Listening person

Do you hear a cappella usually? I think that there are few people who are hearing it. I want you to enjoy and hear a cappella. Please hear it, when free.

A cappella group and a vocal group

 As for a cappella group and a vocal group, the maximum charm is harmony. However, where is different?

 An a cappella group is faithful to "no playing and the many voice" which are the original meanings of a cappella. People also sing a bass and percussion. It seems that charge seldom moves in many cases. Since people have sung all, a cappella gives the impression about people's possibility. When it is heard for the first time, even if it hears it how many times, of course, you feel so.

 Although the vocal group harmonizes carefully, generally there is no part called percussion. Accompaniment is attached to it. A bass is not fixation. The charge itself may interchange by music. Since accompaniment sticks in many cases, you can enjoy the tone and melody line of a musical instrument. Conversely, since there is accompaniment usually, when a part of music is sung a cappella, there is impact considerably. It is because the portion of a cappella is conspicuous. It is recommended at those who want to hear the melody of harmony and accompaniment.

From now on, I will introduce the a cappella group which you enjoy and can be heard. It is a group which can be heard while riding on a rhythm rather than leaning and hearing an ear firmly.

RAG FAIR

They formed the group in the circle of Saitama University from the first. It seems that they became the six present men through the member change several times. The Japanese variety program of "Chikaranokagiri gogogo" of 2001 is the cause to which they became famous suddenly. The present member's Masayoshi Okumura played together as one person of a different group. Those days, the young man who begins a cappella increased rapidly under the influence of a program. Since Okumura specializing in percussion became famous in them first, the image of percussion may be strong. It is acknowledged to the extent that it will suspect whether to be a real percussion instrument, if the first person to hear it does not actually look at a stage. Incidentally Okumura is from University of Tsukuba. He is a senior of the circle in which I belong.

Furthermore, since all six persons are making music, as for their album, their individuality is overflowing. You can enjoy the music of various tastes.

 And their merit is piece with a catchy rhythm after all. If the music to which the body shakes at quick tempo is made to sing, there is no one better in the song than them. A cappella is pleasant! Also in everybody, the coming! And they are always sending the message. They are everybody and are the groups which are invited in order to share this pleasant space rather than make harmony hear it gently.

 I have spoken about a cappella over ten weeks. How was this blog? It is best to hear it for getting to know the merit of a cappella. First of all, please hear it. And please find your favorite.

Thank you.

Support

 A cappella has an image sung in parks. But equipment is required in a live house. A cappella becomes beautiful by work of sound and lighting. Then, I introduce sound and lighting this time.

Sound

Is sound equipment necessity at a cappella?

 For a cappella, sound equipment is not necessarily required. However, it is a saved existence for a base or voice percussion. Since a microphone and the mouth are near, many low-pitched sounds is contained in the sound obtained with a microphone. This is called the approach effect and it is a troublesome existence usually. Microphones for vocals are having some approach effects taken into consideration.

While the voice which you actually uttered reaches your ear, bass has already declined considerably. Low-pitched sound is hard to transmit air. Therefore, to the part who wants to make low-pitched sound, I think that they are powerful arms.

Equipment will give a big effect to a musical performance, because an instrument is not used.

What is required?

Microphones

 Needless to say, it is required by the number. The kind of microphone may be divided on voice percussion and a base.

Speaker

 Probably, you understand since this is also heard. This diffuses the sound included in a microphone.

Mixer

 It prepares sound, it is equipment taken out collectively. It prepares each volume, sound quality, a feeling of a stereo, etc.

Amplifier

 It is amplification apparatus for amplifying the sound summarized by the mixer etc. and taking out from a speaker. Put simply, there is a knob which carries out volume adjustment in an ordinary speaker. It is itself. The size of amplifier also changes with sizes of the speaker to be used.

Reverb

 It is apparatus which attaches an echo artificially. It extends a short sound. It is like the echo of karaoke. Put simply, reverb is such.

Effector

 It is not necessarily required. If there is it, it is convenient. An effector is used tying between a mixer and amplifier.

 Do you have a disagreeable experience in which the sound "Peeeeeee" sounds from a speaker? It is called howling. When sound travels between a microphone and speakers repeatedly, the phenomenon happens. An effector is suppressing the phenomenon and improves the whole sound quality.

Lighting

Is lighting required for a cappella?

 A cappella is materialized even if there is........no it. However, lighting attaches a flower to a cappella.

 There is much lighting equipment in a live house like a photograph. Various kinds of lights are attached near the ceiling.

 This is a lighting table for operating many upper lights. This table can be called heart of lighting.

An engineering work is smart!

Sound and lighting are a band member's members.

 Lighting illuminates Wright so that a member may shine, and Sound works so that sound may melt together. Although it is work of a shadow, in order to make the live pleasant, they are working hard. How about taking notice of sound and lighting, when seeing the live? I think that you get the view different from former. Let's also praise work of a shadow.

Vocal exercises

I talk about the practice methods of a cappella today.  

• I should think that I can sing a song well at a karaoke! 
• It is disagreeable to be called a tone-deaf person ;-(

Anyhow, this is recommended at those who come to be able to be to sing a song well.

Before singing

Be in good health.

 Cold is an enemy of a song. There are some persons it becomes impossible to keep his sounds. Moreover, voice gets husky, or it becomes difficult to come out of high sounds.

A drink is prepared.

 Please drink briskly. I drink 500ml or more 2h.

Calisthenics

It is necessary to make the whole body soft. It is especially a face.

Let's move a mouth and eyes. You cannot utter good voice with the body being hard. An ideal is it being unconscious and singing. It is good in uttering, while moving the body at the time of utterance.

Abdominal breathing

Let's be made to do from usually. If you sing using a throat, you will be tired, and also not much good voice does not come out of you.

*** What is abdominal breathing? ***

 As the name suggests, it is carrying out a breath in the belly. I teach you the method of practice. Let's sit on a chair first. You fold your fingers to an elbow of both hands. Your palm carries out in the direction which is visible to you then. You grasp a hand. Please bring it close to your breast. You push down with the upper half of the body near at hand until your floor can be seen. And please breathe. Then, let's have consciousness in the back, exactly hit of the kidney. If it does so, you should understand the feeling that the breath goes into the back. Let's breathe using a metronome in the state as it is. Tempo is set to 60. Probably, the furniture of the speed of breathing once by 16 beats will be good. You rise gradually. And in the state where it sat down ordinarily, if you have the feeling containing a breath in the back, you will be a success.

 Those who cannot do it need to breathe repeatedly, pushing down the upper half of the body. Next, the same thing is stood.

If it can do in the state where it stood normally, you will already be an expert of abdominal breathing. When singing, let's be made to make this abdominal breathing unconscious.

*******************

Vocal exercises are performed after being based on this.

 A metronome and a keyboard are certainly required. Be careful for a song not to become like a chorus at the time of vocal exercises. Since a chorus is a chorus, that voice is good. If you do a cappella, you need to be conscious of an ordinary band.

Please refer to this animation about vocal exercises.

It is important not to take out loud voice with vocal exercises. You sing with whispering in first small voice, and it is good to enlarge voice gradually.

Gospel

I speak about gospel today. Gospel is also the same church music as a cappella.

The African taken to the U.S. continent as slaves was entirely deprived of their original language, religion, etc. Some people of them met with the gospel which gives help under the painful situation. They came to offer their original praise to God through the reformation to individual Christianity. In this way, music and poetic sensitivities, such as the Europe hymn, united with the tradition etc. of the rhythm peculiar to Africa which jumps, and the oral tradition. The music used as the keynote of present gospel called negro spiritual was produced. Becoming behind, the musicality is connected with various genres, such as jazz and a lock, and is still continuing evolving.

There are a church which uses this even in a Christian church, and a church which is not used. Especially, even a band participates in worship for a boy and it is used briskly. It has recognized officially in order to gain a young believer even in the Catholic Church.

In addition, there are black gospel which began to be performed from 1930 at a black church, and white gospel which south white Christian artist had sung. As for black gospel and white gospel, in both, a Methodism hymn serves as the origin. Since each church of a black person and a white had dissociated completely, both musicality is also a considerably different thing.

Influence

 The gospel artist was affected to the rhythm and blues which were U.S.'s pop music. They were not able to buy a musical instrument. Music was influenced by the situation of such a black church. And the gospel of the form of a cappella spread. In addition, many a cappella gospel to Japan was imported by a cappella boom of Japan around 1990. Gospel already became old in the United States. In Japan, many cases where gospel and a cappella are still mixed up are seen. The musician of the gospel graduate made it develop behind, digesting gospel and R&B, and it made the new genre called soul music. In this way, gospel changed from so-called sacred to the thing of world. The flow of this gospel incurred an antipathy of the church not a little.

Classification

Praise Song

 It is a section placed mainly on the beginning of worship. About 1-3 music is sung by all persons that gathered. In an early beat or a lively motion beat, it is sung with a handclap in many cases. It bears the function which heaps up the start of worship gaily.

Famous music…This Is The Day, Oh Magnify The Lord, Glory Glory, I Was Glad When They Said Unto Me…

Worship Song

 This is a section set immediately after Praise. People become more introvert. People sing at this time, extending a hand to each one, praying with its hands joined so that it may pray, closing eyes, or looking up at heavens. It is a calm music tone and a simple phrase is repeated in many cases. God is treated by the second person, such as You and Lord, in many cases.

Traditional representation music…Thank You Lord, Halleluja…

Offering song

 It is sung to the intermediate part of worship. It asks people for the contribution to a church. A music tone has many lively motion things.