Page 50 - CJAug25

Repertoire & Resources - Contemporary A Cappella

ment scarcity in the early days of a cappella led to some tem helps everyone feel heard and gives a clear struc-
truly odd and eclectic set lists (my high school group ture to the process.
performed songs by artists as varied as Stevie Wonder, While a director may choose to go with the popular
Eric Clapton, and They Might Be Giants). Thankfully, vote, consider the benefits of the “benevolent dictator”
contemporary a cappella arrangements are much easi- approach, where the director makes the final call based
er to find these days. on the top vote winners. This allows for the director to
Now that we’re free to be more strategic about our take the group’s desires into account while still injecting
song choices, how can we give our repertoire search their own expertise into the proceedings.
some direction? Here are some important factors to To assess achievability, consider a song pitch meth-
consider: od, where members are tasked with finding songs that
they want to sing (perhaps based on the results of a
1) Popularity: Does the group like the song? Will your song vote), and performing those songs for the group
audience recognize the song? and/or the director. This approach lets you see clear-
ly whether you have soloists capable of executing the
2) Achievability: Does the song lend itself well to the songs you are considering. It also allows individuals to
group’s strengths (or can it be arranged so that it does)? bring their own personal style to the song, which may
Do you have a soloist that can carry the song? be valuable information for an arranger if you are hir-
ing someone to do custom work. Once you have your
3) Identity: Does the song fit the group’s vibe? Does it fit songs decided, it’s time to move to the final phase: find-
in well with the other songs you are considering? ing arrangements.

Sometimes answering these questions may lead you as Where Do I Get My Arrangements?
the director to simply choose the songs yourself. How-
ever, the process can be more collaborative. If you are a new group, I recommend starting your
journey with stock arrangements (meaning non-cus-
tom arrangements). Custom arrangements are more
How Should I Choose Songs? expensive, and it’s best to save that investment for when
Some groups find success by employing more dem- your group’s sound and style are more established. The
ocratic methods of song selection. In order to assess process of performing stock charts will also help you
popularity, it can be effective to simply ask your group discover which arrangers you like best, and thus, who
what they want to do. This may seem like an obvious you might want to hire for custom work.
approach, but the trick is in designing a process that While major publishers do have more contemporary
allows for group feedback without hurt feelings (if a cappella material than they used to, if you want to
members feel they are being ignored) or a deluge of find the most current popular songs, you’ve got to look
suggestions (if there is a lack of structure to how ideas for indie published arrangers! Your first stop should be
are shared). Sheet Music Plus or Sheet Music Direct to find charts
Consider a song vote method where group members that have been uploaded by arrangers using Hal Leon-
are allowed a certain number of song submissions (per- ard’s ArrangeMe website. ArrangeMe is a burgeoning
haps three songs per member). Members are given a site that has pre-cleared the rights to millions of popu-
due date to submit their ideas, after which time all of lar songs and allows arrangers to make their work avail-
the ideas are aggregated into a playlist. Members then able within days. It’s also a great way to publish any
have a certain amount of time to listen and vote on arrangements that you do for your own group!
their favorites (this can be purely top choice, or allow The catch when it comes to sheet music sites is that
for a few top choices—say, a top three). The director they can be difficult to navigate. So, how can you find
can then view the results of the vote and see which what you’re looking for? Find arrangers you like and
songs the group feels most passionate about. This sys- search them by name! I maintain this document of

48 CHORAL JOURNAL August 2025 Volume 66 Number 1