Stomp Routines
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 #6: Stomp Routines
A group is rocking the stage, singing their hearts out, hitting the notes, putting on a visual display to remember. You can’t help thinking they’ve done everything they possible can to entertain the crowd, and have your hands poised to give them the standing ovation.
But wait, there’s more.
The melody falls out for a moment, falling into pure rhythm. Then there’s a synchronized stomp. Then another. Then hand clapping, complicating the rhythm, growing more complex more difficult. Another stomp.
Yes, what you’ve just witnessed is a stomp routine in the midst of an a cappella song. Some people knock such displays, suggesting that they have nothing to do with the music, and don’t have a place in an a cappella performance. While stomp routines are not, by any means, representative of a cappella in its purest form, neither are they necessarily detrimental to a performance. If a group is doing everything else right, such a display is like dressing—it’s not what brought them to the dance, but is the tuxedo to make the group look all the sharper while its there. What’s more, a stomp routine is, by its nature, a complementary mode of performance—creating rhythm without instrumentation, taking body perc to the next level.
I love it!