THE EXTENT OF MY COLLEGIATE A CAPPELLA EXPERIENCE

The a cappella world (or “acaworld” – get used to that prefix) is largely, though not entirely, driven by collegiate groups. “The Sing-Off,” if you remember, had three or four of them. Many of the successful professional groups, especially the newer ones, grew from collegiate a cappella graduates (or “aca-alums”) who really wanted to keep going.

I went to BYU. I was not a member of Vocal Point, which was founded the year I returned to BYU from my mission. I didn’t even try out. And why not? Because I had this belief that Vocal Point and pretty much anything else vocal at BYU were dominated by a super-exclusive clique of highly trained singers, all members of the Men’s Chorus or Concert Choir, and all I had ever joined was the no-tryout-required University Chorale one semester of my freshman year. I may have been wrong. Looking back, that vague unease was a lousy reason to just not even try out and give it a chance.

However, one day, I got a phone call from a stranger who had heard from someone whose name I didn’t recognize that I sang bass. They were looking to start a quartet. I joined. We met, I think, weekly in the founder’s 7 square-foot dorm room in Helaman Halls. The other three members all knew each other and had a habit of talking amongst themselves as people who know each other are wont to do.

I remember one practice in particular where the three of them were discussing how to end our Calypso version of “Cupid,” since Sam Cooke ends it in a fade out. I broke in with my suggestion. They actually took the suggestions, but their approval was kind of backhanded somehow… they were either surprised I was there or surprised I had somehow managed to make contribution, musically stunted as I was, I don’t know what. It felt like the latter. In any case, I felt even more an outsider than ever, and I never went back. I decided then it was no use joining any a cappella groups / quartets again, concluding the Brethren was only so awesome because we were all best friends first and singers almost as an afterthought. Almost, but not quite – we did work hard, after all. But as far as I was concerned, if it wasn’t those four people, it wasn’t going to happen.

That's called being a wussy little baby, and it led to 20 years of not being in anything but the occasional musical. I don't endorse those excuses anymore.

GOOD INTENTIONS: DRILLS AND EXERCISES

        As you can tell from the prolonged silence, the mid-life crisis never really got off the ground, which is good, because it would have been sidelined anyway in favor of my wife’s MBA. She’s doing this in an accelerated one year program while continuing to teach four fashion courses. She keeps talking about a second job, but she has no time now. That’s spilled over into my life, because I’ve taken on a lot to allow her the time for her classes (both kinds).

        Not that there aren’t components of the original idea alive and well. Physical improvement – lost 55 pounds and now maintaining target weight at or around 190. The new goal is to gain 10 pounds of muscle with total target weight of 195. That’s lead to quite a lot of cooking on my part, so that’s two goals. Singing and performance – I’m in a redux of the Elkhorn Springs Stake Broadway revue “W Go Together,” which I was in three years ago, but this time taking a much larger role. Not just Rapunzel’s Prince from “Into the Woods” as before, but this time Bert from “Mary Poppins” and a brother in “Joseph…” for two numbers. I’m also singing and dancing (yes, dancing) in large group numbers from “Beauty and the Beast” and “Grease.”

        By the way, the mid-life crisis made it onto Mouth Off! The 5.29.11 show featured a letter from yours truly asking for advice of how to revive your musicality and build skills enough on your own to eventually get back into a cappella. Dave Brown acknowledged remembering me from the brethren, whom he idolized as a youngster (J), then Christopher Diaz (THE Christopher Diaz) responded to the letter with the following:

Listen to a cappella music (and listen and listen) and sign with it. Find the hardest parts and try to sing along and get the notions into your head.

• Look at other charts – ask arrangers to send you a .pdf of their stuff (they’ll send it if they know you aren’t going to steal it) and look at good arranging like Kirby Shaw and see what it looks like.
• Just start recording stuff. Get Audacity installed (done!) and plug in a cheap mike and go.
• Go on YouTube and watch groups you like and see what they do.
• Read the amazing arranging articles on Casa.org.

        (I’ll have to add that last to my RSS blog feed.)

        Dave then added that it’s worth it, if only just to make you do it, to get out there and sing with a group. Perform, put some pressure on, and develop your musical ear.

        I floated the idea of a barbershop quartet past Rob Rovere, who I happened to see at church last night, even though he’s in the Cedar Springs Ward now. His response was an enthusiastic “WHEN?” So there’s that. Two numbers I would especially love to do (which fit the genre) are “The Chordbuster’s March” and “Magic Kingdom in the Sky.” It would be amazing if I could find written arrangements without having to pick them out from the recordings.

        In addition to implementing Christopher and Dave’s genius advice, I did already have a few drills lined up for myself, regarding which I am slacking due to the current overwhelm of working the physical goals, supporting my wife, being in this stake play, and an unusually time-intensive calling as Elders Quorum secretary, all new since my last post. But I don’t know; maybe that’s all still just excuses. Anyway, here are the drills.

        The guitar drills: Switch from C to D to G and back (and forth) over and over – learn to strum while hitting only the strings you want. Practice assigning a right finger to a string, thumb takes the top two, and drill on fingerpicking with the same chords (aka: friend-who-plays-guitar and overall spiritual hero, Milas Howe, came over and gave me homework)

        The vocal percussion drills: Do, Ka, Do-Ka, Do, Ka-Do, Do-Ka etc, to a metronome, on my own, and/or while listening to the radio (aka: Wes Carroll’s “Mouthrdrumming” lesson one. It was $15, not $20, on AcaTunes, as previously posted).

        Finally, I’m feeling some urgency to act first and foremost on another unbegun good intention, namely regarding mine and my family’s spiritual health. More on that later.