are absolutely a better choice. They don't travel
well, and they're expensive, but they're worth it in response
and sound. The SM58s are a good touring mike, but tend to have
somewhat uneven spectral response as the elements age. SM58s
tend also to become more directional with age, but that can be
both a blessing and a problem if your soundman isn't aware of
it.
_Q. What should we do about members missing or being late for
rehearsals?_
[ from Dave Damouth...]
The first thing that is needed is an objective measure of the
impact of lateness or absence on the rest of the group. It's
important to get it out of the realm of emotion and personal
opinion, and establish something that is measurable independent
of personalities.
The second key thing is to separate the actual impact of the
absence from the reason for the absence, and deal with the two
separately. If someone is absent a lot, for the best of reasons
(car wrecks, command performances at the White House, having a
baby, whatever), it damages the preparedness and quality of the
performance just as much as if the excuses were bad. The nature
of the excuses is very important too, of course, but this is a
very different kind of discussion. When someone is missing
frequently, the discussion is, first, "how much have you
damaged the group by not being here?" and, second, quite
separately, "is this behavior likely to continue in the future
and does the group value you enough to be willing to tolerate
this damage?"
The attendance policy for Madrigalia, Dave's 16-voice madrigal
group, is stored at the Princeton archive as
pub/rec.music.a-cappella/info/attendance.policy
A Cappella Organizations
_Q. Are there any organizations of a cappella singers and/or fans?_
CASA - THE CONTEMPORARY A CAPPELLA SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Based in San Francisco (with chapters in Illinois, Massachusetts,
New Jersey and Texas), the CASA was started by ex-collegiate a
cappella singer Deke Sharon, who now runs the Ultimate A Cappella
Arranging Service and sings with his own group, the House Jacks.
The organization was formed three years ago with the intention of
advancing a cappella music in all shapes and forms. CASA offers
the following services:
* CASA Hotline: Information, News, Concert Calendar, etc.
* CASA Arrangement Library
Members can request up to five arrangements per four months from
their library of over one thousand songs. They ask that you donate
one arrangement to the library for each one that you receive.
* Contemporary A Cappella Newsletter ("the CAN")
Published bi-monthly, the CAN is "filled with current news,
reviews of a cappella concerts and albums, interviews with famous
and influential individuals, and articles on a wide range of
related topics, from arranging tips to the mathematical
superiority of a cappella tuning... advertisements... a
classifieds section, and an upcoming concerts calendar."
* A Cappella Recording Archives
They are currently collecting recordings, with a view to
distributing them to interested people when and if they can find a
legal way of doing so.
* Ultimate A Cappella Arranging Service
A service run by Deke Sharon which arranges songs personally for
your group, for a fee.
* International A Cappella Directories
Lists of professional groups, collegiate groups and other contacts
the world over.
Annual subscriptions are $20 for groups and $15 for individuals
(international add $5). They can be contacted at:
1850 Union St. Suite 1441
San Francisco, CA 94123
Phone:(+1) (415) 563-5224
Fax: (+1) (415) 921-2834
e-mail: ca...@netcom.com
SPEBSQSA
Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop
Quartet Singing in America (don't ask me, I didn't name it), I
think you can guess what they do. In addition to sponsoring
educational workshops and competitions from local to international
levels, SPEBSQSA also assists high school music programs through
its "Harmony Explosion" program, and also support a charity called
Heartspring, which helps children with speech defects. They have
over 35,000 members.
They have a number of useful pamphlets on singing and arranging,
as well as an arranger's manual, available for about US$30. Note
that this manual only deals with barbershop-style arranging, which
deals almost solely with major, minor, and dominant seventh
chords. If this is your thing, then go for it, but if you're a bit
more adventurous, well, it can still be used as an introduction to
arranging for voices, and you can supplement it with information
on other techniques (from, say, the Jazz Primer mentioned below).
SPEBSQSA run a week-long training camp in the first week of August
in St. Joseph, Missouri called Harmony College, and run
comptetitions extensively.
You can contact them at:
S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A.
6315 Third Avenue
Kenosha, Wisconsin 53140-5199
Phone: 1-800 876-SING
or (414) 653-8440
Email: brian...@genie.gis.com
There are affiliated (but independent) organizations in several
countries, including:
Australian Association of Men Barbershop Singers (AAMBS)
Mell McMichael, President,
16 Booral Street
Buderim, Queensland 4556, Australia
Barbershop in Germany (BinG!)
Hans-Jurgen Wieneke, President
Muhlgasse 8-12,
6000 Frankfurt am Main 90, Germany
[mit umlauts over the u's in Jurgen and Muhlgasse]
British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS)
Bob Walker, Chairman
"St. Catherines", Highfield Road,
East Grinstead, Sussex RH19 2DX, England
Dutch Association of Barbershop Singers (DABS)
Herman Feitsma, President,
Klavermeen #1
Harderwyk 3844 BR, The Netherlands
New Zealand Association of Barbershop Singers (NZABS)
Ross Gainsford, President
25 Gordon Street
Avalon, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Society of Nordic Barbershop Singers (SNOBS)
Kjell Lindberg, President
Norrangsvagen 54 (two dots over both a's)
S-141 43 Huddinge, Sweden
Southern Part of Africa Tonsorial Singers (SPATS)
Chris Molyneux, President
P.O. Box 242, Rondebosch 7700
Cape Province, South Africa
SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
The Sweet Adelines are the female counterpart to SPEBSQSA, with
around 29,000 members around the world. Although they also
emphasize the barbershop style of harmonizing, they don't make as
much of an effort to "preserve the style" as SPEBSQSA.
Sweet Adelines International
PO Box 470168
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74147
Phone: 1-800 992-SING
HARMONY INC.
Another women's barbershop singing organization. We're not sure
of the permanent address, but here's the address of the editor of
their publication, "Keynote":
Joanne Rohrer,
RFD-1 Box 142,
East Calais, VT, 05650.
SYDNEY ACAPPELLA ASSOCIATION (AUSTRALIA)
Run a newsletter ("Oral Majority"), support local & touring
groups, promote and sponsor workshops, singing classes and
performances. Too bad they can't spell a cappella properly...
They may be contacted through:
Sydney Acappella Association
PO Box 40
Broadway NSW 2007
AUSTRALIA
Phone: +61 2 692-0969 (Ann Babinard, Secretary)
HARMONY SWEEPSTAKES
An annual a cappella competition throughout the US. Heats are
held in various parts of the country. They also join forces with
CASA to present the annual A Cappella Summit in San Francisco.
For information contact:
John Neal
PO Box D
San Anselmo, CA, 94979
Phone: (415) 459-3955
e-mail: harm...@netcom.com
A CAPPELLA'S
(An all-a cappella club)
1336 E 17th Ave.
Denver, CO 80218
(303) 832-1479
ASSOCIATED MALE CHORUSES OF AMERICA
1204 South First St.
Stillwater, MN 55082
CHORUS AMERICA
2111 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 563-2430
4-PART HARMONY NEWSLETTER
c/o Becky McDuffee
PO Box 11432
Champaign, IL 61826-1432
(217) 356-0531
e-mail: mcdu...@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu
MICHIGAN VOCAL JAZZ SOCIETY
63360 Dequindre Rd.
Washington, MI 48095
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DOO WOP SOCIETY
1077 Pacific Coast Highway #153
Seal Beach, CA 90740
(818) 331-4399
UNITED IN GROUP HARMONY ASSOCIATION
(An East Coast doo-wop club)
PO Box 185
Clifton, NJ 07011
A Cappella Workshops
_Q. Does anyone give a cappella workshops?_
Yes, several people (and groups) do.
PHIL MATTSON/STEVE ZEGREE
Phil Mattson (of the Phil Mattson Singers) and Steve Zegree (who
arranges vocal jazz music for Hal Leonard and other publishers)
give week-long summer workshops on vocal jazz singing and
education. This information was posted by Richard Hsu, and is
apparently a couple of years old:
Phil Mattson
Southwestern Community College
1501 West Townline Road
Creston, IA 50801
Phone: (515) 782-7081
Steve Zegree
School of Music
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Mich 49008
Phone: (616) 387-4689
School: (616) 387-4667
WESTERN WIND
[ from Dave Damouth: ]
_Western Wind_, an a cappella group based in New York City, runs
workshops several times a year. You can enrol as a group. You get
coaching for your group by real experts, and a chance to prepare
and perform several works (with the rest of the attendees as
audience). The summer workshops are typically a week, and perhaps
they've done some that are just a long weekend during the school
year.
It is also (or at least was) possible to arrange a private
coaching session with them, but this starts to get expensive -
they are busy professionals trying to make a living.
Several of my friends have attended the summer workshops, and gone
back year after year, sometimes individually and sometimes as a
quartet. Madrigalia arranged a private workshop with them a few
years ago. We got a lot of benefit, individually and as a group.
Their performing repertoire spans just about everything -
renaissance, folk, jazz, ...
They announce their concerts, recordings, workshops, etc, in a
sporadic but free newsletter. call 1-800-788-2187. (disclaimer -
I've no connection with Western Wind other than as a satisfied
customer)
ACAPPELLA CHRISTIAN MUSIC SEMINAR
[From Tammy Heinsohn]
Keith Lancaster, Acappella and AVB host the annual Acappella
Christian Music Seminar (ACMS) in July in Murray KY on the campus
of the state university. It is a week long (Sunday through Friday
night) series of workshops and concerts capped by Acappella's and
AVB's annual homecoming concert on Friday night. (Murray KY is
about 30 miles from their homebase in Paris, TN.) There is choir,
men's voice and women's voice training. The choir this past summer
got to open the Friday night concert as well as sing for a
convalescent hospital earlier in the day.
Classes cover topics including music theory, sound engineering,
incorporating multimedia, and life on the road. Different members
of Acappella and AVB also lead discussions of various topics
including using music in the worship service and sharing memorable
experiences they've had on the road.
Groups attending the seminar are given a chance to sing during the
mini-concerts. In addition, each evening there is a concert of
different singing groups that are invited to perform for us.
For more information and schedules, contact:
Acappella Music Group
PO Box 15
Paris TN 38242
Phone: (901) 644 1771
or 1-800 233-2031
CASA A CAPPELLA SUMMIT
There are also several workshops, performances and talks given at
the A Cappella Summit in San Francisco, organized by CASA. Present
at the first, in October 1993, were Gene Puerling (genius arranger
with the Singers Unlimited), Sean Altman (Rockapella), Jimmy Hayes
(Persuasions), Todd Rundgren, and Gerard Brown (Do It A Cappella
co-producer).
MELBOURNE A CAPPELLA FESTIVAL
The Melbourne A Cappella Festival (in Australia) is held
annually, and the first was during October 1993 as well. It
included many workshops, on topics from doo wop singing to
Bulgarian choral harmonies to sea shanties. The next is on the
weekend of August 5-7, 1994.
A Cappella Mail Order Sources
_Q. Do any mail order catalogues exist for a cappella music and/or
recordings?_
RECORDED MUSIC SOURCES
Primarily A Cappella Catalog
The major source for a cappella recordings is the _Primarily A
Cappella Catalog_, which is run by Don Gooding from United Singers
International in New Jersey, and John Neal from Harmony
Sweepstakes in California. A new catalogue should be coming out
soon.
United Singers International
PO Box 583, Dept S-2
Princeton, NJ 08540
USA
Phone: (609) 730-1200
e-mail: dgoo...@accel.com
DJ Records
DJ Records
Doug Anderson
PO Box 95
McMinnville, OR 97128
Phone: (503) 472-6971
Official King's Singers album distributors in the US, who also
specialize in scholastic choral recordings.
Hall of Records
Hall of Records
Dan Jordan
PO Box 11244
Glendale, CA 91206-7244
Phone: (818) 240-4868
Will send out a catalogue for $5 ($7.50 for Canada and Europe).
Apparently they have a large range of music, including
hard-to-find selections.
SHEET MUSIC SOURCES
* CASA Arrangement Library
A (nearly) current list of the arrangements in the library is
stored at the princeton.edu FTP site.
* SPEBSQSA archives.
* Hal Leonard music publishers:
Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation
7777 West Bluemound Road
PO Box 13819
Milwaukee WI 53213
Phone: (414) 774-3630
Paul Bartholomew <pd...@ipl.jpl.nasa.gov>/code> has typed out a
list of all the titles listed as a cappella in their catalogue.
The list is posted to the newsgroup at irregular intervals and is
kept at the princeton.edu archive (see Part Three) as
pub/rec.music.a-cappella/info/Hal.Leonard.list
* Here's one hint on a book of King's Singers Arrangements:
The King's Singers
25th Anniversary Jubilee!
Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation
HL08602135
ISBN 0-7935-2135-1
US $12.95
Contents: I'm a Train, You Are the New Day, Can't Buy Me Love,
Short People, Le Baylere. Musik der Nacht (Schlummerlied),
Greensleeves, Loch Lommond, Eriskay Love Lilt, That Lonesome Road,
And So It Goes, Shenandoah
The songs have been (re-)arranged for SATB.
* Voices Music Publishing
Tammy Heinsohn <szh...@hamlet.ucdavis.edu>/code> posted about
an a cappella arrangement service called "Voices Music
Publishing":
Voices
PO Box 8178
Tyler, TX 75711-8178
Phone: (903) 597-3622
Their brochure claims "our library of simple SATB arrangements is
written for your group's performance during worship, devotionals,
special events or weddings." According to Tammy, they have a
variety of contemporary Christian and pop music in their
catalogue.
* A Cappella Junction
From Tammy again, another religious-service type catalogue is:
A Cappella Junction
PO Box 48464
Fort Worth, TX 76148
This catalog provides praise, worship and ministry oriented items.
The catalog is billed as "your one-stop A Cappella Shoppe" with
Cassettes, Compact Discs, Choral Octavos, Videos, Song Books,
T-Shirts, Tote Bags, Research Reports, Children's Music, Caps and
more.
A new version of the catalogue will be published in early 1994.
* Ken Purchase
Ken Purchase <k-pur...@uiuc.edu>, of the University of
Illinois Xtension Chords, can e-mail or regular mail a list of
arrangements to anyone interested. He has men's, women's and mixed
music, and sends it out for either a small copying fee or a trade:
Ken Purchase
705 E Colorado #207
Urbana, IL 61801-6372
* Voices of Liberty - Derric Johnson
Paul Sabourin <pas...@next02wor.wam.umd.edu> kindly posted
information about arrangements by Derric Johnson for Voices of
Liberty, a great mixed a cappella group who perform many times a
day at EPCOT centre in Orlando, Florida and who cause many an a
cappella visitor to drool on the spot at their arrangements (so
I'm told :-)
Paul's friend Kevin, in VoL, "mentioned this to Derric, and he
responded that he would be more than willing to make his
arrangements available to any interested parties. If you are
interested, write to him at the following address:
Derric Johnson
P.O. Box 22605
Orlando, FL 32830
"Now, he made no mention of $$$, but can only assume that there
would be some sort of fee involved, although I would not begin to
guess at the amount. It seems (from what Kevin said) that he would
deal with this individually.
"These arrangements are SATB (and more complicated iterations of
that, like SAATBB, etc.), but I know from experience that they can
translate pretty well to other voicings when done right (my old
group did his National Anthem TTTBBB, and it still kicked butt).
You might wish to discuss this with him; he might be willing to
revoice a chart himself, or at least make suggestions."
* Max Ziff's Early A Cappella Collections list
Max Ziff <zi...@cs.uchicago.edu> posts "Basic Collections
for A Cappella Singing" to the rec.music.early,
rec.music.classical.performing and rec.music.music.a-cappella
newsgroups periodically - this lists sources for madrigals,
motets, chansons, etc. around the world. It is kept on the
princeton.edu archive.
* Hampton Institute Press
Ruth Cross posted information about a book published by Hampton
Institute Press called "Religious Folk-Songs of the Negro", edited
by R. Nathaniel Dett. It is available from:
University Store
Hampton University
Hampton, Virginia 23668
"The book is a hymnal-size hard-cover, containing over 200
spirituals collected in the late 1800's at the Hampton Institute,
one of the first colleges for former slaves. The songs were
transcribed as sung by the students, with some harmonies added,
and are meant to be sung a cappella. Almost all are 4-part, often
with solo parts; some are solo/tutti. The current book is a
reprint of the 1927 edition, edited by Nathaniel Dett, and
includes a new introduction with a history of the music, and
copies of prefaces from the previous editions.
"The last time we ordered copies, less than a year ago, the price
was $10, including postage. I have heard they may have other books
of black music available."
Questions on Copyright Issues
_Q. Questions about Copyright & Legal Issues_
[ Much of the following was learned from the Copyright FAQ ,
maintained by Terry Carroll <tj...@ccc.amdahl.com>, posted to
the misc.legal newsgroup (and others) monthly and available for ftp
from rtfm.mit.edu under Copyright-FAQ/part[1-6]. Other info came from
postings, especially those from Jed Hartman.
There are many detailed facts to be understood about copyright,
especially in a field such as ours where (for example) arrangements of
other people's (already copyrighted) works are used frequently. This
section will not attempt to address all possible factors relevant to
us, but rather an overview of the laws governing copyright. Perhaps
this will evolve into a more detailed section, or even a separate FAQ. ]
1. THE BERNE CONVENTION
Created by a group of countries in 1886 and joined by the US on
March 1, 1988, the most recent document specifying the law is the
Paris, 1971 text. The main parts of the Berne Convention are as
follows:
National treatment
An author's rights are respected in another country as though
the author were a citizen of that country. Eg for me, in
Australia, to use material copyrighted in the US, I must adhere
to Australian copyright law, not American. This is only true if
both countries are signatories to the Convention. (Most Western
countries seem to be signatories; check out the list in the
Copyright FAQ if you're not sure)
Preclusion of formalities
The copyright cannot depend upon formalities (such as copyright
notices or registration) for a copyright to hold; this is why
all material since 1988 is implicitly copyright, even without a
copyright message.
Minimum terms of protection
The minimum duration for copyright protection is the life of
the author plus 50 years, but signatory nations may choose to
provide longer durations.
Minimum exclusive rights
A nation must provide for protection of six rights:
translation, reproduction, public performance, adaptation,
attribution (paternity) and integrity. Apparently US law
differs from this by not covering translation but covering
display and distribution, but translation is protected by other
laws (trademark, patent etc).
2. PUBLIC DOMAIN MATERIAL
A work in the public domain is one that can be freely used by
anyone for any purpose. A work is public domain if:
* the copyright has expired
* the work is a work of the US Government
* the work can't be copyrighted (short names, slogans etc. -
however, these can be trademarked)
* the copyright has been forfeited. This includes publishing without
copyright notice prior to March 1, 1988 (in the US)
* the copyright has been abandoned, ie the copyright holder has made
an unambiguous statement of his or her intent to dedicate the work
to the public domain, like what I did for this FAQ list.
3. REGISTERING A COPYRIGHT
First of all, you don't _need_ to register your work for it to be
copyrighted; since the Berne Convention, all works are copyright
from the moment of their creation. In fact, you don't even need a
copyright notice (as mentioned above), but it is a good idea: you
should include a c-in-a-circle, "Copyright", or "Copr.", the year,
and your name on the work to make an official copyright notice.
There have been rulings in the past that (c) is _not_ an official
copyright symbol, so watch out!
If you _do_ want to formalize your copyright by registering it,
which helps in court, you do it by filing the appropriate form
with the US Copyright Office, with payment of $20. If you call the
Copyright Office Information Hotline, and leave your name, address
and form number on the voicemail, they will send you an
information package on copyrighting a particular type of work. The
number is 202-707-9100, and the packages most readers of this
group will be interested in are:
Music (sheet or lyrics): Form PA, Package 105 and
Music (sound recording): Form SR, Package 121
You can also write to them at:
Copyright Office
LM 455
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20559
[ From here on, the info starts to come less from the Copyright
FAQ and more from varied sources and, shock horror, _opinion_ :-)
But don't worry, wherever an opinion creeps in, I'll warn you... ]
4. DERIVATIVE WORKS - THE LEGALITY OF AN ARRANGEMENT
Apparently an a cappella arrangement is legally a derivative work
of the original song. The definition of a copyright infringement
is for the work itself to have actually been copied from (either
wholly or to create a derivative work), (etc.) so [from what I can
gather,] as far as the law is concerned, an arrangement is the
same as the original song, and thus has the same copyright
protection as the original song.
However, one can copyright an arrangement of a song, as long as
the arranger has been given permission to arrange the song in the
first place.
It is true that many people arrange songs without getting
permission, and noone has (to our knowledge) been prosecuted, do
you want your group to be the first?
5. LEGALITIES OF PERFORMANCE, DISTRIBUTION, ETC.
Andy Isbell, <isb...@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu>, says about
transcribing a song:
If you can all learn your parts just from listening to the album,
that is legal. If you start writing it down, you are in violation
of the composer's copyright.
You are allowed to make one archival copy of any performance
without paying any fee. An interesting quirk to this rule is that
if you have several people with tape recorders record you singing
a song, all of those tapes are legal. If you make one recording
and copy it for all the people, you have to pay the licensing fee.
Dan Wilson, <AT...@ASUACAD.BITNET>, from the Phoenix
chapter of the SPEBSQSA, says:
Serious Barbershop arrangers (not the backroom ones) get written
permission from the copyright holder to arrange a song. Our
International Office in Kenosha, WI handles the paperwork and gets
clearnaces for us. The fee is $10, and this allows you to arrange
the song and make 4 copies - typically for a quartet. More copies
may be made up to 200 at $.20 per copy. If you want more than 200,
you need to get extended permission. We went to this formality
years ago as the result of a number not-for-profit groups
(churches, schools, etc.) being sued for copyright infringement.
The law allows a fine of $50,000 per TITLE, as I recall. I'd
rather spend the ten bucks and avoid the hassle.
Performace rights are handled by the performing rights groups such
as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, etc. These groups usually work out licenses
with clubs, theaters, auditoriums, radio stations, etc., and the
revenue from the license fees is divided among the members of the
performing rights groups.
Mechanical license is required to make copies of audio
tapes/records, and Synchronization Rights license is required for
making videos and movies. The Harry Fox Agency handles the audio
tapes and records, I'm not sure about the videos. You send FOX a
letter telling them the titles and the number of copies you expect
to make (not sell), and they'll send you a bill.
Deke Sharon, <ca...@netcom.com>, says "the rate is 6.25
cents per title per recording for a song up to 5 minutes long (the
price has gone up in 1993) & 1.2 cents for each additional minute
(I feel like a long distance operator!)"
Dan again:
PERFORMANCE FOR FEE OR FOR FREE is irrelevant when it comes to
copyright infringement. Money is not the primary issue - control
of intellectual property is. Irving Berlin was always very careful
about allowing people to perform, or arrange his music - whether
or not it was for profit. He felt some groups just didn't do his
music justice and refused permission to them. It is a common
misconception that songs performed or arranged without
compensation do not need permission from the copyright holder. The
misconception is a result of assuming MONEY is the issue rather
than CONTROL.
After speaking to a knowledgable copyright attorney, Deke posted
the following:
Yes, it's legal to transcribe a song off an album for your own
use. No you don't need permission to arrange a song, perform an
arrangement, or record an arrangement (that doesn't have altered
lyrics or melody), though you will need to pay mechanicals on
recordings - 6.25 cents/song.
Yes, you can arrange for money, but you're selling a service & not
music. You can make copies of an arrangement for fair use - study
purposes within your group. CASA can give out a few arrangements
for rehearsal & performance purposes, but they can't be published
in any way - that right belongs to the composer.
6. FAIR USE
This is a very tricky matter. Fair use governs the extent to
which the copyright rules may be "bent" if their purpose includes
"criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and
research." (from Section 107 of the Copyright Act, as quoted in
the Copyright FAQ).
Four factors are used in determining whether something counts as
fair use:
1. Purpose of the use - commercial or nonprofit and educational.
2. Nature of the work being copied.
3. How much of the work is copied.
4. The effect of copying on the potential market for the work.
Things that have been considered fair use in the past by courts
include: quotations of brief excerpts of works in reviews and
criticism; use in a parody; summary with brief quotations; a
teacher copying part of a work to use in class; and so on.
Our interest in this area is mainly to see whether we can
establish an a cappella arrangement archive at the FTP site. This
is still being looked into.
Brendan Quinn
Version: 2.0
Last-modified: 2 May 1994
PART THREE: INTERNET A CAPPELLA RESOURCES
* _ What's the difference between rec.music.a-cappella and
alt.music.a-cappella?_
* _ Is there a rec.music.a-cappella FTP site?_
* _ Can we store arrangements at the FTP site?_
* _ Does anyone have the <code>_lyrics/chords>to <song>?
* _ Do any CD directories exist over the Internet?_
* _ Do any music tutorials exist for FTP access?_
+ Jazz Primer
+ rec.music.compose GEMS
* _ Are there any music typesetting programs I can use?_
* _ Are there any electronic mailing lists dealing with a cappella
music?_
+ Friends of the Bobs
+ Barbershop singing
+ Sacred Harp (Shaped Note) singing
Internet A Cappella Resources
_Q. What's the difference between rec.music.a-cappella and
alt.music.a-cappella?_
Originally, the only a cappella newsgroup was
alt.music.a-cappella. In August '93, a vote was put forward to
create a newsgroup rec.music.a-cappella which, aside from
having better USENET status, (supposedly) reaches more network
sites than an alt group. The vote was an overwhelming success
(342:34 in favour), so the group was created. Thanks to Steve
Simmons for suggesting the rec group and controlling the voting
process.
The charter of the group is as follows:
rec.music.a-cappella: For a-cappella music of all styles.
For friends, fans, and singers of all flavors of pure vocal
music. Barbershop, madrigals, chorales, rockers and folkies
are all welcome provided the instruments are left home (or
mostly home).
The alt group is still used, but very rarely, and usually by
people who are unaware of the rec group. I still crosspost this
FAQ to alt.music.a-cappella and alt.answers, partly because it
lets alt readers know of the rec group's existence, but mostly
because it takes up about twenty extra bytes on each machine to
do so.
_Q. Is there a rec.music.a-cappella FTP site?_
Yes! Greg Weiss <grw...@phoenix.princeton.edu> has
kindly volunteered to maintain an FTP site at Princeton
University.
The main directory is pub/rec.music.a-cappella, and within it
is a copy of this file (called FAQ), a directory containing
archives of postings to the rec.music.a-cappella and
alt.music.a-cappella newsgroups (archive), and a directory
containing text files of various information (info).
To find out what's currently in both of these directories,
check out Greg's up-to-date README files in each directory.
All of this is available for anonymous FTP at:
princeton.edu (128.112.128.1).
To do this from UNIX, type "ftp princeton.edu", login as
"anonymous", and use your email address as the password. Typing
"HELP" at a prompt will describe the available commands. The
normal files can be downloaded using the standard "get"
command, but the compressed files (those which end with .Z)
must be downloaded using binary mode, and either viewed using
the "zcat" command, or uncompressed by simply typing
"uncompress <filename>.Z" at your UNIX prompt.
Thanks to Greg for providing this service, which will ensure
that the worldwide network a cappella community continues to
grow.
If you don't know about FTP (File Transfer Protocol), ask
someone at your site to find out if you have access to the
service. If you've tried using FTP yourself but know it won't
work, try sending "help" in an email message to an ftp-by-mail
server (please choose the nearest to you):
+ ftp...@decwrl.dec.com
+ ftp...@src.doc.ic.ac.uk
+ ftp...@cs.uow.edu.au
+ ftp...@grasp.insa-lyon.fr
_Q. Can we store arrangements at the FTP site?_
This has been a topic of much discussion, nearly since the
inception of the newsgroup. Most people have said that they
would love to see an electronic collection of a cappella
arrangements on the Internet, but a few have raised doubts
concerning the legality of such a venture. Until such problems
are resolved, we can't store arrangements on the network.
However, this doesn't stop us storing arrangements of
_original_ songs (ie written by the contributor) on the
princeton site, and of course we can store lists, reviews and
other information as well.
_Q. Does anyone have the <lyrics/chords>to <song>?
Before you post a request for lyrics to the newsgroup, please
check out the archive at:
ftp.uwp.edu (131.210.1.4)
in the directory pub/music/lyrics
A caveat: the lyrics on this site were submitted by people in
good faith, but do not take their words as gospel. If you are
recording or performing on a large scale, it would probably be
worth checking out the lyrics against some sheet music or the
lyric sheet from the album, if possible.
The chords to songs can sometimes be gleaned from the entries
in the guitar tablature archive at:
nevada.edu
The songs submitted here are organized according to group name,
and a comprehensive index can be downloaded. Many songs are
written in tab, which is harder to work out but will give you
individual notes; but other songs have the chords written out
with the song lyrics, which are sometimes all an arranger needs
(you can usually work out the melody on your own if you have a
recording).
_Q. Do any CD directories exist over the Internet?_
Recently, an Internet service called the Compact Disc
Connection was initiated. It is actually a commercial venture
(you can order the CDs in their catalogue), but it can also be
used to look up albums by a particular group or artist and
obtain track listings of most albums.
To use the service, telnet to:
cdconnection.com (199.35.15.2)
(This is a new address as of 4 April 1994)
Menus will take you through the directory.
The ftp.uwp.edu archive also stores discographies for many
groups, and welcomes additions!
_Q. Do any music tutorials exist for FTP access?_
* The Jazz Primer was written by Marc Sabatella for the readers of
the rec.music.bluenote newsgroup (jazz and blues music). It
was written specifically for those who want to learn more
about jazz and blues theory, to improve their performing,
improvising, or listening ability.
It assumes a basic knowledge of music and notation, and
recommends that you have access to a piano and the ability to
play simple examples on it. The primer discusses, among many
other topics, chord/scale relationships (in all modes), scale
types, and chord voicings.
This text file (4064 lines, 29 sheets when printed using
a2ps) can be read at several levels, depending on your
previous knowledge and experience. It can be used as a
harmony tutorial, improvisation guide, or technical
discussion of chord/scale relationships.
Although instrumental jazz music is discussed throughout, the
techniques can obviously be applied to arranging and
composing a cappella music. I can recommend this file as an
introduction to harmony and chord/scale relationships, but if
you prefer verbose texts which continually emphasize the
topics, this isn't for you. It packs a lot of information
into a small space.
The file may be obtained via FTP from:
ftp://ftp.njit.edu/pub/jazz-primer/primer.asc
Or via the World Wide Web...
http://ftp.njit.edu/pub/jazz-primer/primer.html
* The GEMS series of articles on music composition were written by
Matthew Fields, <fie...@eecs.umich.edu> for readers
of the newsgroup rec.music.compose. It consists of five
parts, each dealing with a different aspect of music theory
and/or composition.
The files may be obtained via FTP from ftp.hyperion.com, or
via gopher at gopher.cic.net. Matthew tells me:
"Gems 5 may have a notice trimmed off. If so, please splice
it in on the bottom. The missing notice is as follows:
ORCHESTERSTUECK Op.16 No.1
(Arnold Schoenberg)
Copr. 1952 by Henmar Music Corp.
Permission for use granted by C.F. Peters Corp."
_Q. Are there any music typesetting programs I can use?_
+ A program called MuTeX exists which enables users on most
operating systems to typeset single-staff music and lyrics,
but a better option for a cappella arrangers/composers is
MusicTeX, a polyphonic system written by Daniel Taupin
<tau...@frups51.bitnet>. The latest version is
available via anonymous FTP from:
nic.stolaf.edu
MuTeX is also available at this site.
A TeX-and-music mailing list also exists: to join, send a
request to <mutex-...@stolaf.edu>.
Be warned! The MusicTeX output looks nice, but is by no means
easy to get! You have to type in everything as text, using
sometimes convoluted commands, and many of these commands are
in French. For those with MIDI keyboards, a MIDI-to-MusicTeX
program can be obtained somewhere, but I can't remember
where! Try archie if you're interested, and let me know what
you find!
+ An FAQ list containing lots of information on notation programs
is posted to the rec.music.compose newsgroup regularly, and
is available at the Princeton FTP site.
_Q. Are there any electronic mailing lists dealing with a cappella
music?_
The Friends of the Bobs (FOBS) maliing list discusses all aspects
of the Bobs, a contemporary a cappella group. To subscribe,
write to
<fobs-r...@netcom.com>
There is also a mailing list for fans and performers of
barbershop music, which you can subscribe to by emailing
<bbshop-...@cray.com>
Discussion and announcements of Sacred Harp singing, based on
"The Sacred Harp" songbook published in 1844 and using shaped
note notation, can be contacted on
<shaped_no...@tahiti.umhc.umn.edu>
_Q. Is there any a cappella information available on the World Wide
Web?_
Greg Weiss <grw...@phoenix.princeton.edu> also
maintains the A Cappella Links page on the Web. It contains
pointers to this FAQ, various a cappella groups' pages, and
other more general music sources accessible via the Web.
_Q. Where can I get the latest version of the A Cappella FAQ?_
+ The completely up to date version of the FAQ is accessible
via the World Wide Web, using a browser such as xmosaic (for
X Windows) or lynx (for a text terminal). The URL to access
is:
http://yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au/~svlad/MainIndex.html
The advantage of this, as well as being much nicer to look at
and a joy to use (you click on references to travel to them
-- ftp, gopher, news, whatever), is that it is updated
directly by myself, whenever I get new information. So you
will always be right up to date (well, as much as I am ;-)
+ The second best way is to simply read the
rec.music.a-cappella newsgroup. The FAQ is automatically
generated from the WWW version around the first of each
month, and posted there, so that version will always be less
than a month old.
+ If for some reason you can't access the FAQ from news, and
you have FTP access, have a look at the Princeton FTP site,
at:
ftp://princeton.edu/pub/rec.music.a-cappella/FAQ
This is a copy of the current FAQ files posted to the
newsgroup.
+ If you only have email access, then how are you reading this?
Anyway, try sending a message to
<mails...@rtfm.mit.edu>/code> with "help" in the subject
and see what happens.