- Announcer: The following program
is a PBS Wisconsin Original Production.
- Announcer: Acapocalypse! A Cappella's New Note
is funded in part by
Focus Fund for Young Performers
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
["Madness"] ♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma mad mad mad ♪
[vocalized beat] ♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma mad mad ♪
♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma mad mad mad ♪
♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma mad mad ♪
♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma mad mad mad ♪
♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma mad mad ♪
- Dennis Gephart: All right, I'm opening up the doors!
[a cappella vocalization] ♪ Johna gee nome johnanna jing jone ♪
♪ Oh, johna gee nome johnananana jing jone ♪
♪ Ahhhh... ♪ ♪ Oh, johna gee nome johnananana jing jone ♪
Dennis Gephart: Acapocalypse is a night where we come
and just celebrate the whole genre of a cappella music.
- Raymond Roberts: Boom, here's great music.
Here's who we are, let's have fun.
- Ryan Stuempges: It's humans creating sounds with other humans,
and it's been going on for centuries.
- Paul: It's all done with the human voice.
♪ Our love is ♪
♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma mad mad mad ♪
♪ I ♪
♪ I can't get these memories out of my mind ♪
♪ Like some kind of madness ♪
♪ Has started to evolve ♪
♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma mad mad mad ♪
♪ I ♪
♪ I tried so hard to let you go ♪
♪ But some kind of madness ♪
♪ Is swallowing me whole ♪
♪ And I ♪
♪ I have finally seen the light ♪
♪ I ♪
♪ Have finally realized ♪
[vocalized beat]
♪ What you mean ♪ [audience cheering]
♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma mad mad mad ♪
♪ Johna gee nome johnananana jing jone oh ♪
♪ Our love is ♪
♪ Johna gee nome johnananana jing jone oh ♪
♪ Our love is ♪
♪ Johna gee nome johnananana jing jone oh ♪
♪ Oh oh oh ♪
♪ Our love is ♪
♪ Bum bum bum ba dah da bum bum bum ♪
♪ Our love is ♪
♪ Bum bum bum ba dah da bum bum bum ♪
♪ Our love is ♪
♪ Bum bum bum ba dah da bum bum bum ♪
♪ Bum bum bum ♪ ♪ Our love is ♪
♪ And now ♪
♪ I have finally ♪
♪ Seen the light ♪
♪ I have finally ♪
♪ Realized ♪
♪ I need your love ♪
♪ I just need your love ♪
♪ I need your love ♪ [vocalizing]
♪ I just need your love I just need your love ♪
♪ Come to me, just in a dream ♪
♪ Come and rescue me ♪
♪ Yes, I know ♪
♪ I can be wrong ♪
♪ Baby, I'm headstrong ♪
♪ Our love is ♪
♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma mad mad mad ♪
♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma mad mad ♪
♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma mad mad mad ♪
♪ Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ♪
[whoosh] ♪ Madness ♪
[cheers and applause]
♪ I go deeper in the ♪
♪ Ohhh ♪
- Gephart: Good, good, good!
One, two, starting at J, two, go.
My name's Dennis Gephart.
I am the high school choral director
at Port Washington High School.
♪ Nod your head ♪
Gephart: I wanted to develop an a cappella program because
as soon as I brought this into the classroom,
there was an excitement.
["Hard to Handle"] ♪ Pretty young thing, let me light your candle cause ♪
♪ Mama, I'm so hard to handle now ♪
Gephart: The kids were coming to me wanting to learn the parts
rather than me asking them to come in,
"Come on, you gotta learn that part."
♪ Yow ♪
♪ I've got some good old loving ♪
♪ And I got some more in store ♪ ♪ Bah, dah, pow ♪
♪ When I get through throwing it on ♪
♪ You gotta come back for more ♪ Gephart: One, two, three!
♪ Boys will come along a dime by the dozen ♪
♪ That ain't nothing but ten-cent loving ♪
♪ Pretty young thing, let me light your candle ♪
♪ 'Cause, honey, I'm so hard to handle now, yes I am ♪
- And we'll take a big bow at the end, literally.
♪ Mama, mama, I'm so hard to handle now ♪
Bow!
- Regan: It's new and it's exciting.
It's definitely something that's experimental,
and it's growing all the time, it's changing all the time.
♪ On and on, that's how we go ♪
♪ On and on, that's all we know ♪
♪ On and on and on and on ♪
Gephart: Contemporary a cappella is using modern music,
and we're transferring that into something
that we can do just with our own voices.
♪ Walk tall like warriors ♪
♪ Head high, head high, head high ♪
- Jane: I guess it's just taking something
that you hear on the radio
and finding different parts to it,
and not only taking what you hear from the original song,
but kind of expanding that.
- Isaac: When someone hears a group making a sound
exclusively with their voices,
I feel like it's another level of surprise.
♪ We are warriors ♪
♪ Just for now ♪
[Mr. Gephart snapping fingers]
♪ Just for now ♪
- Zach: Sometimes, when you get just the right amount of chords,
it creates overtones.
♪ Now ♪
♪ Just for now ♪
- Zach: And when you layer the overtones,
you can actually get really close
to sounding like instruments.
♪ [a cappella vocalization] ♪
♪ Just for now ♪
- Celeste: You have to learn how to sound like an instrument.
♪ Just for now ♪
If you're a brass instrument,
you have to make it sound brassy.
- You're like Tower of Power, Chicago, the big bands,
and all the stuff that you're doing,
♪ Ba da bow ♪
really super articulate.
If you go ♪ Hoh ♪
it sounds very choral.
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Ba da bow ♪
And then you can put the vocal shake.
♪ Ba da bow ♪
- Issac: With Mr. Gephart, our main focus is on dynamics,
so what volume we're singing at,
if we want to make certain sections bigger.
- Gephart: Grab your trumpet, put 'em up.
Two, three, go!
♪ Mama, I'm so hard to handle now ♪
Gephart: BRIGHT! ♪ Ba da ba ♪
- It can be very intense sometimes,
but I think everyone in the group knows that
he is putting so much into it
because he really values all of us,
and he wants us all to be able to succeed.
♪ Mama, I'm so hard to handle now ♪
- Four!
[Mr. Gephart stomps] ♪ Ba da ba ♪
- He knows the potential that we can be,
and he believes that we can achieve it.
- ♪ Ba da ba ♪ Crush that, ready?
♪ Mama ♪
Don't change your vowel.
Right here, in your nose.
Ready, go!
♪ Mama, I'm so hard to handle now ♪
♪ Ba da ba ♪
- I always tell the kids,
you start off with an 'A' for your performance.
You should never give anything less
than your 'A' performance, your absolute best,
and you work up from there.
Just you, Regan.
One, two, three, and go!
- Regan: ♪ Baby, here I am ♪
♪ I'm the girl on the scene ♪ - Good.
- Regan: I think he's very focused, and so,
sometimes he gets in a zone,
and he knows exactly what he wants.
- ♪ Girl on the scene ♪
♪ I can give you what you want ♪
Don't take a breath; you won't need it.
- Okay, sure. [students laugh]
Seeing us enjoy what we're doing
and seeing us succeed and grow and try new things
is really exciting for him.
I think especially because he's grown up with all of us
since we were younger, it's fun to see
where we've come from and where we're going,
and I think that's really exciting for him to watch.
[a cappella vocalization]
- Gephart: I get excited because all these kids work really hard,
and with music, you're working for the common good.
- Issac: It promotes kind of a unity.
Everyone is giving something of themselves
because they're all physically creating
that sound with their voices.
- Regan: That's all a cappella is.
It's supporting each other and building each other up.
♪ Boys will come around a dime by the dozen ♪
- In the end, we're all getting the same grade...
♪ Now ♪
...when we're on-stage together.
["Deeper in the Water"] ♪ Oooooh ♪
♪ I go deeper in the ♪
♪ OH! ♪
♪ Water ♪
♪ Doom, doom ♪
♪ I break my back to make a name ♪
♪ Every man here done the same ♪
♪ What's happening here ♪
[whoosh]
♪ The pavement cracks beneath my feet ♪
♪ Spirits rising with the heat ♪
♪ What's happening here ♪
♪ What is happening ♪
♪ I'd like to think I'm a survivor ♪
[a capella bass beats]
♪ But my skin is get tired ♪
♪ I go ♪
♪ Deeper in the water ♪
♪ I'd like to think I'm a survivor ♪
♪ But my bones are getting tired ♪
♪ I go ♪
♪ Deeper in the water ♪
[mimicking clock ticking]
♪ I hear the pounding of the clock ♪
♪ Ground beneath me starts to rock ♪
♪ You do your best to make it stop ♪
♪ What's happening here ♪
♪ I try to stand on my two feet ♪
♪ Try to keep up with the beat ♪
♪ What's happening here ♪
♪ What's happening ♪
♪ I'd like to think I'm a survivor ♪
[a capella bass beats]
♪ But my skin is getting tired ♪
♪ I go ♪ [a capella bass beats]
♪ I go ♪
♪ I'd like to think I'm a survivor ♪
♪ But my bones are getting tired ♪
♪ I go ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ I got no sickness ♪
♪ Got no disease ♪
♪ Except for the heart inside of me ♪
[mimicking heartbeat]
♪ Deeper in the water ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Oh, I go ♪
♪ I go ♪
♪ I'd like to think I'm a survivor ♪
♪ But my bones are getting tired ♪
♪ I go ♪
♪ Oh ♪ [vocalizing]
[audience cheering]
[a cappella vocalization]
- Mackenzie: A very brief history
of a cappella music.
The term "a cappella" generally refers
to singing without instruments,
but the word itself comes from the Italian language
and it means "in the style of the church."
[bell tolls, monks chant song] Because in the Middle Ages, a cappella singing,
like Gregorian chant, was mostly used in religious services.
- Hailee: During the Renaissance,
madrigal singers created popular a cappella music,
imitating the newly-invented instruments of their day.
[warbling sound]
- Sam: Fast forward a couple hundred years to the 1930s,
when barbershop quartets were all the rage.
Then, in the 1950s, a cappella styles like doo-wop
became popular on the radio.
- Mackenzie: Also, around this time,
a cappella vocal jazz started to emerge,
and singers began imitating jazz instruments.
[zap]
- Hailee: In the early 2000s, a cappella had a resurgence,
thanks to exposure in TV, movies,
a growing culture of a cappella groups on college campuses.
[electronic zap]
- And now, young people all across the country
are creating contemporary a cappella music
by rearranging popular songs
and recreating the sounds of instruments with their voices.
- And that's a very brief history.
- Of the a cappella music. - You're hearing today.
["Can't Stop the Feeling"] ♪ I got this feeling inside my bones ♪
♪ It goes electric, wavy when I turn it on ♪
♪ Ooo ♪
♪ All through my city, all through my home ♪
♪ We're flying up, no ceiling, when we're in our zone ♪
♪ 'Cause I got that sunshine in my pocket ♪
♪ Got that good soul in my feet ♪
♪ I feel that hot blood in my body when it drops ♪
♪ Ooo ♪
♪ I can't take my eyes up off it ♪
♪ Moving so phenomenally ♪
♪ Room on lock the way we rock it ♪
♪ So don't stop ♪
♪ Got that sunshine in my pocket ♪
♪ Got that good soul in my feet ♪
- My name is Ryan Stuempges.
I am the choir director here at G.E.T. High School.
I think a cappella
brings it back to the roots.
It brings it back to that whole,
"We're just having fun here."
♪ Stop ♪
- Stuempges: Stop. [students laugh]
Yeah, we'll stop there, cool.
- Hailee: We're here to make music,
we're here to make it authentic,
and I think that's what's really made
this small town in Wisconsin
have this successful group.
♪ [a cappella vocalization] ♪ ♪ Ooo oo, ooo oo ♪
♪ Ooo oo, ooo oo, ooo oo ♪
- Ryan: G.E.T. stands for Gale- Ettrick-Trempealeau High School.
- G.E.T.'s really small.
- We have about roughly a hundred, give or take, per class.
- It's just one hallway so that's fun.
You don't get lost.
- Mackenzie: It's not really about the size of your school
that determines how good you're gonna be at something.
I think it's the student body deciding
we're all gonna work hard to be the best we can be.
- Stuempges: What we're doing here at G.E.T.
as far as our entire school,
we want our kids to have the best and be the best.
We just don't settle.
- Ally: We have to work so much harder as a group
to be able to compare to all these big schools
because we don't have as big of a pool to draw from
for talent.
That just kind of drives us to work harder.
♪ Hmm ♪
♪ Give me love like him ♪
♪ 'Cause lately I've been waking up alone ♪
Ally: One of the big reasons we're successful
is our rehearsal process
because we have to learn all of our music at home
and outside of rehearsal.
- Stuempges: Two, three, four.
♪ Whoa ♪ [vocalizing]
- It takes a lot of work to not only learn your song
and learn your voice part,
but to blend with everyone that's singing your voice part.
- ♪ Oh ♪
- ♪ One and two and three and four ♪
[laughing]
I thought I heard him doing an and.
- Okay, fine, all right.
- Stuempges: That first step is all the notes and rhythms.
They'll come back, and we'll pretty much
have everything down.
♪I don't care if I sing off-key♪ ♪ Whoa oh oh ♪
♪ I find myself in my melodies ♪
♪ Whoa oh oh ♪ ♪I sing for love, I sing for me♪
♪ I shout it out like a bird set free ♪
♪ Whoa ♪
Stuempges: Then we'll sing it a second time through,
and I'll ask them to identify all their trouble spots.
See what we're doing here? It's really slow.
One, two, and slow.
[a cappella vocalization]
Again, and go, and.
[a cappella vocalization]
Again, and go, and.
[a cappella vocalization]
[students laughing] That's how quick it is.
- Sam: Stumps is one of those teachers,
he's so, so good at making a group successful
and bringing out the best in everyone.
- You and Sam, yeah, exactly.
You're crushing it, you're nailing it.
- Sam: You know that he cares about everybody
and he does all these things to help you be successful.
♪ For you, I have to risk it all ♪
- Stuempges: One, two, three, four!
The reason why I'm pushing and pushing and pushing is because
my goal is to make it sound
as good as it possibly can first.
[Carter singing in high octave] - ♪ 'Cause the writing ♪
I can't find it. [students imitate his pitch]
- Just do what I did before.
They have to know that they can make mistakes
and they have to know that
you're not judging them,
but you're only there to make them better.
- Carter: ♪ 'Cause the writing's on ♪
- That was it that time.
You can hold that note out, too, like you did before.
- He really gets people up to the level he wants them to be,
and then, keeps raising that bar.
♪ 'Cause the writing's on ♪
♪ The wall ♪
- Stuempges: That was deep, that was good.
- Carter: We fix minor parts that may need fixing,
and then, usually, we'll have a song up and running
within two rehearsals.
["Story of My Life" a cappella vocalization]
♪ Oooo ♪ --> 00:18:46,492 ♪ Oooo ♪
♪ Ohhh ♪
♪ Ahh ohh ♪
♪ Written in these walls are the stories ♪
♪ That I can't explain ♪
♪ Oooo ♪
♪ Ahhh ♪
♪ I leave my heart open ♪
♪ But it stays here empty for days ♪
♪ Oooo ♪
♪ She told me in the morning ♪
♪ She don't feel the same about us in her bones ♪
♪ Oooo ahhh ♪
♪ It seems to me that when I die ♪
♪ These words will be written in stone ♪
♪ Oooo ♪
♪ Ohhh oh ♪
♪ And I'll be gone, gone tonight ♪
♪ Gone tonight ♪
♪ The ground beneath my feet is burning bright ♪
♪ The way that I've been holdin' on so tight ♪
♪ With nothing in between ♪
♪ Ahhh ♪
♪ The story of his life ♪
♪ He took me home ♪
♪ He drove all night to keep me warm ♪
♪ And time ♪
♪ Is frozen ♪
♪ Oooo ♪
♪ The story of my life ♪
♪ I give her hope ♪
♪ I spend her love until she's broke inside ♪
♪ The story of my life ♪
♪ Ahhh ahhh ♪ [tempo picks up]
♪ Written on these walls are the colors that I can't change ♪
♪ Oooo whoa ♪
♪ I leave my heart open but it stays right here in its cage ♪
♪ Oooo whoa ♪
♪ I know that in the morning now ♪
♪ I'll see us in the light above the hill ♪
♪ Oooo whoa ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪
♪ Although I am broken, my heart is untamed still ♪
♪ Oooo whoa ♪
♪ And I'll be gone, gone tonight ♪
♪ The ground beneath my feet is burning bright ♪
♪ Is burning bright ♪
♪ The way that I've been holdin' on so tight ♪
♪ With nothing in between ♪
♪ Ahh ah ♪
♪ And I've been waiting for this time ♪
♪ To come around ♪
♪ But baby, chasing after you ♪
♪ Is like chasing the ♪
♪ Clouds [vocalizing] ♪
[vocalizing] [audience cheering]
♪ The story of your life, you took me home ♪
♪ You drove all night to keep me warm ♪
♪ And time ♪
♪ Is frozen [vocalizing] ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ The story of my life, I give her hope ♪
♪ I spend her love ♪
♪ Until she's broke ♪
♪ Inside ♪
♪ The story of ♪
♪ My life ♪ ♪ The story of, the story of ♪
♪ The story of my life ♪
♪ Time is frozen ♪
♪ Ahhhhhh ♪
♪ The story of my life ♪
[cheers and applause]
[snapping fingers]
["Song For My Father"] ♪ Ba doon dah dot dah ♪
♪ Bah doon ♪
♪ Ba doon dooba dooba ♪
♪ Dooba dooba ♪
♪ Ba doon dah dah dah ♪
♪ Ba doon dooba dooba ♪
♪ Dooba dooba ♪
♪ Ba doon dah dah dah ♪
♪ Ba doon dooba dooba ♪
♪ Dooba dooba ♪
♪ Ba doon dah dah dah ♪
♪ Ba doon dooba dooba ♪
♪ Dooba dooba ♪
♪ Ba doon dah dah dah ♪
♪ Ba doon dooba dooba ♪
♪ Dooba dooba ♪
- My name is Raymond Roberts,
and I'm the choral director
here at Milwaukee High School of the Arts.
♪ Ba doon dooba dooba ♪ ♪ Dooba dooba ♪
[piano]
♪ I wrote this song for my father ♪
- My group is really a traditional vocal jazz ensemble,
and we focus in on music that
is considered now jazz standards.
Some of those pieces happen to be a cappella,
but many of them are accompanied
in that traditional jazz style.
♪ My father's music came through me ♪
♪ But never got to me until ♪
♪ I went down to ♪
♪ Brazil ♪
♪ In Rio all day long ♪
- Ebony: Vocal jazz,
it's one of my favorite things about being at this school.
- It's hard work, but it feels so good.
♪ So sweet ♪
- I could just, like, be creative.
[Jordan scatting] ♪ Skee she bah ♪
♪ Skee la skee la ahh dee do bah ♪
♪ Skah dee do bah ♪
♪ Ska da dee doh doo bah ♪
[snapping fingers]
- Ubaldo: It's so overwhelming, once you start singing,
the emotion that you get from it.
I can't get away from it.
[Xarion scatting] - ♪ Dee dah da da ♪
♪ Ba dah dee dah dah dah doh ♪
♪ [jazzy piano] ♪
- Raymond Roberts: They're kids who really wanna work hard
and find a way to see what they have inside them
through cultivating a work ethic
centered on something they really enjoy doing
and have natural aptitude in.
♪ [jazzy piano] ♪
- [Deon scatting] ♪ Skee ska dah dee la ta doo ♪
♪ Dah dahn dah ♪
♪ Skee dah dahn da ♪
♪ She bop booh ah ♪
♪ Ska doo doo didum didum didum didum didum ♪
♪ Didum done dah ♪
♪ I wrote this song for my father ♪
- Xarion: Vocal jazz, our relationships are very important
as far as communicating with each other,
listening to each other,
making sure that we can resolve the issue.
It's really hard to do that
when you aren't close to one another,
and vocal jazz really makes us very close.
♪ Dah da dah dah ♪
- The connection and the commitment
that the students present to each other
with the goal of bringing their individuality
to music from five, six decades ago
is extraordinary.
♪ Ba dune dah dah dah ♪
♪ Ba dune dooba dooba ♪
♪ Dooba dooba doo ♪
[fingers snapping]
- Ebony: Mr. Roberts, our choir director,
he can be strict sometimes.
[piano music]
- So, the E-flat's gotta be in tune.
Okay?
All right, we'll come back to that.
I help chip away at the outer shells that teenagers have.
[piano music]
Every time I get on that F,
you're shifting so distinctly from head to chest
that it just sounds like a different voice comes in.
Can you even that out and keep more head tone
when you get to the F?
So they can put themselves in a position to
cultivate and develop this potential
they have inside of them.
- He'll be very serious with us
and just tell us we need to do this, this, and this.
[jazz vocalization]
[student applauding]
- What I would do is just one pitch change.
- Ebony: But I feel like
that's kind of needed
so that we can have the best sound that we can.
[jazz vocalization] ♪ Bah da da dah ba dye ah doo wah ♪
♪ Ba bah dye ah dah dah ♪ - Roberts: When I'm teaching,
I'm really looking to have this
complete blend of sound so that
you just hear a unified voice.
[jazz vocalization] ♪ Dah dah bah ba da dah ♪
♪ Dah dot dah hah dot dah dah dah dye ah da da ♪
♪ Dot dah dah ♪
Roberts: The way I achieve it
is through extreme high expectations,
but equipping them with skills they need
to meet those expectations. ♪ Put 'em in a box ♪
♪ Tie 'em with a ribbon ♪
- Xarion: When we get in here,
I feel like we get very serious,
because we know it's game time.
♪ Not for me [vocalizing] ♪
We do this for us to help us learn,
but we also turn it into a gift
for other people.
[piano music]
["Put 'Em In A Box" by Doris Day]
♪ You can take the moon, gather up the stars ♪
♪ And the robins that sing merrily
♪ And put 'em in a box ♪
♪ Tie 'em with a ribbon ♪
♪ And throw 'em in the deep blue sea ♪
♪ You can take the flowers ♪
♪ Down in Lovers' Lane ♪
♪ And that sentimental poetry ♪
♪ And put 'em in a box ♪
♪ Tie 'em with a ribbon ♪
♪ And throw 'em in the deep blue sea ♪
♪ Not for me ♪
♪ All that stuff ♪
♪ All the dreams that ruin your sleep ♪
♪ Not for me ♪
♪ Had enough ♪
♪ Love is one thing you can keep ♪
♪ So you can take the plans ♪
♪ And the wedding bells ♪
♪ And whoever sings oh, promise me ♪
♪ And put 'em in a box ♪
♪ Tie 'em with a ribbon ♪
♪ And throw 'em in the deepest deep blue sea ♪
♪ 'Cause love and I, we don't agree ♪
[jazz music]
♪ Ba da da da doo bah da ya doo wah ♪
♪ Bah ba dye ya doo wah abba yadda do dah ♪
♪ Ya do dah di ya ♪
♪ Yabba dabbe da ♪
♪ Yabba dye yah ya dah yot dah ♪
♪ Ba da a be ah ah ♪
♪ Ba da dah ♪
♪ Bop ba da dah ♪
♪ Ba da da da da da da da da da da da dah yah ♪
♪ Ba da dah ba da dah ♪
♪ Dah ba da dah dah ba da dah dah ♪
♪ Yabba dabah dabah doo wah ♪
♪ Dah ooh ahh ♪
[Jordan scatting] ♪ She skee boh bah ♪
♪ She boop ba ska dee boop bah ♪
♪ Ska doo dah da day ska dah dee dum ♪
♪ Dah ska dee dum dee dum dah ♪
♪ Ska dee doo bah ♪
♪ Skee dah doh ♪
♪ Shape up boy ♪
♪ Ska ay ah dot boy ♪
♪ And shape us skee doo bah ♪
♪ Skee loh ♪
♪ They'll be a bah bah skee lo ♪
♪ Bah she bah ♪
♪ Dee dop dah ska dee doo bah ♪
[audience cheers "Whoo!"]
[mouth horn in a high octave]
[mouth horn in a middle octave]
[mouth horn duet]
[audience cheers]
♪ Not for me ♪
♪ All that stuff ♪
♪ All the dreams that ruin your sleep ♪
♪ Not for me, had enough ♪
♪ Love is one thing you can keep ♪
♪ So, you can take the plans and the wedding bells ♪
♪ And whoever sings, oh, promise me ♪
♪ And put 'em in a box, tie 'em with a ribbon ♪
♪ And throw 'em in the deepest deep blue sea ♪
♪ 'Cause love and I, we never will agree ♪
♪ So, put 'em in a box, tie 'em with a ribbon ♪
♪ And throw 'em in the deep blue sea ♪
♪ Love's not for me ♪
[vocalizing]
[cheers and applause]
- What are vocal ranges?
Every a cappella group is made up of a variety of singers
who are grouped by their vocal range.
Singers are classified according to the vocal range
that they are best at singing in.
Here are those vocal ranges,
from the lowest ♪ [ascending piano scale]♪
to the highest.
♪ [singing ascending octave] ♪ ♪ Bass ♪
♪ [singing ascending octave] ♪ ♪ Baritone ♪
♪ [singing ascending octave] ♪ ♪ Tenor ♪
♪ [singing ascending octave] ♪ ♪ Alto ♪
♪ [singing ascending octave] ♪ ♪ Soprano ♪
- So, when all these voices come together,
you get a sound that covers
a full range of the musical spectrum.
[harmonizing]
["Warriors"] ♪ On and on ♪
♪ That's how we go ♪
♪ On and on ♪
♪ That's all we know ♪
♪ On and on ♪
♪ We've been waiting for this moment ♪
♪ Even though we're close to broken ♪
♪ Running on empty ♪
♪ Running on, running on, running on ♪
♪ We are warriors ♪
♪ Walk tall like warriors ♪
♪ Head high, head high, head high ♪
♪ Walk tall like warriors ♪
♪ Head high, head high, high, high ♪
[a cappella music]
♪ Head high, walking ♪
♪ Only up ♪
♪ We don't stay low ♪
♪ Only up, that's all we know ♪
♪ That's all we know ♪
♪ We don't run from our opponents ♪
♪ Even when we're close to broken ♪
♪ Running on empty ♪
♪ Running on, running on, running on ♪
♪ We are warriors ♪
♪ Walk tall like warriors ♪
♪ Head high, head high, head high ♪
♪ Walk tall like warriors ♪
♪ Head high, head high, head high ♪
♪ Walk tall like warriors ♪
♪ Head high ♪
♪ Walk tall like warriors ♪
♪ Head high, head high, head high ♪
♪ Walk tall like warriors ♪
♪ Head high, head high, head high ♪
♪ Head high ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Oh, head high ♪
♪ Oh, yeah ♪
♪ We are warriors ♪
[audience cheers]
♪ ♪
- Ebony: How to build a chord
with voices.
A chord is a combination of two or more notes
played simultaneously.
So, for example,
everybody's heard chords played on a guitar.
[strumming guitar]
And we all know what it sounds like
when we play chords on a piano.
[playing chords on piano]
Chords played on musical instruments
make up the background of a lot of music we listen to.
So, how do we make chords using the human voice,
an instrument that typically only produces
one note at a time?
Well, we make chords by combining many voices.
For example, let's make the chord B-flat major seven.
♪[playing notes, then a chord]♪
First, we start with the root note.
In this case, it's a B flat.
♪ [plays B flat key] ♪
♪ [singing B flat note] ♪
Then, we add the seventh note of the scale.
♪ [plays A key] ♪
♪ [singing A note] ♪
After that, we add the third note of the scale.
♪ [plays D key] ♪
♪ [singing D note] ♪
Then, we'll add the fifth note of the scale.
♪ [plays F key] ♪
♪ [singing F note] ♪
And, to add some extra color, we'll add the ninth.
♪ [plays middle C key] ♪
♪ [singing middle C note] ♪
Put it all together, and it sounds like this.
[harmonizing]
And that's how you make a chord using voices.
♪ Dooooohhh, du, du, du ♪
["My funny Valentine"] ♪ Dooooohhh, du, du, du ♪
♪ My funny Valentine ♪
♪ Sweet comic Valentine ♪
♪ You make me smile ♪
♪ With my heart ♪
♪ Your looks are laughable ♪
♪ Unphotographable ♪
♪ Yet you're my favorite ♪
♪ Work of art ♪
♪ Is your figure less than Greek ♪
♪ Is your mouth a little weak ♪
♪ When you open it to speak ♪
♪ Are you smart ♪
♪ But ♪
♪ Don't change a hair for me ♪
♪ Not if you care for me ♪
♪ Stay little Valentine ♪
♪ Stay ♪
♪ Each day is Valentine's ♪
♪ Day ♪
♪ It's Valentine's Day ♪
- Stuempges: So, keep it going a little bit.
♪ Oh, say can you see ♪
- Luke: Tomorrow, we are going to Green Bay
to support our girls' basketball team,
as they made it to their state tournament
for the very first time ever,
which is absolutely incredible.
♪ Oh, say can you see ♪
♪ By the dawn's early light ♪
Luke: We are going to be singing the national anthem
in front of the entire stadium of people
to not only show that G.E.T.
has this amazing sports department,
but also that we have a music department
that is able to be a featured group
at a state tournament.
- The other part that always drives me nuts
about the national anthem when everybody sings it.
♪ Oh say, does that star-spangled [gasps] ♪
♪ Banner yet ♪
It's like, oh say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
that's the whole phrase.
So, can we start from right there?
♪ Oh say, does that star-spangled ♪
♪ Banner yet wave ♪
- You guys did fine, you'll get it.
♪ [a cappella music] ♪
- Singing the national anthem is a huge honor.
I'm really excited to do that.
- It's like a way of saying,
"Hey, we're G.E.T.
"and we have this amazing girls' basketball team,
"and also this group of singers
that's pretty good," so, yeah!
[singing cappella] ♪ La, la, la, la, la, la, la la, la, la, la, la, la, la ♪
- Ally: I'm excited for people at a sporting event
to be able to see a cappella.
[audience cheers]
- There'll be two mics on stands.
Position them evenly amongst the groups.
If you're right into a mic, you need to not sing so loud,
okay, so you probably shouldn't stand
in front of a microphone, okay? [Announcer speaking on PA]
All right, go ahead, he's calling you out.
Go ahead, go!
- Announcer: National award-winning Vocal Point.
♪ Oh say, can you see ♪
- Paul: I think I want people to look at us singing on the court
and think, that's one of the best renditions
I've ever heard of that song.
I want people to think that was one of the best times
I'll ever hear that.
♪ O'er the land of the free ♪
♪ And the home of the brave ♪
[cheers and applause]
- Stuempges: Sometimes, you just wanna prove to other people,
other groups, other schools, that
just because you're from a small school
doesn't mean you can't do big things.
["Somebody to Love" by Queen] ♪ Can ♪
♪ Anybody ♪
♪ Find me ♪
♪ Somebody to love ♪
♪ Can you , find me ♪
♪ Someone to love ♪
♪ Each morning I get up I die a little ♪
♪ Can barely stand on my feet ♪
♪ Take a look at yourself ♪
♪ Take a look in the mirror and cry ♪
♪ Lord, what you're doing to me ♪
♪ I have spent all my years in believing you ♪
♪ But I just can't get no relief ♪
♪ Lord ♪
♪ Somebody [somebody] ♪
♪ Oh, somebody [somebody] ♪
♪ Can anybody find me ♪
♪ Somebody to love ♪
♪ Oh, somebody find me someone, find me someone to love ♪
♪ I work hard [he works hard] every day of my life ♪
♪ And I work 'til I ache my bones ♪
♪ At the end [at the end] of the day ♪
♪ I take home [takes home] ♪
♪ My hard-earned pay all on my own [goes home on his own] ♪
♪ I go down [down] on my knees [knees] and I start to pray [praise the Lord] ♪
♪ 'Til the tears run down from my eyes ♪
♪ Lord, somebody [somebody] ♪
♪ Oh, somebody [please] ♪
♪ Can anybody find me ♪
♪ Somebody to love ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ He works hard [every day] every day ♪
♪ Well, I try and I try and I try ♪
♪ But everybody wants to put me down ♪
♪ They say ♪
♪ I'm goin' crazy ♪
♪ They say I got a lot of water in my brain ♪
♪ I got no common sense [he's got] ♪
♪ I got nobody left to believe ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ Somebody [somebody], oh, somebody [somebody] ♪
♪ Can anybody find me ♪
♪ Somebody to love ♪
♪ Find me someone ♪
♪ Somebody to love ♪
♪ I got no feel, got no rhythm ♪ [beat boxing instrumental]
♪ And I just keep losing my beat, yeah ♪
♪ [You just keep losing and losing and losing] ♪
♪ I'm okay, I'm all right [he's alright, he's alright] ♪
♪ I ain't gonna face no defeat ♪
♪ I just gotta get out of this prison cell ♪
♪ One day [someday] I'm gonna be free ♪
♪ Lord ♪ [vocalizing]
♪ Find me somebody to love ♪
♪ To love [Find me somebody to love] ♪
♪ [Find me] Find me, find me [Somebody to love] ♪
♪ Oooooo [Find me somebody to love] ♪
♪ Oooooo [Find me somebody to lo-oo-oo-vve] ♪
♪ Somebody find me somebody to love ♪
♪ Somebody [Somebody] ♪
♪ Somebody find me somebody ♪
♪ Find me somebody to love [Find me somebody to love] ♪
♪ Can anybody find me ♪
♪ Somebody to ♪
♪ Love ♪ [sustained vocalizing]
[beatboxing instrumental] ♪ [Can anybody find me] ♪
♪ [Can anybody find me] Yeah ♪
♪ [Can anybody find me] ♪
♪ [Love?] Oooooo ♪
♪ Find me, find me, find me, find me [Somebody to love] ♪
♪ Whoa, yeah ♪
♪ Can anybody find me [Find me somebody to lo-oo-oo-vve] ♪
♪ Somebody to love ♪
[roaring cheers and applause]
- Carter: Thank you!
[cheers and applause]
- Audience: Love you guys!
["Ray's House of Rock" by Ray Charles]
[snapping fingers to jazz song]
- ♪ Oooooo ♪
- There are a lot of opportunities
that come with vocal jazz.
We get to perform a lot around the city.
- ♪ Oooooo-oo-oo ♪
- Raymond Roberts: In this circumstance,
it was a request from
the retirement home at Sacred Heart.
- Choir: ♪ Oooooo ♪ [audience applauds]
- Roberts: And it's just
a wonderful opportunity
to take it into the community
from a group of people
to another group of people, across generations
and for the listeners to be like,
"Wow, look at these teenagers!"
- ♪ Oooooo oo oo ♪
♪ Ray's Rockhouse, that's my joint ♪
♪ House of soul, get my point ♪
♪ We don't care what's your blues ♪
♪ Come in here, lose yo' blues ♪
♪ When trouble comes a-knockin' ♪
♪ Everything looks better while y'rockin' ♪
♪ You don't notice trouble while y'rockin' ♪
♪ Rock ♪
- Xarion: After all the work that we put in
for weeks and weeks, we'll go over the same things,
we'll fine-tune it.
So, to perform it for people and to share it,
it feels so good.
♪ [Rock] Rock all your troubles away [Rock] ♪
♪ Let's rock [Rock], rock 'til the dawnin' o'day [Rock] ♪
♪ Let's rock [Rock], Rockhouse is ready t'roll [Rock] ♪
♪ Let's rock [Rock], Rockhouse is good f'th'soul [Rock] ♪
- So, when I was looking in the crowd,
I saw one of them just looking at me
like, "Oh, yeah, I know this, I know this, ah, yes."
And I was like, "Oh,
why am I not here all the time?"
♪ But she's lookin' t'bring him on home ♪
♪ 'Cause tomorrow is church ♪
♪ She really hates the rockhouse ♪
♪ She's sure the devil is in control here ♪
♪ Nothing but rock and roll here ♪
- Ebony: There's something about music
that gives you feeling inside,
and so when you can give that feeling to other people
through singing, it's even more amazing.
You know how it feels on the receiving end,
so being able to give that to people
is so special.
♪ We got plenty o'soul for you ♪
♪ Everybody gotta loosen your hip ♪
♪ Do a few rolls, wait'll y'feel y'back'll slip ♪
♪ Then you rock, then you roll ♪ Rock!
♪ Let's rock [Rock], that's wantcha' t'do [Rock] ♪
♪ Let's rock [Rock], that's what we're offerin' you [Rock]♪
♪ Oh, let's rock [Rock], rock all your troubles away [Rock] ♪
♪ Let's rock [Rock], rock 'til the dawnin' o'day [Rock] ♪
♪ Let's rock [Rock], Rockhouse is ready t'roll [Rock] ♪
♪ Let's rock [Rock], Rockhouse is good f'th'soul [Rock] ♪
[audience whoops]
♪ Sisters of the flockhouse ♪
♪ Ain't got no business comin' to the Rockhouse ♪
♪ All the people in here ♪ [snapping fingers]
♪ Are all into sin in here ♪
♪ Of this there's no doubt ♪ [piano emphasis]
♪ That's why Miss Tucker is pullin' Sam out, yeah ♪
♪ Then you rock [Then you rock], then you roll [Rock] ♪
♪ Let's rock [Rock], that's what we wantcha' t'do ♪
♪ [Rock] Let's rock [Rock], that's what we're offerin' you ♪
♪ [Rock] Oh, let's rock [Rock], rock all y' troubles away ♪
♪ [Rock] Let's rock [Rock], rock 'til the dawnin' o'day ♪
♪ [Rock] Let's rock [Rock], Rockhouse is ready to roll ♪
[jazz piano, audience whoops]
♪ Oh, yeah ♪
[raucous cheers and applause]
[singing a cappella] ♪ La, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la, la, la ♪
- Up here!
[students talking and laughing] ♪ La, la, la, la, la, la, la ♪
♪ So, you're still thinking of me ♪
♪ Just like I know you should ♪
♪ I cannot give you everything ♪
♪ You know I wish I could ♪
♪ Ah ♪
[vocalizing] ♪ Do ♪
♪ Doom ♪
♪ Doo doo doo doo dit doo ♪
♪ Doo doo doo doo doo ♪ [a cappella music]
♪ Doo doo doo doo dit doo ♪
[beatboxing]
♪ Dah woo ♪
♪ Doom, doom
♪ Doom, doom ♪ ♪ Dah, yeah, woo ♪
[beatboxing percussion, "paasssshhhew"]
♪ 'Cause no one knows you like I know you ♪
♪ And no one probably ever will ♪
♪ You can grow up, make new ones ♪
♪ But the truth is ♪
♪ There's nothing like old friends ♪
- Alex: I think with a cappella music,
your emotions are what makes the music.
You're in the moment, you're not thinking about the notes.
You can sing the notes,
'cause you've done it a million times,
but you really emote it when you think about the memories
that are brought up in music.
["Old Friends"] ♪ Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo ♪
♪ I can still find Ivy's house [Done, done, done] ♪
♪ [Done, done] ♪
♪ Riding on my bike with eyes closed [vocalizing] ♪
♪ I can name every boy that she took out ♪
♪ [vocalizing] ♪
♪ And from my memory, dial her cell phone ♪
♪ [vocalizing] ♪
♪ Can you take me back where we were just kids ♪
♪ Who weren't scared of getting older ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ [vocalizing] ♪
♪ 'Cause no one knows you like they know you ♪
♪ And no one probably ever will ♪
♪ [vocalizing] ♪
♪ You can grow up, make new ones ♪
♪ But the truth is, there's nothing like old friends ♪
- I have so many memories with all those people.
We're all just doing it because we love to sing,
and we love to make music together.
- It's a very cool experience to be
a part of a singing group
with a bunch of people who are your best friends, as well.
♪ I can still feel the windows down ♪
♪ [vocalizing] ♪
♪ Listening to Jimmy Eat World riding 3-wide on Blake's bench seat ♪
- Everybody comes from different walks of life,
but everybody's there to make really cool music.
♪ My God, it's been ten years now ♪
♪ [vocalizing] ♪
♪ I would have his back tomorrow ♪
♪ And he'd still fight anyone who tried to touch me ♪
♪ Can you take me ♪ - There's just something
about music in general,
when you share that with someone,
that builds bonds when you learn things together,
and you make mistakes together.
♪ Weren't scared of getting older ♪
- Together, you build a bond,
and together, you show people your bond.
♪ 'Cause no one knows you like I know you ♪
♪ And no one probably ever will ♪
♪ Doo doo ♪ ♪ You can grow up ♪
♪ Make new ones ♪
♪ But the truth is there's nothing like ♪
♪ Old friends ♪
- It's just a really good feeling
is to just be around people that share your interests,
and you're all working toward a common goal.
♪ ♪
'Cause everyone here does work really hard,
and it's really nice to be recognized for that.
[cheers and applause]
♪ I've got some good friends now ♪
♪ [vocalizing] ♪
♪ But I've never seen their parents' back porch ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ I wouldn't change how things turned out ♪
♪ [vocalizing] ♪
♪ But there's no one in this time zone ♪
♪ Who knows what inline skates that I wore ♪
♪ Can you take me back where ♪
♪ We were ♪
♪ Just kids ♪
♪ Who weren't scared of getting older? ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ [vocalizing] ♪
♪ 'Cause no one knows you like they know you ♪
♪ And no one ♪
♪ Probably ever will ♪
♪ You can grow up, make new ones ♪
♪ But the truth is ♪
♪ [vocalizing] ♪
♪ That we grow up and wish we could go back then ♪
♪ There's nothing like... ♪ ♪ Old friends ♪
♪ [vocalizing] ♪
♪ ♪
♪ 'Cause you can't make old friends ♪
♪ Oh, do ♪
♪ There's nothing like ♪
♪ Old friends ♪ [vocalizing]
[cheers and applause]
♪ [a cappella music] ♪
♪ Take me back where we were just kids ♪
♪ Oh, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ 'Cause you can't make old friends ♪
- Hey, we're done!
Thank you!
- Announcer: Acapocalypse! a Cappella's New Note
is funded in part by
Focus Fund for Young Performers
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.