Boppin' to the Top: Brown University and the Collegiate A Cappella Scene

I walk up Brown street and from a block away, I can hear rumblings in Wayland arch. As I turn the corner, I can see a mass of people, most of whom I recognize from A Cappella groups or the Theatre scene, jumping up and down to keep warm, chatting to each other, and calling out to others across the way. Suddenly, they erupt into clapping and screaming, and I turn my head to see the object of their affection. It is the Bear Necessities, Brown’s all-male, all-suspendered A Cappella group who, on this day, don bathrobes and towels instead of their usual garb. The squeals of girls pervade the night as the group begins to sing. With a loud, percussive sound, they repeat the syllable “ber ner ner” as the different vocal parts layer to mimic the instrumental sections of a well known pop song, “Saturday Night’s Alright." The performers smile at each other across their arc formation, bopping up and down to the beat. The acoustics of the archway amplify their voices, creating surround-sound without a single microphone. This is Brown a cappella.



Though A Cappella means “in the style of the chapel,” in Italian, collegiate A Cappella has come a long way from the classical choir performances of early days. It has developed a specific style that shows up in live performance and musical sound. Because a cappella groups come in all-male, all-female, and coed varieties, gender stereotyping is common, even among insiders to the scene. At Brown, the Intergalactic Community of A Cappella fosters interaction between groups, making the University one of the most cohesive a cappella units in the country. Collegiate a cappella started first on Brown's campus with the Jabberwocks in 1949. Since then, the cappella community has expanded to 14+ groups with practically every style. Looking from the outside in, one would say our a cappella community is fairly unique and has plenty of different characters to keep the story of Brown a cappella interesting. We decided to do intensive research on the a cappella scene at Brown University because it is something we are all passionate about. We are all members of a cappella groups (though we made it a point not to focus on researching our own group for objectivity's sake). Although this "insider-status" may have helped us gain information about the scene or cause us to have certain opinions about it, we tried to stay as open minded as possible when conducting interviews, fieldwork, and observing performances. This is what we found!

Blend:Musicality and Personality

As it stands, Brown University is home to 14 a cappella groups. Because there are so many, each has had to find and occupy its own niche. Every group has carved out its place in the landscape of Brown’s music scene by acquiring an inclination towards a certain genre. For example the Ursa Minors are more girlie, up-tempo, poppy songs; the Bear Necessities are more pop rock with lots of volume; and the Higher Keys are jazz/pop. The common poppy beats of a cappella result in the familiar “bop”, for as McClary argued music’s power lies in its ability to influence the body (McClary 1994: 36). Each different genre has its own set of musical priorities whether it is energy, projection, flexibility, etc., but the highest priority no matter the genre is blend. By definition a cappella is solely voices, which is a blessing and a curse: a blessing in that the human voice can blend wonderfully under the right conditions, but a curse because it is difficult to maintain those conditions. All voices must acquire the same or nearly the same timbre in order to harmonize well. Edwin Liemohn describes the struggle to maintain similar timbres well in his article in the Music Educator’s Journal:

Since each voice has its own characteristic overtone pattern, which determines its quality, the problem of securing good intonation and blend will be reduced if voices can be quite similar in quality, thereby eliminating pitch conflicts in the overtones produced by the various voices. (Liemohn 1958: 50)

So, in effect, each a cappella group is made up of similar voices, so as to maintain a good blend.

A prime example is the Bear Necessities, an all-male group who have quite a distinctive sound.



Each member possesses a musical-theater-type sound: belting, projecting, richly colored. It is a soloist’s voice, which would usually be a problem for subtle task of blending. However, since each voice has the same “musical theater” timbre, blending is possible. Just as each group has its own sound, it has a personality as well. In both Sami’s and Brady’s interviews, the interviewees talk about the perceived characters of different groups. “Angie” described the Chattertocks as “hipster” and Dom categorized the Jabberwocks as very “bro”.

<---Hipster girl



Whether the group agrees or not, it is how they are seen by the rest of the community. It can be a self-fulfilling prophecy: a group is noted for being of a certain temperament which draws people of that temperament to it. Nonetheless, with members of similar disposition a group can act as a more cohesive unit, learning how each other interacts and, most importantly, sings.

Leonard van Camp puts it best when he says, “It is a matter more of feeling than hearing.” (Van Camp 1965: 237). Knowing how your fellow group members acts and reacts is more important than having a good ear. Developing this sense of togetherness is what many in the community regard as the most important aspect of a cappella. From the exact moment of a new member’s being “sung in”, he is considered one of the family, lavished with hugs and congratulations. Yet, he is, in most regards, a complete stranger; no one in the group knows much, if anything, about him except what they learn at call backs. Going on tour, then, serves as a way for new members to be absorbed into the group (see Sami’s interview with Dom for his thoughts on tour). Tour usually involves a week of travelling with one’s a cappella group, singing together and living together. Through this experience, the members form bonds with each other that may not have arisen organically because of the differences of social lives between them. Cohen argues that music is “a human activity involving social relationships, identities, and collective practices” (Cohen 1993: 127), and in the context of intra-group relations a cappella is most definitely an enabler of all that is listed.

On the other hand, when seen from an inter-group perspective, a cappella falls flat. Most people that we talked to saw no tangible increase in mingling with other groups. There was some hanging out between members of groups, but that was mainly because they shared a commonality, like being in a musical together or something along those lines. The only time when two entire groups would interact would be if they sang together in a double concert or arch sing

Some may read the lack of interaction as a bit of animosity. With so many groups, one would suspect there would be competition. We received two different answers on this question of hostility. Julian Cihi (Bear Necessities) said that in his experience there is no rivalry between groups, but “Angie” (Ursa Minors) stated that between all-girl groups there is a level of cattiness. Be that as it may, I think that as a whole, Brown’s a cappella community is fairly drama free and that the deficiency of intermingling among groups simply comes down to the groups’ personalities: some don’t blend.

Performance:Snickers and Squeals

When Susan McClary describes “the music itself” as “socially mediated patterns of kinetic energy, being in time, emotions, desire, pleasure and much more” (McClary 1994: 33), she eliminates the possibility of discussing music ethnographically without examining the performative aspects and audience responses to that music. The reaction to a genre of music is what allows that genre to exist as a subculture. Without performances and a fanbase to watch them, music would neither exist nor have the impact it has on society today.

While we were doing our research on a cappella, therefore, we made sure to ask questions about performance and fans to the members of the groups we interviewed, and to observe on our own the performances to witness firsthand what they meant.

There are a couple of things that seem to be keystones of a cappella performance. The first is an arc formation, as can be seen in this video. (N.B.: an arc is more like a "Half Circle” of Life). We noticed this at every a cappella performance we attended, as did Joshua Duchan in his ethnographic study of three a cappella groups from different Massachusetts Universities. When we asked our informants why groups preferred an arc formation, they all cited its acoustic value (it allows the performers to hear each other), and the ability of everyone in the arc to see each other and communicate with their eyes. Many often cited the increased connection and focus between group members that occurs during performance, as well as the boost in energy a live audience provides. Duchan also noticed, much as we did, that “many groups use choreography as well as spontaneous finger snapping or bobbing to the beat,” even “lower[ing] themselves physically during quiet musical passages...[to] coordinate the song’s dynamics and perform them more dramatically” (Duchan 2007: 205). This movement is often referred to affectionately as the “a cappella Bop” by scene insiders.

There’s definitely a difference between performing off-campus and on for a cappella groups. At a formal concert, “a group typically sings most or all of its repertory for the semester, usually between eight and sixteen songs” (Duchan 2007: 197). These big concerts are often rewarding because the audience has come specifically to see the group perform, whereas they may not have at the more casual social functions or paying “gigs” at which groups often perform. As Duchan notes, certain conventions of performance are common to all a cappella groups: these include “venues, the use of guest groups, social aspects of concert programming [and] stage formations” (Duchan 2007: 201). Many of the group members we interviewed at Brown, however, liked “Arch-Sings” the best because of their informal nature and reactive audiences. As Titon expressed in his article about Ethnomusicology, “the performance, audiences and performance times can be used to construct a set of expectation about music in the community, [with] some kinds of music...appropriate to several locations, times and audiences” (Titon 2002: 105). This seems to be the case with A Cappella. Brown groups have cited performances at such diverse locations as hospitals, the salvation army, house parties, and a pier in San Francisco. A Cappella seems to be a culture that is acceptable at many occasions and to many people

With this in mind, we decided to do a little research on the fanbase of Brown A Cappella. When asked who they believed their main fanbase to be, most of the performers we interviewed mentioned Musical Theatre people, their friends, and other A Cappella singers. With the extensive promotion that many groups do for their shows with Facebook events, table slips, and postering, one would think that A Cappella performances would attract a wider fanbase.

The limited fanbase seems to make sense, however, when considering Slobin’s definition of an affinity group (of which an a cappella Group is an example) as a “charmed circle of like-minded music-makers drawn magnetically to a certain genre that creates strong expressive bonding” (Slobin 1993: 98). A cappella people (many of whom participate in Musical Theatre) tend to like A Cappella music and have friends in other groups, and they are therefore more inclined to go to concerts. As we learned from interviews, however, many a cappella members also go to other groups’ concerts to analyze their performances for comparative and educational means. No matter what their reasons though, an a cappella audience is an interactive one. We heard woots and cheers, especially following an impressive vocal display or a particularly funny dance move. Occasionally, audience members will “[call] out the names of friends among the performers,” making many a cappella performances personal experiences (Duchan 2007: 201).

One of the more interesting aspects of fandom that we discovered through interviews and observation is that girls are more consistent fans of a cappella than boys. Girls simply seem to be more supportive of the scene. “If you like a cappella, and you’re not in a group, and you’re a guy,” a male member of the Higher Keys revealed, “you’re probably gay.” Although it seems like a harsh critique, we did witness severe stereotyping of people within the a cappella scene, even at a liberal institution such as Brown. Perhaps this is the reason why male groups seem to get more attention on campus (see next section!).

A Cappella Community:Intergalatic Interactions

The a cappella community on Brown's campus reaches far and wide and overlaps with many other activities but still manages to keep its own element of character. One member of the community says that Brown has a "very warm community...everyone knows each other." However there is a general consensus that the community as a whole isn't really integrated, but there is a desire for more integration between the groups. One member believes "it would relax the competition." Recently two groups on campus, The Higher Keys, a jazz/pop co-ed group, and The Bear Necessities, an all-male, all-suspendered group, did a flip flop arch sing in which soloists were swapped between groups as they perform and one member wished for that to happen more frequently: "What we did with the Bears, the flip flop arch sing, we should do that more often."

Professional a cappella competitions are one way of getting more a cappella groups to perform together. Started in 1995 by Deke Sharon of the Tufts Beezlebubs and Adam Farb of Brown’s Brown Derbies, the Best of Collegiate A Cappella (BOCA), a compilation of the year’s best collegiate a cappella recordings of the year (Duchan 2007:6). Sharon views it as an effective and efficient way of introducing a cappella to newcomers stating, “I started BOCA because I love collegiate a cappella and I wanted to share it with people…having one album where you can end up getting 15 great tracks is the most effective way.” (Slutsky 2005: 20). The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), also started by the pair, are ways that a cappella groups can strengthen their music and performance, receive recognition for their work, hear other groups and learn from their techniques as well as compete for the top spot in a cappella.

One may think that because there is a surplus of groups on Brown’s campus that there must be competition for the top spot on campus between the groups, but the general opinion on that is mixed. One member of an all-male group feels like it existed once upon a time but says, “I feel like it exists less now, because we get along with so many people.” Competition for members during auditions is present, but competition over all is more unspoken. On the other hand, several members found that the personalities and reputations of the groups are so different, that there really can’t be any competition. However, members of coed groups feel that there is more competition between the single sex groups as to “which one’s… better,” as one member put it.

The overall gender dynamic of the Brown a cappella community is contrasting with the overall gender dynamic of the university. While many view Brown as progressive and feel that the female voice is present, in the intergalactic a cappella community at Brown, there is a general consensus that the all-male groups rule the scene. One member of an all-male group even went so far as to say, “no one cares about the all female groups,” but quickly recanted and masked it as a joke. However, his statement speaks to the notion that girls a cappella isn’t as appreciated and valued as all male a cappella. A member of a coed group says that common stereotypes are, “the sound isn’t as full [with girls a cappella]…the arrangements aren’t interesting.” Another member pointed out that girl (in addition to coed) groups have to work really hard on blending, whereas with guy groups, “it comes easy.” All of this isn’t to say that all male groups don’t get their share of flak from others in the a cappella community. Most male groups are seen as being very fraternal to the point of being “bro-ish” as one member put it.

Other members saw that the most common stereotype was that the all male groups were “all arrogant and all good,” or “cooler, more popular…even if their musical arrangement[s] aren’t as advanced.” A member of an all male a cappella group recalled back when he was a freshmen that the different all male groups had different personalities: “…musically, I always thought the Bears were the best…reputation wise, the Jabberwocks were the coolest group and the Derbies have fun.” There are many different opinions of coed groups’ stereotypes and all are very contrasting. One member found that “there’s more love. Or at least they show the love,” while another says that, “it’s almost too tough to get things done because of battles between male and female. No common wavelength.”



Conclusions

Much like any subculture, A Cappella has a style all its own in aspects of performance and musicality, and attracts a particular fanbase. Interactions between members of different groups and individuals within one group make A Cappella a true "scene" at Brown. Issues of gender stereotyping may affect these interactions, but they do not stop members of A Cappella groups from supporting each other. A Cappella may just be a style of Music, but at Brown it can also be considered a way of life. It brings people together under a common interest, much like any other subculture does. It can foster a sense of belonging and at a school as large as Brown, can create bonds between individuals that grow into everlasting friendships.


Word Count: 2748


Works Cited:
-Cohen, Sara. "Ethnography and Popular Music Studies." Popular Music, Vol. 12, No. 2 (May, 1993), pp. 123-138
-Duchan, Joshua S. Collegiate A Cappella: Emulation and Origniality. Diss. University of Michigan, 2007. Proquest Digital Dissertations. Proquest. .
-Duchan, Joshua S (2007). “Powerful Voices: Performance and Interaction in Contemporary Collegiate A Cappella.” Michigan: University of Michigan, 1-346.
-Liemohn, Edwin. "Intonation and Blend in the A Cappella Choir". Music Educators Journal Jun.-Jul., 1958: 50-51.
-McClary, Susan (1994). “Same as It Ever Was: Youth Culture and Music.” Andrew Ross and
Tricia Rose, eds. Micropone Friends: Youth and Youth Culture. London: Routledge, 29-40.
-Slobin, Mark (1993). Subcultural Sounds: Micromusics of the West. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 98.
-Slutsky, Corey Brian Music Without Instruments. Diss. University of Southern California, 2005. Proquest Digital Dissertations. Proquest. .
-Titon, Jeff (2002). Worlds of Music. New York: Schirmer, 464-474.
-Van Camp, Leonard. "The Formation of A Cappella Choirs at Northwestern University, St. Olaf College, and Westminster Choir College". Journal of Research in Music Education Winter 1965: 227-238.

The Group
Ethnographic Moment: Sami
A Cappella Community: Chantel
Intra-Group Relations: Brady
Performance: Sami
Conclusion: All

Marshall Blog

In Wayne Marshall's blog entries, he describes many aspects, both musical and historical, of reggaeton. He mentions different beats, instrumentation, artists, and Fruity Loops, a digital audio workstation. Marshall discusses how reggae started spreading and through new technologies like the internet, morphed into reggaeton. By utilizing the internet, different cultural musical practices and ideologies were able to intermingle and fuse together to create a unique genre. Because of this, there was a shift from "musica negra" towards "reggaeton latino". There is debate about the specific origins and whether all Latin cultures can subscribe to reggaeton. The genre soon caught on in America because of the large Latino population.

Discussion Question:
The blog also mentions that reggaeton is popular in other places like Japan, where there isn't a large Latino community. What is it about reggaeton that it is able to accommodate different cultures?

Field Notes Part II

This past Saturday, I attended a Bears Necessities (all-male) a cappella concert at Brown University. I’ve been at Brown for over seven months, yet, surprisingly, I have only been to two Bears concert, so it was a nice diversion from work. It was held in List, an Art Gallery that is equipped with a large auditorium. It is a usual place for a large, formal a cappella concert, as opposed to one of the arches around campus which are more for informal “arch sings”.

The majority of the audience was made up of college-age students, although there were a few older attendants. This minority may have been parents of some of the members of the group or perhaps people from the Providence area who enjoy a cappella. I did notice one peculiarity in the make up of the audience: there were many more women than men. This anomaly reminded me of part of the conversation I had with “Angie”:

Brady: What would you say your main fanbase is?

Angie: I think… I don’t know…our friends obviously, first and foremost and then more girls, and then maybe some guy-pals. And then maybe some theater people. It’s not like a completely solidified fanbase. Guys have more fans

B: so you said there were a lot of girl fans, is it true that they are better fans?

A: Girls? Yeah, I think so.

B: You also said male groups have more fans, so is [girls’ being better fans] a reason?

A: Oh, so like, “Hey check out those hotties.” I don’t think so. Most of them are gay anyway.

B: [laugh] I guess that’s true.

A: I just think guys sound better and they put on a way better performance than girls.

I don’t know if I fairly agree with that statement, but I can admit that the Bears put on a spectacular show. As a member of the audience, I was always acutely aware of their vocal prowess. It might have something to do with their unique sound. Each person in the group is a superb soloist and when they come together as a group, they don’t change their sound to blend (as is usually customary for the background singing in a cappella); they all sing in a belting tone. However because they are all male, their voices naturally meld together into some sort of quasi-blend. It’s an exceptionally beautiful wall of sound that completely fills the entire space.

The songs performed were mostly oldies, some ballads, a few more contemporary songs, and one Disney song just for good measure. The background singers surrounded the soloist in a double arch shape and the vocal percussionist a little off to the side. The different soloists put on quite a show, but the most exciting numbers were when the group sang more as a whole. This was when the group utilized choreography.

Boogaloo

Chapter 5 in Juan Flores' From Bomba to Hip Hop: Puerto Rican Culture & Latino Identity describes the birth of the Boogaloo, a dance-fad type music that arose in the 50s and 60s. The Boogaloo emerged from a New York melting-pot culture where African and Puerto Rican identities intermingled. This type of music very quickly shut out the popular Latin music, mambo. The mambo band leaders were infuriated that young, less talented musicians were becoming extremely famous. However, the trend went as quickly as it came, and soon salsa replaced the boogaloo.

Discussion Question:
Is this type of overnight fame that quickly dissipates something that happens in every decade? 70s: disco, 80s: hair metal, 90s: boy band/pop

New Ethnicities and Urban Cultures, Part II

Chapter 8 finishes with the author detailing the breakdown of racial barriers in the black music scene in London. He first sets up reggae in the 70s as a predominately, almost exclusively, black genre then contrasts it with soul which was more racially mixed and run by white people. As the years pass, the line between soul and reggae become increasingly hard to define. Through this blurring of boundaries, reggae became more diverse. In the 90s a new genre came out of this more ethnically diverse culture: Jungle.

Discussion Question:
Did the same mixing of races happen in the U.S. through Hip Hop and its relationship with R&B?

New Ethnicities and Urban Cultures, Part I

In the first half of chapter 8 of Les Back's New Ethnicities and Urban Cultures, entitled "'Inglan, nice up!': black music, autonomy, and and cultural intermezzo", the author gives a fairly detailed historical backdrop on the begginings of reggae music in London's black urban neighborhoods. He develops reggae as an interweaving of many different musical influences that is assembled through a sound system, fusing different styles of the African diaspora. Going on, he also discusses the issues of gender and sexuality and the apparent mysogeny of some artists' lyrics.

Discussion Question: Is the subjugation of women a response to the black community's subjugation by the white community? Is it a form of displacement where black men cannot fight back against the oppression and so oppress women as a less threatening or more socially acceptable alternative?

A Cappella Interview with "Angie"

This short excerpt is the beginning an interview (about the first 7 minutes of a 25 minute interview) I had with "Angie" a member of the a cappella community at Brown. I hope that soon I will be able to post the entire interview.

Brady: So Angie, what group are you in

Angie: Ursa Minors

B: And could describe them for me? Like the style, the make up…

A: Um, we describe ourselves as the sassiest all-girls group on campus and we sing, like, pop and bouncy songs.

[laughing]

A: I think that’s the best way to describe us

B: Let’s see, I’m just going to ask you a little bit about the community hear at Brown. So you’re a transfer, correct?

A: Mmm hmm

B: And you transferred from Columbia?

A: No, NYU.

B: Oh! I thought you went to Columbia…

A: I went to high school, Columbia prep.

B: Ohhhh…Okay
So did you do any a cappella at NYU?

A: Ummm…. No

B: No?

A: No. But in high school I did.

B: You did?

A: Mmm hmm

B: Was it, like, co-ed or all-girl…?

A: Um, I did all girl a cappella and also was in the chorus

B: Do you think Brown a cappella is special or different?

A: Yeah!

B: How so?

A: It’s , like, really intense. And it’s just really important to the Brown community, like, moreso than other schools. And hyperactive, I would say - a hyper active community.

B: So there are A LOT of groups on campus, 15 I think…

A: Really?

B: Yeah, right?

A: Not in the… galactic….

B: Intergalactic? [to be explained later]
How often do you interact with the other groups?

A: Whenever we sing concerts because we sometimes group up with someone, another group, I mean

B: Okay. So it’s only during concerts… usually?

A: Yeah, we don’t, like, rehearse together.

B: Do you ever hang out?

A: With another group?

B: Yeah.

A: Not really. There’s kind of… tension sometimes.

B: Why?

A: Well at least between other girl groups. Um, I guess it’s very competitive and so it’s kind of catty. But we’ve been trying to eliminate that.

B: How’s that been going?

A: Well…….. not bad

[laughing]

A: Very superficially

B: The other girl groups, how would you describe them?

A: Um… the Chattertocks are, like, these really chill hipster who sing, like, slow songs; my group’s obviously the best; and the Brownstones are a bunch of belters who sing a lot of pop, I guess. Yeah, the Tocks are really hipster-y, and my group is really cool.

[laughter]

B: Is there a difference between all-girl, all-guy, and co-ed?

A: Yeah, I would have to say so.

B: Like what?

A: You’re like, “elaborate on that.” Well, I think guys are, like, physically made for a cappella; their voices are more resonant and girls don’t sound as good. The guys are obviously able to put… they have a more mature setting already for, like, singing and so they sing a lot more on campus and are less prone to competition. It’s like more legit. And co-ed groups… I don’t really know much about co-ed groups. But, they seem nice.

[laughter]

A: Except for Harmo [Harmonic Motion]. Harmo’s weird. HARMO’S WEIRD.

[laughter]

B: So you were talking about how men’s voices are better suited for a cappella… Are there any gender limitations on what you can arrange?

A: Yeah, definitely. We, like, have to arrange songs that aren’t too low, obviously, like, we can’t do a bass part. Um… so the harmony isn’t as rounded, it’s not as full-sounding. And then like, I’d say with girls, it’s definitely more limited. The repertoire that’s going to sound good with girls a cappella is not as wide as in male a cappella.

B: So, you said you sing pop… that your group is more “poppy”

A: yeah, oldies too. It’s definitely pretty eclectic, I’d say. It’s, like, fun-lovin’ music. That’s how I would describe it. FUN-LOVIN’ MUSIC WOO HOO!

[Laughter]

B: Did you choose the Ursas based on their repertoire?

A: Well yeah, kind of… I mean…I thought that they just had the best CD. Like, after auditions I got called back for the Tocks and the Ursas and Harmo, but Harmo was never an option for me. I wanted all-girls. I listened to both CDs, and the Ursas’ CD was just, I thought, a lot cooler. It was just like I “vibed” with it more than the Chattertocks’. And um… it was partially group dynamics. I really got along well with the Ursas, not so much Tocks.

B-Boys

The article by Schloss, entitled Like Old Folk Songs Handed Down From Generation to Generation: History, Canon, and Community in B-Boy Culture, in my opinion is mostly about the details of b-boy culture. It describes the technical aspects of the dance, terminology, development, and other aspects. One of the most interesting arguments I found is how modern hip hop culture is straying away from the complete four elements: MC, DJ, b-boy, and graffiti. Modern rap/hip hop songs are too slow for break dancing and the rapper is becoming the most esteemed element, with the DJ a distant second. Schloss argues that the emphasis on the MC leads to a superficial hip hop. He maintains that only with the dance element can it be called true hip hop.

Discussion:
Is break dancing as necessary a part of hip hop culture as it used to be? Can hip hop truly be called so without it?

Filling the Void

PW scares me. Production Workshop (PW) is a non-profit student theater group at Brown University. It puts on four shows per year, and so far all of the plays have been extremely avant-garde... to put it nicely. One particularly interesting show had a naked man rolling around in a bed of nails screaming for over ten minutes. Being more into musical theater and its wonderful cheesiness, I stayed well away from PW. However, I was soon put on the spot by a friend to go see Metamorphoses, an adaptation of Ovid’s poem of the same name, which was being put on by PW. I begrudgingly agreed, even though I was a bit skeptical.

I walked into the performance space, a black box theater with risers of seating on each wall, and was intrigued by the simplicity of the set. In one corner sat a small staircase, and in the opposite corner a low platform. As I sat reading the program, I was surprised by the director’s note stating that the play was not supposed to change how theater is performed or to delve deep into philosophical arguments; it was supposed to entertain. I thought that perhaps, I was going to enjoy the night after all.


The Music

The play started off slowly, with a frame story gradually moving from tale to tale all the while weaving music into the storyline. Music played many different characters within the show, in some instances it was used to instill a sense of levity, like when all of the women danced together with mirrors to Beyonce Knowles’ Diva. There was one specific case where it played both the comic and the harbinger of what was to come. In the story of King Midas, the man who wishes that everything he touched turned to solid gold, Mo Money, Mo Problems by Biggie Smalls, Mase, and Puff Daddy is played. Hilarity ensues as a white kid comes out dressed in a gold track suit, a slanted baseball cap and a large gold dollar sign chain. Nonetheless, it also foreshadows the problems that arise with Midas’ wish: when his daughter tries to hug him, she turns to solid gold.

Music plays yet another, more critical role within the frame of the play. During the times of great passion (lust, love, reverence, anger, etc.) parts of the soundtrack to The Hours, composed by Philip Glass, could be heard as the actors portrayed their emotions through dance and movement instead of words. The music from this movie is very “heavy”, charged with sentiment and feeling. This gravity that the music depicted in these instances was in stark contrast to the humor it carried in other aspects of the work. In my opinion, the dichotomy was set up to illustrate the different facets of the show: at some points contemporary, with a modern soundtrack, and at others traditional, with a classical soundtrack.


The Audience

As I looked around after the performance was over, I saw a relatively homogeneous group of audience members. It was mainly, if not completely made up of, Brown students (I know this as I knew most of the audience or had at least seen them around campus), and so therefore relatively young; their ages ranging from 18 to approximately 23, most likely. Also, I knew much of the audience to be active members within the theater community at Brown. After the show, I was able to sit and discuss it with some of the audience and I was surprised by how many people were pleased with how watchable it was. I sensed an overwhelming backlash within the theater community and even within the PW community against the more experimental theater that had been put on throughout the year by PW. Though there were some comments about how the play didn’t make them think as much as other shows, the people I talked to quickly followed with another along the lines of, “But I enjoyed just being entertained; it was a nice change.” There was an obvious void within the dramatic arts community that this particular production filled.


The Director

The show was directed by a senior at Brown University by the name of Mark Brown II. In his note in the program, he talks about the many different influences that he has/had throughout his life that have played a part in shaping who he is and consequently what the show is. He mentions how he is part of both the African-American and gay communities and also his Southern upbringing. His ethnicity had a minor part in influencing his choice of music, as he discusses in his program notes, selecting Hip Hop and R&B songs, which are generally considered to be black genres, to enhance the presentation. Though race plays a small part, I believe that his being raised in the South had a larger, more crucial role in his direction. I can definitely understand how a Southern upbringing would influence a less radical realization of a piece. I see the Northeast as more of a hot bed for theoretical theater, as compared to the South which, to me, would favor a more traditional interpretation. Perhaps it is a part of the “Southern Hospitality” mentality manifesting itself in the wanting to put on a good show for people to enjoy and be entertained. The Southern gentlemen character within Mark Brown was definitely present in his agreeable production.


Conclusion

This particular program turned out the way that it did because of two main features present which influenced, albeit indirectly, how the production was shaped. The first was the niche that was created within the theater community by the rash of radical productions put on by PW. Mark Brown stepped in to fill the void with his more traditional outlook on theater. Within the vehicle of this show, Brown used music as a vehicle for the emotions present in the dialogue. He carefully wields this tool to highlight what is being said by the actors and intertwines it with dance to craft a program satisfying to an audience that is hungry for an agreeable performance. There were many forces at work on the show which utilized the universal nature of music to convey universal themes.
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Whiggers

The article by David Hayes entitled Fear of (And Fascination With) a Black Planet: The Relocation of Rap by White Non-Urban Youth was basically about whiggers, i.e. white kids who dress and act in a hip hop fashion. Hayes uses a Canadian suburb for his study. He brings up the issue of these kids having no connection with the black community. They therefore get all of their information from rap songs, which is rarely true to the actual circumstances present in reality; it is more of a caricature. Overall, I think that the article is very critical of white hip hop fans in general. This raises the question of what it means to be able to identify as hip hop. Can a white person identify as hip hop? Does one have to be urban? What is the subcultural capital for this scene? If it IS race and urbanity, why is the subcultural capital so stringent? Does being white go against the basic ideals of hip hop?

For Discussion:
Do you have to be black to be hip hop?

Tween Scene

Melanie Lowe, in her article "Tween" Scene: Resistance within the Mainstream, addresses the worries that many adults have about the pop-fandom that many young teen-age/pre-teen girls follow. She argues that the girls who seem to be so impressionable have the ability to separate the message of the song, with which they may not agree, from the music itself, which they enjoy. "They often choose to hear, but not listen, to see but not read - a strategy that allows them to maintain strong, often feminist, convictions and still enjoy consuming music that does not jibe with their maturing politics." She goes on to say that much of the pop-fandom activity occurs in the privacy of a girl's own bedroom. Within this safe haven called home, which girls have learned is ruled by women, they can act out their burgeoning political deals while still comfortably safe.

I am still a little bit concerned with the generalities that Lowe draws in her conclusions. I want to know how her focus groups were chosen. Did these girls know what the groups were about? They obviously volunteered, which may have a skewing effect in the data obtained. Perhaps the girls that would volunteer is also the one with the political feminist-like ideals that Lowe saw; each having to do with a sense of duty? Even disregarding that, the statement about being able to disconnect the message from the music is a little naive. By listening to the music, one is consuming the message, and whether or not one agrees with it he is still consuming it. This may then have an effect on others, whether corporate of individual, telling them that this is what people want; this message is what people want to here. Thereby, the cycle is enforced.

Discussion Question:
Can a person completely detach the meaning from the music?

Field notes

This set of field notes is a recollection of spring semester auditions for the Higher Keys, a co-ed a cappella group of which I am a part.

AUDITIONS

A cappella hopefuls wait outside in the hall, filling out an information card:
Name
Year
Voice part
experience
Song choice
School residence
Phone number
Favorite candy
Favorite one-hit wonder

Before beginning, the group has a pep talk about what they are looking for and what auditions mean to the group as a whole. The musical director reminds everybody to smile a lot, to be welcoming and friendly, and to stay positive.

One by one, auditionees enter the room, some looking visibly nervous. One person from the group reads the info from the card. The music director then tells the auditionee that he is going to test their range. Scales are played as the auditionee sings along. A random series of pitches is then given to the person auditioning which they are supposed to match. Throughout all of this, the group is writing down comments, good and bad, in notebooks or on computers. After all of the pitch matching is through, the auditionee then sings his song, a verse and chorus, for the group. The group applauds at the end and a picture is taken of the auditionee, who then exits the room.

At one point, the group decides to play a game of who can say the most outrageous comments during the pitch matching. The only rule is that the group must keep it together and not laugh. Some comments:
Sexcellent
Great Odin’s Raven
Heavens to Betsy
Expecto Patronem

The game was quickly called off because the group agreed that it could not keep it together sufficiently.

After all of the auditions were over, the group came together and decided whom they were going to call back. There was some discussion, but not much, as there was much agreement on which singers they liked.

CALLBACKS

The room is filled with people, members of the group and those who were called back. They are all mingling, getting to know each other. Members of the group say that this time is crucial; they want to meet the person, not just the singer.

After a fair amount of time, everyone gathers in a large group. They go around introducing themselves, saying their name, year, concentration, and a “spicy fact”. Then, splitting into voice parts, everyone warms up their voices by doing some vocal exercises. The group then gets together and sings as the auditionees watch. The songs that they sing are the ones that the auditionees are going to learn and sing later on in the day.

Everyone again splits into voice parts to learn their parts for the songs. The parts are learned with an emphasis on performing ideals that the group holds such as blend, a “jazzy” feel, and particular dynamic contours. Many of the auditionees are visibly attentive, seeming to drink in every word so that they could hopefully stand out from the others.

The group again comes together. The auditionees then split into quartets each having a soprano, an alto, a tenor, and a bass. They then sing the song for the group who judges them on their blend, their ability to hold their own, their listening to the others they are singing with, their performance, and their tone.

After all quartets had sung, each auditionee had to sing a solo with the group accompanying them. They had a few choices that they could prepare ahead of time.
With the last solo, the audionees were thanked for their hard work and their time and sent home so that the group could deliberate

Riot Grrrl

Punk music and its accompanying culture, because of it's focus on rebelliousness and machismo, can seem like forbidden territory for women. As Kristen Schilt says in her article "Riot Grrrl Is...": The Contestation over Meaning in a Music Scene, "As hardcore increasingly became an arena for male punks to assert their masculinity through aggressive behavior, female punks found themselves pushed out of active participation in the scene and moved into behind-the-scenes roles such as show organizers or band groupies." She goes on to detail how Riot Grrrl, a female-oriented punk fanzine, was established as a response to such masculine developments, making sure that people were aware that feminism and punk weren't mutually exclusive. Whole communities of female punk rockers developed around the idea of feminist punk. However, unlike the goth community which possesses a universal sense of identity, the "Riot Grrrl" scene was, by design, made up of different communities that chose for themselves what they should hold ideal, making it more accessible and pertinent. One problem within the community, nonetheless, was race: it was being ignored. Problems arose again later on within the community as the media tried to create a uniform "Riot Grrrl" stereotype, which eventually led to the dissolution of the scene. The Riot Grrrl spirit lives on in the women that found new outlets with the confidence gained through their experiences.

I see many similarities between the punk scene detailed in Schilt's article and the hip hop/rap scene today. Mainstream Hip hop today, in my opinion, is very degrading to women and reliant upon misplaced ideas of masculinity: getting money, getting women. I am not saying that ALL rap and hip hop is masogynistic; I am saying that much of the prominant, mainstream material can be. One need to just look at music videos which depict women as objects, merely entertainment for the male artist. From this a community of "video girls" has formed of girls who go and audition for a chance to appear in one of the afore mentioned music videos.

Discussion:
In music scenes dominated by machismo, is there pressure for female artists to become more masculine, more aggressive?

Initial Topic Post: Collegiate A Cappella at Brown

It all began in 1949 when the first a cappella group at Brown, the Jabberwocks (all-male), was first established. Since that time, the number has ballooned to 16, the most students involved in a cappella per capita of any American University. Because there are so many different groups, there has been a branching out, creating niches. There are jazz, pop, rock, performance, themed, classical, and many others which can be all-male, all-female, or co-ed . The complex interactions both between and within the groups are a critical part of many students' Brown experience. For my ethnography project, I plan to work with Sami Horneff and Chantel Whittle in trying to observe, study, and compare the unique circumstances present in the Brown a cappella scene, from the muscal aspects like arranging and performance to the social aspects like group dynamic. We plan to focus on three different a cappella groups (one all-male, one all-female, and one co-ed).

Some questions we hope to explore are:
-Who joins an a cappella group? As a cappella is a huge commitment, why would these students choose to devote such a large amount of time to a cappella music? Are they doing it to further a musical career? To make social connections in the a cappella community? Purely for fun?
-At what sorts of venues do different groups perform? How do the groups get these gigs?
-What kinds of interactions are there between groups? Is there an inherent competition to be the best group on campus? Does the a cappella community operate as one whole or as many separate groups?
-Who are the fans of a cappella? Do a cappella groups have “groupies” as a band might?
-How do a cappella groups choose which songs to sing? Do they arrange their own music? How do they pick solos and voice parts?
-What is the audition process like? How do they choose who gets into the group?
- What is the repertoire? Which types of songs get the best reception from crowds?
- Are there broader differences in a cappella groups based on gender? What do all-male groups think all-female groups are like (and vice versa)? How do boys and girls interact within a co-ed group?

To research these questions, we plan to observe rehearsal and performance, survey the fan base of the various groups, and conduct questionnaires of the members of the groups themselves. Because all of us are already involved in the scene, objectivity will [hopefully] be preserved by studying groups in which we are not involved (namely the Bear Necessities, Higher Keys, and Ursa Minors). By using a a broader perspective and a comparative approach to looking at the unique culture of a cappella at Brown, we hope to learn more about our own involvement.