It’s
time for a cappella groups to step out of the homophonic textured hymns and
venture out into more current arrangements featuring pop, jazz R&B, hip-hop
and rock music. This may in turn bag them the distinction of being the winner
of the first ever Akapela Open, a
competition for contemporary a cappella singing groups spearheaded by The Music
School of Ryan Cayabyab in cooperation with the PLDT Smart Foundation and One
Meralco Foundation.
The
competition’s website over at www.akapelaopen.com is now receiving entries
until September 28, 2013 . Then
the road continues until the Akapela Open finals happening on October
30, 2013 at the Meralco Theater. The Grand prize winning group will
receive P250,000 while the first runner up and second runner up will receive
P150,000 and P100,000 respectively. And to serve as an extra incentive for groups
to choose Filipino songs in the competition, a P50,000 cash prize will be
awarded to the Best Arrangement of a Filipino song.
Ryan Cayabyab holds series of a cappella
workshops
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| Ryan Cayabyab |
In
order to drum up interest and psyche people up for the Akapela Open, Ryan Cayabyab
started to conduct a series of a cappella workshops. I missed his first
workshop but made it a point to make it to the second one that happened over at
the Meralco Little Theater. Assisting Mr. C in the troubleshooting workshop was
Annie Nepomuceno, an alumna of the Philippine Madrigal Singers and a member of
the a cappella trio Three of a Kind.
I
learned that in a contemporary a cappella group, there is no conductor like in the typical choir and that
all members contribute equally. No member in an a cappella group could get away just by winging it which is possible in a huge choir. Ryan Cayabyab had a blast when he turned the
entire audience into one huge four voice choir as he explained the elements of
music to them. He concentrated more on melody and
dynamics while asking his impromptu choir to sing for him a tune that he made up
on the spot.
Ryan
Cayabyab joked that if a certain member has persistent problems with his/her
sense of pitch, then the best solution would be to kick him/her out off the
group. Kidding aside, he gave out important pointers especially on technical
stuff that most people don’t pay attention to like how to properly do a sound
check with microphones. In contemporary a cappella singing, microphones are extensively
used and those who are dedicated basses and percussion of the group need to
know how to use microphones closer to their mouths compared to the other
vocalists. It was also pointed out during the workshop the strong jazz
influence in contemporary a cappella groups. The chords that are mainly used in
jazz add more spice, character, interest and also difficulty if used in an
arrangement for an a cappella group.
Listening
to the three a cappella groups that took to the stage and were critiqued by
Ryan Cayabyab and Annie Nepomuceno, I noticed that most of the vocal arrangements
I hear by local groups right now tend to be conservative and less adventurous. So
it doesn’t surprise me if the upcoming Akapela Open challenges groups to come
up with new and exciting arrangements that will push the envelope of a cappella
singing.
It
will be indeed very interesting for me to see and hear the groups that will eventually
make it to the Akapela Open finals. The competition encourages groups and
arrangers to explore the vast music genres available out there to be given an a
cappella treatment. I’ll also be eagerly waiting to find out if there will be a
varied repertoire by the finalists or if they would lean towards a certain
direction. And I’m hoping that the groups will not lean towards the typical
homophonic textured hymns normally heard in church. Let me make it clear that I
don’t find anything nothing wrong with church hymns but it’s now time to bring
something new to the table for the inaugural Akapela Open.
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