The Number of New Members in A Cappella Groups

So..... It's a norm.....

By Mike Chin on Feb 10, 2011

In the fall of 2010, The A Cappella Blog invited every collegiate a cappella group we could find to participate in a survey. Our objective was to develop a better understanding of current trends in a cappella—what groups are or are not doing and to what degree.

Over 300 groups from across the US and abroad responded to the survey. Throughout our 2010 publication season, we will review results from this survey and talk about what our findings mean. We welcome and encourage groups to look over the information to learn, to benchmark and to satisfy their own curiosity.

This edition’s question: How many new members have joined/do you expect to join your group this year?

One of the biggest differences between collegiate and post-collegiate groups or professional a cappella groups is that a group has to expect roster changes just about every year, and to have a major overhaul at least once every few years. Folks graduate, or transfer, or just plain move on to something else. With luck, the group lives on. and so, it’s little surprise that over 98 percent of groups reported that they welcome are welcoming at least one new group member into the fold this year.

Just under 85 percent of groups reported that they expected one to six new members to join their groups this year. This indicates that groups are seeing some movement, and that there is enough of a body of auditionees at colleges and universities to support new membership in almost every group. There’s a steep drop off, however, once we consider groups that are welcoming seven or more new members this year. And so, while there are people interested in joining a cappella just based on sheer lack of open spots, there are surely a lot of good singers getting turned away.

Beyond talent levels, of course, groups are looking to fill holes and find unique voices. Depending on who graduates—all of a group’s tenors, the vocal percussionist—there are going to be specific needs to be met. Meanwhile, a young woman who can sing bass, or a guy who can nail the high notes is probably always going to be a hot commodity, and folks with all-star solo potential are likely to find themselves a home somewhere. All of this, and we’re not even scraping the surface of personality types—a significant factor for some groups’ selection processes.

In summary, the vast majority of groups are welcoming new members this year, but most can afford to be selective enough to only let in four to six people, or fewer.

Turnover Rate for A Cappella Directors

Found this from the web and finding it pretty true....

By Mike Chin on Mar 21, 2011

In the fall of 2010, The A Cappella Blog invited every collegiate a cappella group we could find to participate in a survey. Our objective was to develop a better understanding of current trends in a cappella—what groups are or are not doing and to what degree.

Over 300 groups from across the US and abroad responded to the survey. Throughout our 2010 publication season, we will review results from this survey and talk about what our findings mean. We welcome and encourage groups to look over the information to learn, to benchmark and to satisfy their own curiosity.

This edition’s question: In the last four years, how many different musical directors (or equivalent musical leaders) has your group had?

Directing a collegiate a cappella group is a tricky thing. In most cases the right person for the job is someone with experience with the group, who’s good at guiding people, but also a talented musician; someone who can lead a rehearsal and take care of paperwork, besides being objective in deciding who to let into the group, and who should get what solo. In an ideal world, once a group found such a person, that person would lead the group for multiple years, and, like a good head coach and/or general manager craft a winning recipe for long-term success.

In collegiate a cappella, the turn over for a group is quite high. It’s rare for a member to stick around for more than four years, and so, assuming the director isn’t an extraordinarily precocious first year, there’s generally a cap of three years on such a presence. But do groups consciously work toward such a system of long-term leadership, or is that top musical position of an annually revolving door? Based upon the groups surveyed, it appears that most groups lean toward the latter, but there is a mixture of approaches.

The numbers show that about 62 percent of all groups have three or four different musical directors over a four year span, and an additional seven percent have more than four different people fill the role (though co-directors may skew these figures). Nonetheless, there is a remaining 26 percent of groups that report just one or two musical directors over a four year span, suggesting greater continuity that may be a result of pre-planning, timing for the group (a year of heavy turnover leaves a sophomore crew to carry the torch), or a super seniors or grad students hanging with the group. There are also those groups that fall under the leadership of faculty directors or alumni who are not bound by the limitations of matriculation and graduation.

Overall, nearly 85 percent groups have two or more leaders for every four years, which demonstrates that leadership in collegiate a cappella is fairly fluid.

Juxtasound - Versatility And Flexibility Of The Human Voice

Juxtasound, founded in 2009, comes from different walks of life who combined their music talent to produce fun and fabulous music. Believing in the awesome versatility and flexibility of the human voice, Juxtasound can fill a concert hall with beautiful, intricate music without instrumental accompaniment.

As a music collaborative they delve with varied genres to bring acoustics & acapella music into your lives. The group believes in originality, experienced many lineup changes and constantly experimented with fresh new sounds.

Commiting Suicide - Happening Because Of A Small Matter? Not Worth It!

On the afternoon of March 14th, 10th grade student Zhang Zhipeng from the Third Secondary School of Pucheng, Fujian was scolded and insulted by his homeroom teacher in the teachers’ office because Zhang had been playing with his cell phone in class. Then his parents were called to school by the teacher. Zhang Zhipeng had made apology to the teacher but she didn’t accept it and continued to verbally abuse Zhang. Zhang couldn’t bear the insult and committed suicide by jumping off the building after that. Within ten minutes of the accident, school leaders and teachers turned the other way, only his mother accompanied Zhang for the last ten minutes of his life.

From Mop | translated by Jue | edited by Key

This Is What......

This is what a Helping Hand looks like

 This is what Bad Mood looks like

 This is what Good Grief looks like

 This is what I Can't Wait looks like

 This is what A Mother's Love looks like

 This is what I'm Guilty looks like

 This is what Courage looks like

 This is what Fucked Up looks like

 This is what Confused looks like

 This is what your Tax Dollars look like

 This is what Sadness looks like

 This is what a School That You Don't Want Your Kids To Be In looks like

 This is what Sorry looks like

This is what Tired looks like

If You Don't Like Your Lamborghini, Just Give It To Me!

Ever been upset over car repairs? Mr Han was. So mad, in fact, that he completely smashed his nearly three-hundred thousand dollar Lamborghini.

He bought this Lamborghini Gallardo (gah-YAR-doh) second-hand in Qingdao, China a month ago. After several disputes with the auto company about maintenance and engine problems, he decided to smash up the car in protest.

He owns a construction materials business, and he let his workers join in the fun.

Person Finder: 2011 Japan Earthquake

Live TV by Ustream

Could She Be Next?

Last week, Thia Megia showcased her vocal prowess with her rendition of Out Here On My Own (made popular by Irene Cara) on American Idol Season 10... It was outstanding!!!!....

Thia Megia (born January 1, 1995 in Mountain House, California) is 16 years old. Auditioned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with Adele's "Chasing Pavements". She has previously competed on season 4 of 'America's Got Talent,' making it to the quarterfinals.

She teamed up with Charice and David Foster in doing several performances before auditioning for American Idol too. I think she could be the next idol...

Check out her performance!

Would Love To Get This For Myself!!!

 What do you get when you combine earphones with an alarm clock? You get the EARINALM [JP], an invention from Tokyo-based crap gadget maker Thanko. The idea here is to let the alarm wake you up when you fall asleep in the train listening to music, with your earphones on.

Apart from the alarm function, the EARINALM also offers a stop watch and calendar function.


Thanko already started selling the earphones in its Japanese online store. If you’re interested but live outside Japan, contact Thanko partner Geek Stuff 4 U or online service Flutterscape to get an EARINALM shipped to you (price in Japan: $37).

Some Nice Old Views Of Penang That We May Not Be Able To See Anymore