How To Perform A capella

Published by 
Singers Corner Team
Last updated: 
December 18, 2023

How To Sing A capellaAcapella is a very interesting form of music as it does not involve the use of any kind of musical instruments.

In fact, the sounds of the musical instruments or rather, all the necessary accompaniments are produced by the vocals of the singers.

What does A capella Mean?

Often performed in groups, Acapella is an Italian phrase which stands for “in the manner of the church.”

The genre of music seems to have originated as a result of the popularity of gospel music or other religious musical genres, and seems to have been inspired by the congregational style of music.

How Acapella is Performed

Singing A CapellaThere are generally a lot of people in an Acapella band and they control various parts of the music and vocal sections which make the music.

To understand Acapella it is best to listen to a few Acapella groups and the music that they make to get a hang of it or to at least know how Acapella is performed.

How To Sing Acapella

Are You Ready To Try Singing Acapella?

Singing acapella can be a daunting task if you are a beginner to singing. That's why you want to make sure your voice can actually sing properly.

The best way to do this is through a professional vocal coach - but they're super expensive ($50-100+ per half hour session)

Luckily, we live in the age of the internet and an online vocal lesson program is your ticket to better vocal control, a smooth tone/pitch and ability to hit both high and low notes effectively.

Once you have control of your voice like a proper singer, singing acapella will be an easy task for you.

Here's a great video by MetalWorks Institute on singing acapella:

 

Effective Acapella Singing

Acapella is best sung with a group of people. Although it can technically be done solo, it's best to have accompaniment.

You need singers covering low, mid and high ends of the vocal spectrum

Bass / Low Notes

You need singers who have a bass-heavy vocal style - one that resonates well and can carry the bottom end. To do this you should find someone with a deep voice.

Make sure they have the type of control over their voice we talked about earlier.

Middle and High Notes

You'll also need a singer who can really take a song to the highest scales out there - falsetto or otherwise. Again, you want to make sure the singer has full control of their vocal chords.

Finally, you need singers that can support the group as a whole - either through accompaniment, harmony or other background vocals.

In actuality, you'll all be performing that role at one time or another.

Listen, Then Sing

If you listen to a lot of Acapella music made by Acapella groups then you will understand why the singers seem to be arranged like a choir.

The only thing Acapella is distinctively different from a choir is in the use of musical instruments. Acapella uses no instruments.

If you listen to enough of the type of music you're trying to sing you will pick up the habits and styles of those performers. It's always a good idea to emulate then innovate when it comes to learning a new style.

If you are composing an Acapella song then be sure to demarcate sections of the song to be sung by the singers.

The song might start with a bass section with mids and highs catching up, while the backing vocals set the mood the song.

The backing vocals give a feel and character to the song, without which the raw vocals might sound out of tune.

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