An a cappella group is a handful of singers and no instruments: the voices are the band. You don't need auditions, a big room or a director to start one. You need a few people who want to sing together and somewhere to meet.
Down by the Old Mill StreamGetting the voices ready...
Tap a part to hear it on its own
All of Down by the Old Mill Stream, from "Down by the old mill stream, where I first met you,", in its parts: the tune with the others under it. Your part is the Lead. Press a voice to take it out of the harmony or bring it back.
Find your first singers
Start small. Four singers who can each hold a part is enough for a group, and more people join once there's a group to join. Ask friends, your choir, a school or college notice board, a local music shop or a community page. Say what you're planning: the style, how often you'll meet, and that you're starting small.
Aim for a spread of voices: someone who can sing low for the bass, someone comfortable on the melody, and voices for the parts between. The free vocal range test helps each singer find where they sit, and the guide to choir voicings shows which mixes of voices work.
Choose a style
Agree on what kind of group you are before you choose songs:
- Barbershop: four parts, close harmony, ringing chords.
- Folk and traditional: songs everyone half knows, often public domain.
- Pop and contemporary: a lead singer, backing vocals, a bass line and vocal percussion.
- Mixed: plenty of groups sing a bit of everything.
Pick your first songs
For your first songs, choose short ones in simple harmony, so the group has something that works in its first few weeks. Use arrangements written for your number and mix of voices. Public-domain songs are free to sing, arrange and record, though a modern arrangement of one can still be in copyright. For anything newer, buy published arrangements, and get permission or a licence before you arrange or record it. When you're ready, the guide to arranging a cappella shows how to write your own.
Learn the parts before rehearsal
Rehearsal time is for singing together, not for learning notes. Ask each singer to learn their part at home first, so the group can spend its time on blend, tuning and the shape of the song.
Run short, regular rehearsals
Meet at the same time every week, for an hour or two. A simple plan works:
- Warm up together, ten minutes, so voices and ears are ready.
- Work one song in detail: a section at a time, chord by chord where it's hard.
- Sing something you already know, all the way through, so every rehearsal ends with music.
Choose someone to start the songs and give the starting notes (the free pitch pipe does this), and someone to keep the list of songs and who sings what. The guides to blending and running a sectional help as the group grows.
Add vocal percussion if you want it
Pop and contemporary groups often have a singer on vocal percussion, the group's drum kit. It's optional, and it's a skill of its own: the guide to vocal percussion starts from the three basic sounds.
Sing for people early
Don't wait until everything is perfect. Sing for friends, at a community event, an open mic or a local festival. A date to work towards keeps rehearsals focused, and an audience teaches a group more than another month of practice.
Practise with Stackapella
Every song in Stackapella's library has its parts to learn, free, and singers can each learn theirs before you meet. The barbershop and parlour songs are a good first set for a four-voice group: Down by the Old Mill Stream is in the four barbershop parts, and the others are for soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Every song's words and tune are public domain in the United States, and each song's page says whose arrangement it is.