Improvisation
For the uninitiated, it can be difficult to understand why people love a cappella. Heck, even for those of us who do actively enjoy it, it can be difficult to put into words why we enjoy this art form so. While we’ll never have a truly comprehensive list of everything cool about a cappella, 200 Reasons to Love A Cappella is our best attempt at assembling a list of what makes it great.
Reason #169: Improvisation
In an a cappella world that can seem increasingly planned--in which more and more groups choose to choreograph at length, and in which more and more recordings are meticulously produced, it can be refreshing every now and again to hear a group improvise.
A cappella improv comes in many forms. Whether it’s a group messing around behind the scenes en route to an innovative new sound, improv-ing as a live performance art a la Bobby McFerrin, or the riff-off concept popularized by the Pitch Perfect movies (albeit not as successfully managed in real-life practice) improv necessarily adds a level of unpredictability and excitement to a performance, for both the audience and the performers itself. There’s something pure about the sound of music not transcribed to paper, not rehearsed, and not even discussed.
I love it!