A Cappella

singing · voices · music history · group performance

Pure voice music. A cappella means singers perform without any instruments at all. The singers create all the sounds, melodies, and harmonies using just their voices.

Renaissance roots. The term a cappella comes from Renaissance music in the 1400s and 1500s, when composers wrote complex pieces with multiple vocal parts singing together. It was a way to describe this special polyphonic style.

Voices as instruments. In a cappella, singers often imitate what instruments would do by layering different notes and sounds on top of each other. Some singers even create percussion and bass sounds with their voices.

Still popular today. A cappella singing is everywhere now, from school choirs and competitions to pop groups on TV shows. Modern a cappella artists often arrange popular songs with just their voices.

All about harmony. A cappella groups need really good singers who can stay in tune and blend their voices perfectly together, since there are no instruments to hide behind.