Who Arranges Songs for Collegiate A Cappella Groups?

In the fall of 2010, The A Cappella Blog invited every collegiate a cappella group we could find to participate in a survey. Our objective was to develop a better understanding of current trends in a cappella—what groups are or are not doing and to what degree.

Over 300 groups from across the US and abroad responded to the survey. Throughout our 2010 publication season, we will review results from this survey and talk about what our findings mean. We welcome and encourage groups to look over the information to learn, to benchmark and to satisfy their own curiosity.

This edition’s questions:
Are roughly half or more of your songs arranged by current members of your group?
Are roughly half or more of your songs arranged by alumni?
Are roughly half or more of your songs arranged professionally (you pay an outside party for the arrangement?

Of the groups surveyed, the message is clear—collegiate groups are arranging their own material. Nearly 90 percent of groups reported that current members arrange most of their material, and only five percent reported that they paid for professional arrangements. Outside of work by current group members, only alumni seemed to make significant contributions, with 26 percent of groups indicating that past group members arranged half of their songs.

These findings seem to suggest that groups are self-sufficient, working through not only performance and the preparation therefore, but the process of getting together the music itself. It’s not too difficult to understand why this is the case. After all, current group members will know best when it comes to arranging music to play to the strengths of current group members, besides choosing songs and structures that the group itself will enjoy. Furthermore, professional arrangements can be quite costly, and so it’s little wonder that most groups choose the more economical route of doing it for themselves.

As for the alumni participation, it makes sense that a fair number of groups would report alumni arrangers, be it because they carry on performing some pieces arranged by past members, or because alumni just may be the most eager and experienced folks around to provide music for groups that they were sorry to leave, and for which this is the most direct contribution they can make.