In Japan

Tatsuro Yamashita

The forerunner of a cappella boom in Japan is Tatsurou Yamashita. He released on the street corner of an album in 1980. He wrote the words and music of the Christmas Eve which certainly flows in a town when Christmas came. A cappella of on The Street corner which he also sang by alone gave a shock to the concept of a chorus. I didn't know that Tatsurou Yamashita had sung a cappella until I wrote this blog.

The Gospellers

After The Gospellers was in fashion, a cappella became famous. Before The Gospellers came out, there was a group which had taken in a cappella. It is the ballade released in 2000, eternal(永遠に), the long hit was continued over 43 weeks. Thus, they became a pioneer of a cappella boom. Next, the one person(ひとり) which is that of the 2001 release has finished the inspiring feat included in the best 3. This record becomes the first in Japan as an a cappella work. In this way, a cappella came to be heard at people. There are also many cappella groups which imitate and sing The Gospellers.

Hamonepu

 Since it was the same exactly, Hamonepu became extremely popular by the variety program of Fuji Television. Hamonepu of the title has omitted harmony and Neptune of chairman.  It is a program which amateur's students sing a cappella. A cappella group called RAG FAIR became famous in this program. Okkun who is a member of RAG FAIR is from University of Tsukuba. There is a cappella circle called Doo-Wop in University of Tsukuba. He belonged to Doo-Wop. Incidentally, I am also a member of this circle.

 Those who want to regard it as mist by themselves increased in number. Many people yearned after the world of their harmony.

 The students who have shared the painfulness of the same time and practice, therefore great a cappella can be played. How about singing or listening a cappella ?

University

 Many universities have cappella circles. There is also exchange between universities. If the live is held together, we can send the heart.

 The a cappella practiced over many hours is impressive. Let's move the body together, snap your fingers and listen to a cappella.

What’s JAM?

 Japan A cappella Movement is loved by the nickname of "JAM". It is the greatest a cappella street event in Japan. After being planned focusing on the volunteers of college studentｓ society in 1999, it is performed every year. More than 2000 visitors come every year. In JAM, the application of a cappella band is received from the whole country regardless of the genre. The band which won straight victories in two examinations, sound source and actual examinations performs the live. JAM is working with the idea of telling many people charms called the pleasure and wonderfulness of a cappella. The band of 12 which passed two examinations sang on the day. In the 12 bands, two were a band of Doo-Wop. It is great!

In Europe

In Europe

The origin of a cappella is the church music in Europe. In order to know the background that a cappella was produced, let's see the history of the music in Europe.

History of the music in Europe

【Western music before a Gregorian chant】

 It seems that the chorus and the performance of a musical instrument were performed in B.C. as the dramatic music in ancient Greece. Although, as for the musical instrument, the stringed instrument and the whistle seemed to be in the mainstream, the musical actual condition is unknown.

 It is thought that the original hymn was produced being subject to the influence of the music of a spot as Christianity spreads in the area in the Mediterranean.

【Gregorian chant】

  The Roman Catholic acknowledges the "head temple" of Christianity. Since the style of the religious rite was diversified in various places, they defined the unified style. They tried to centralize authority on Rome.

 The hymn also became the object. It is an established theory that the time is a pope GregoryⅠ(590-604) neighborhood about.

The name of the Gregorian chant was attached to the hymn institutionalized in Rome. However, the present established theory is negative.

 Western music develops based on this Gregorian chant. The feature of a Gregorian chant is the following two.

1)    All the members sing a single melody. This melody is called monophony.

2)    Although the score devised later has prescribed the height of sound, there is no concept of the length of sound. All the sound is sung by the same length.

【Gothic music】

 If monotonous, people will get bored even if it is sacred music. The motion which is going to add another melody appears from the end of the 9th century to the middle of the 10th century. This is birth of polyphony. Polyphony means that there are many melodies.

 At first, submelody carried out only the fixed motion. It came to move freely gradually.

 French polyphony became famous in the 14th century. This is called chanson.

【Renaissance music】

 Originally the Renaissance is a term which means reproduction and revival in French. It generated as ancient art revival movement in Italy in the 14th century, and spread through all Europe.

 However, the "ancient times" which should be made an example in music was not left behind in the form of a score etc. When music was the former, it belonged to the church and was composed for God. People came to evaluate the sacred music as art. This is the change which took place to the Renaissance.

 As a result, the polyphony which began at medieval times progressed. Moreover, the work also became to what was able to take the balance very much.

Thus, the method of producing harmony using the voice from which sound is different was produced. If a score is also before a Gregorian chant, we can know more things. There was history of music wonderful probably. I would like to know.

In the United States

Contemporary a cappella was produced in the United States.

 Peter Christian Lutkin is the musicology division manager of Northwestern University. From now on, let's follow the flow of the history of the music in the United States.

History of the music in the United States

Many Europeans immigrated to the U.S. continent after discovery of the new continent by them. Settlers built ancestral original culture, eliminating native culture. Naturally in the culture, music is also contained.

<A colony and the emancipation of slaves>

In South America, racial reconciliation took place so that it might be called a racial crucible. On the contrary, in North America, immigration are not mixed, though affected mutually. They inherited ancestral culture and have continued till the present age. The situation is described as a racial salad bowl or a racial mosaic.

Now, many races have emigrated to the United States of America from Europe. There were most Anglo-Saxon's people. They have crossed from Britain. Therefore, North America including Canada is compared with Latin America in South America, and is called Anglo-America.

People of the Anglo-Saxon who moved to the United States sang and inherited the ballade liked and sung in the homeland. This continues till the beginning of the 20th century.

Church music was also carried in from Europe.

Moreover, there are people who contributed to development of U.S. music rather than Anglo-Saxon. They were people compulsorily taken as a slave from African every place. In their culture in an African continent, music had permeated all the fields of the life. It was an indispensable thing in order to maintain a community. There is a talking drum as the direct example. They had conveyed the intention using the sound of a drum.

Euro American and others feared that slaves banded together. They forbade the song, the dance, and the drum that becomes a tool of communication especially. However, those who consider that they should make a community form under Christianity soon, and it should make Euro American society contribute begin to appear. In this way, Christianity permeates into an African-American.

<From the emancipation of slaves>

In 1862, Emancipation Proclamation was made by Union Army President Lincoln in the midst of the Civil War. As a result, African-American people became the independent free American. A spiritual song will not be sung as a song of the past of its slave days after release. Instead, the gospel which dances and praises God came to be sung.

However, release meant simultaneously that it had to live alone. The African-American was separated from the slave's community. They were pressed to be faced with society. They will be faced with a new formidable enemy called racial discrimination there. And they do not have a community where it should already return. While there were such insecurity, dissatisfaction or fear, and anger, the blues were produced in the Mississippi delta in the southern part.

Northern people noticed spiritual music existence after the emancipation of slaves. They come to introduce this positively. As a result, the Europe system American comes to perform a cappella as one of the choruses.

Barbershop style

Barbershop music is an original culture in the United States. I wrote this in the first week. In order to delight visitor, since staffs of the barber sang, this style was produced. In 1938, the first formal men’s barbershop organization was formed. It is known as the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA). SPEBSQSA was renamed to BHS in 2004. BHS has 30,000 or more members in the United States. The barbershop style spread all over the world. This is not famous in Japan.

In 1945, the first formal woman’s barbershop organization, Sweet Adelines, was formed. This is birth of female a cappella. In 1953, Sweet Adelines became an international organization. A total of about the 25,000 is in about 50 countries. He founded the a cappella chorus of the northwestern in 1906. It helped the spread of American a cappella music. 

Formation and feature

Formation and feature

　A cappella is divided into some parts. It is about divided into 6 from 4 after modernization. I introduce the form of present age a cappella to you.

Lead

Lead sings the melody of music. They have a role which tells words.

A cappella was sung from the first at the church. The church music values the prayer for God. Therefore, importance is attached to words. Lead is essential part.

It is suitable for those who want to come out in front. Since chorus and percussion back up a lead, a lead can sing very pleasantly.

Do you think that what kind of person is suitable in order to sing a lead? The main is lead although harmony of a cappella is charm. Lead must not lose other chorus parts at volume of voice.

 　

Chorus

 Although it is various by the number of a group, 2-3 choruses are. Impressions of music change entirely by this chorus. It is because chorus moves codes. According to kinds of these codes, music tones become bright, become dark, or become mystical. Chorus gives volume in harmony to a song and work attaches expression.

 Even if it is not a cappella, there is music using a chorus. The decisive difference from other music, for example gospel, is singing one part alone. That is, deception does not here. The point is the tension of volume of voice and voice. Since it is a conspicuous part, if voice does not arrive, it tends to become the impression “a lead is weak.”

 Do you think that what kind of person is suitable in order to sing chorus? Generally, the person of vocal quality soft and gentle to suits a lead. Shady soul is important for a chorus strictly.

Bass

 Bass makes low sounds like musical instruments. It seems that a male generally becomes a base in many cases when one person’s male is in a female group. However, in the case of a male group, it is too easy to merely become a base only for the reason why voice is low.

 Although it is being able to say to all the parts, especially bass takes the lead in a pitch. Bass is a core of a chord and supports music. Therefore, “sense of stability” is becoming very important. If bass is establishing massively, even if a lead and chorus are shaky, it is correctable somehow. A person good at voice control and those who have the calmness of seldom being perturbed are fit.

Percussion

 Voice percussion is a part who reproduces the sound of drums using voice or a breath. By using a microphone, it can also make the sound in which a real drum is not lost. It is also called vocal percussion in the United States.

 It is popular with young men. Reasons are the following.

-      It is made easily, without using a musical instrument.

-      It is smart.

-      It seems to be interesting.

-      It is easy to come out of the result of practices.

A cappella and religion

A cappella is also a religious great by-product.

A cappella was sung as church music of Europe for many years. So, a cappella and religion are inseparable relations. It seems that there was also a place referred to as not using musical instruments in religious events in a denomination.

A cappella of a Renaissance term

The musician was competing in Renaissance music for making complicated and gorgeous music. For reason, it was not clear anymore whether it is a religious rite or a concert. Moreover, it is difficult to catch important words. The Vatican regarded this as questionable. The Vatican was forbidden from using a musical instrument. It seems that various arguments were also there. First, the Trient ecumenical council was held. The measure for opposing the Reformation of Luther and others at the meeting was discussed. It is because composers wanted to have made gorgeous music and to compete for an arm. As a result of being decided that restriction was imposed on the music used for a divine service. Polyphony was stopped entirely in the beginning and there was an opinion that worship only by a Gregorian chant is accepted. However, the principle of the divine service music of removing a common element as much as possible was decided. The contents are here.

1.   The whole or a part of music serves as polyphony.

2.   It is simple. Listening comprehension of words is easy.

3.   It consists of two or more parts.

Therefore, composers began to make simple music. The style of a cappella was circulated by this.

 Palestrina made the music of the outstanding a cappella.

Jewish

Services in the Temple in Jerusalem include musical instruments. But traditional Jewish religious services did not include musical instruments. It is because a player is going to make musical instruments more gorgeous if it is used. Then, the tradition which sings a cappella was made.

Muslim

Many Muslim musicians also sing a cappella. Some singers didn’t use musical instruments. It is because using them was forbidden.

The thought as Japanese

http://www.acappellanews.com/archive/002769.html

This report shocked me. This is the shocking report that Christian’s a cappella group banished a gay’s member. Mr. Will Thomason was dismissed in conformity with that members of the group should act in conformity with the instruction of the Bible. Of course by almost all cappella groups, there is no such thing. This group is exposed to criticism also in the United States.

Therefore, though a large majority is irreligious, this problem is no means unrelated also to us who have sung the black spiritual.

Religion is free. Music is also free. Then, is enjoying music freedom, being contrary to religion? Alone, a chorus also has the side in which it cannot do. That is, a chorus is completed in society.

Prohibition

A cappella seems to be the music borne by prohibition. Although it is the music which had brightness removed, it became deep beautiful by efforts of composers and players. I would also like to sing beautiful songs.