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A Cappella
More than any other person, Deke Sharon is responsible for the current success of pop a cappella. Founder of the House Jacks (the original “rock band without instruments”), Deke continues to influence through his work with The Sing-Off, Pitch Perfect, Pitch Perfect 2, and Vocalosity. Combine Deke’s expertise with that of directors Ben Spalding and Brody McDonald, add a foreword by Ben Folds, throw in advice from contributors like Peter Hollens, and you have the most comprehensive volume ever created on the subject of contemporary a cappella singing.
Sections include:
* Setting the Stage
* Getting the Band Together
* Arranging
* Preparing
* Technology
* Making a Name
* and more!
Sections include:
* Setting the Stage
* Getting the Band Together
* Arranging
* Preparing
* Technology
* Making a Name
* and more!
570 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 1, 2015
4 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Deke Sharon
33 books67 followers"the father of contemporary a cappella" - Entertainment Weekly
"a one man a cappella revolution" - Boston Globe
"the maven of the a cappella movement" - Oakland Tribune
"the a cappella expert" - Ottawa Citizen
"the voice of a cappella music" - Songwriters Monthly
"a musical genius, an a cappella giant" - Ithaca Times
"deke sharon makes a cappella cool again" - NPR
Born in San Francisco, California, Deke Sharon has been performing professionally since the age of 8, and as a child toured North America and shared the stage in operas with the likes of Pavarotti. Heralded as "The Father of Contemporary A Cappella," he is responsible for the current sound of modern a cappella, having created the dense vocal-instrumental sound in college, subsequently spreading it around the world.
As the founder, director and arranger for the House Jacks, the original "Rock Band Without Instruments," Deke has shared the stage with countless music legends, including Ray Charles, James Brown, Crosby Stills and Nash, Run DMC, The Temptations, LL Cool J and the Four Tops, and performed for luminaries including President Bill Clinton. The House Jacks have eight albums, and dozens of international tours to their names, including multiple appearances Carnegie Hall, and performed the Monday Night Football Theme with Hank Williams Jr. in 2011.
Deke produces "The Sing-Off" worldwide (USA, Netherlands, China), which had the highest ratings of any new, unscripted television show in the US in 2009, and was the third highest rated show on NBC in 2010. In addition, Deke served as arranger, on-site music director and vocal producer for Universal's "Pitch Perfect" (2012) and "Pitch Perfect 2" (2015.
Deke founded the Contemporary A Cappella Society while in college, and is responsible for many seminal a cappella programs, including the CARAs (Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, ICCAs (International Championship of College A Cappella), BOCA (Best of College A Cappella Compilation), the first contemporary a cappella conferences (the A Cappella Summit), the new Contemporary A Cappella League, and the youtube channel "Inside A Cappella."
He is also contemporary cappella's most prolific arranger, having arranged over 2,000 songs, with many of them in print worldwide with Hal Leonard/Contemporary A Cappella Publishing. His first book, "Acappella Arranging" was published in 2012, and "A Cappella" was published in 2015.
He has produced dozens of award winning a cappella albums (including Straight No Chaser, Committed, Nota, Street Corner Symphony and the Tufts Beelzebubs), created a cappella groups for Disneyland and Disneyworld, and frequently tours the world teaching a variety of topics to students and professional singers. His voice can be heard in commercials and video games, most recently in "Just Dance Kids 2"
"a one man a cappella revolution" - Boston Globe
"the maven of the a cappella movement" - Oakland Tribune
"the a cappella expert" - Ottawa Citizen
"the voice of a cappella music" - Songwriters Monthly
"a musical genius, an a cappella giant" - Ithaca Times
"deke sharon makes a cappella cool again" - NPR
Born in San Francisco, California, Deke Sharon has been performing professionally since the age of 8, and as a child toured North America and shared the stage in operas with the likes of Pavarotti. Heralded as "The Father of Contemporary A Cappella," he is responsible for the current sound of modern a cappella, having created the dense vocal-instrumental sound in college, subsequently spreading it around the world.
As the founder, director and arranger for the House Jacks, the original "Rock Band Without Instruments," Deke has shared the stage with countless music legends, including Ray Charles, James Brown, Crosby Stills and Nash, Run DMC, The Temptations, LL Cool J and the Four Tops, and performed for luminaries including President Bill Clinton. The House Jacks have eight albums, and dozens of international tours to their names, including multiple appearances Carnegie Hall, and performed the Monday Night Football Theme with Hank Williams Jr. in 2011.
Deke produces "The Sing-Off" worldwide (USA, Netherlands, China), which had the highest ratings of any new, unscripted television show in the US in 2009, and was the third highest rated show on NBC in 2010. In addition, Deke served as arranger, on-site music director and vocal producer for Universal's "Pitch Perfect" (2012) and "Pitch Perfect 2" (2015.
Deke founded the Contemporary A Cappella Society while in college, and is responsible for many seminal a cappella programs, including the CARAs (Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, ICCAs (International Championship of College A Cappella), BOCA (Best of College A Cappella Compilation), the first contemporary a cappella conferences (the A Cappella Summit), the new Contemporary A Cappella League, and the youtube channel "Inside A Cappella."
He is also contemporary cappella's most prolific arranger, having arranged over 2,000 songs, with many of them in print worldwide with Hal Leonard/Contemporary A Cappella Publishing. His first book, "Acappella Arranging" was published in 2012, and "A Cappella" was published in 2015.
He has produced dozens of award winning a cappella albums (including Straight No Chaser, Committed, Nota, Street Corner Symphony and the Tufts Beelzebubs), created a cappella groups for Disneyland and Disneyworld, and frequently tours the world teaching a variety of topics to students and professional singers. His voice can be heard in commercials and video games, most recently in "Just Dance Kids 2"
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 20, 2016
I came into "A Cappella"expecting a one-stop overview of contemporary a cappella singing. I wasn't disappointed - this book gets you started on whatever aspect of a cappella singing you might want to learn more about. Even if you already have some knowledge in a particular area, the book sums up the main points nicely and can be used as a reference.
However, A Cappella is still far from perfect - while most of the chapters (including those by outside contributors) are written with at least some consideration of longevity, others I suspect won't age well at all. Of particular note is the chapter on online distribution, which is essentially a four page ad for the platform Loudr and stands in crass contrast to the more objectively written chapters on technology preceding it. There are also multiple orthographic, grammatical and typographic oddities all over the book, which detract substantially from the professionalism it is supposed to convey. The authors point out that in recording a cappella, a good editor is worth their weight in gold - a piece of advice they ought to have followed themselves.
Nonetheless, I would recommend this book to anyone singing contemporary a cappella, and if I could I would make it required reading for anyone looking to take organisational or creative control of a group - and I envy those who are getting started just now, having this marvellous compendium at their disposal.
However, A Cappella is still far from perfect - while most of the chapters (including those by outside contributors) are written with at least some consideration of longevity, others I suspect won't age well at all. Of particular note is the chapter on online distribution, which is essentially a four page ad for the platform Loudr and stands in crass contrast to the more objectively written chapters on technology preceding it. There are also multiple orthographic, grammatical and typographic oddities all over the book, which detract substantially from the professionalism it is supposed to convey. The authors point out that in recording a cappella, a good editor is worth their weight in gold - a piece of advice they ought to have followed themselves.
Nonetheless, I would recommend this book to anyone singing contemporary a cappella, and if I could I would make it required reading for anyone looking to take organisational or creative control of a group - and I envy those who are getting started just now, having this marvellous compendium at their disposal.
Displaying 1 of 1 review