A cappella

A cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. A cappella is Italian for from the chapel (music); the term is due to restrictions on the use of instruments in medieval churches. It is often misspelled as a capella, which is not the Latin spelling, or even acappella.

Modern a cappella

Many standard choral works are a cappella in that no accompaniment is written in except perhaps for rehearsal purposes. But in the modern parlance, it applies to vocal performers who disdain instrumental accompaniment in all cases.

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A cappella music attained renewed prominence in the 1980s and 1990s, spurred by the success of songs by popular recording artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Flying Pickets, Die Prinzen, Rockapella and Boyz II Men. This prominence in turn led to a boom in collegiate a cappella -- some larger universities now have a dozen groups or more.

Related Topics:
1980s - 1990s - Bobby McFerrin - Flying Pickets - Die Prinzen - Rockapella - Boyz II Men - Collegiate a cappella

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Some of the major movements within modern a cappella are Barbershop, doo wop, and contemporary a cappella. Contemporary a cappella includes many vocal bands who add vocal percussion or beatboxing to create a pop/rock sound.

Related Topics:
Barbershop - Doo wop - Contemporary a cappella - Vocal percussion - Beatboxing

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Arrangements of popular music for small a cappella ensembles usually include one voice singing the lead melody, one singing a rhythmic bass line, and the remaining voices contributing chordal or polyphonic accompaniment . (In Japan, these parts are known as vocal, bass, and chorus, respectively.)

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A cappella can also describe the practice of using just the vocal track(s) from a multitrack recording to either remix or put onto vinyl records for DJ's.

Related Topics:
Multitrack - Remix

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