Tag: a cappella

Voctave | Goodnight My Someone

“Goodnight My Someone” is from Meredith Willson’s classic 1957 musical The Music Man. The song is our first glimpse in Marian Paroo’s desire to find love. MotD favorite Voctave featured a cover of it on their lullaby album, Goodnight, My Someone, which was released last year.

The track, which features soprano Kate Lott, begins in C and gorgeously modulates up a third to E leading into the last A section at 2:03.

Home Free | Sea Shanty Medley

Home Free, an American country a cappella group, won the NBC reality singing competition The Sing-Off in 2013, which led to signing a record contract with Sony. The group, comprised of Austin Brown, Rob Lundquist, Adam Rupp, Tim Foust, and Adam Chance, is actively touring, and their most recent album, So Long Dixie, came out last November

Sea Shanty Medley was released as a single in 2021. There are modulations scattered throughout the track; particularly distinct ones occur at 1:48 and 2:21.

Anthem Lights | God Bless America

In observance of Independence Day in the US, today we feature Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” covered here by the Nashville-based a cappella Christian group Anthem Lights. The group, which includes Caleb Grimm, Chad Graham, Joey Stamper, and Spencer Kane, has released seven albums. This arrangement begins in A and modulates suddenly to B at 1:01.

Da Capo | You Don’t Know Me

*This is the fifth and final installment of a weeklong series featuring covers of the 1956 song “You Don’t Know Me”*

The Da Capo singers were a barbershop quartet based in DC; according to the group’s Facebook page, they disbanded in 2017. This performance of “You Don’t Know Me,” arranged by Jim Clancy, was recorded live in 2016 at the Barbershop Harmony Society International Convention, held in Nashville, Tennessee. It begins in D and modulates up to Eb at 2:34.

BYU Noteworthy | Proud Mary

“Proud Mary,” written by John Fogerty and originally recorded by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, was covered by Ike and Tina Turner in 1971 for their album Workin’ Together. Tina also later recorded a solo version, and frequently performed the song live. Turner died today at age 83.

BYU Noteworthy is a female a cappella group affiliated with Brigham Young University. They have released 7 albums and regularly perform across the country. Their arrangement begins in Eb and modulates up half step to E at 2:15.

Pentatonix (ft. Lea Salonga) | Christmas In Our Hearts

MotD mainstay Pentatonix released their sixth holiday album in October, Holidays Around the World. The record is a collaborative effort celebrating songs from different cultures around the world. “Christmas In Our Hearts,” written and originally recorded by Filipino singer/TV host/songwriter Jose Mari Chan, features Filipino singer and actress Lea Salonga. The track modulates up a half step from F to Gb at 2:43.

Home Free | Elvira (feat. The Oak Ridge Boys)

“While working on their new album of classic country covers — Country Evolution (2015),” the a cappella ensemble Home Free decided to cover The Oak Ridge Boys’ “defining 1981 hit ‘Elvira,'” (Rolling Stone). The kicker: Home Free collaborated with the song’s originators on the track. “’Once we got together as a group, there was a magic happening among the nine of us that just exploded…’

The result is an ‘Elvira’ that … maintains the cadence of the Oaks’ recording, but adds modern-day flourishes, thanks to Home Free’s beat-box singer Adam Rupp.” Home Free has been awarded “the Bob Hope Award for Excellence in Entertainment by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.”

After the initial surprise of “a capella + country” starts to wear off, there’s a half-step key change at 1:03; at 2:02, another modulation hits (this time a whole step). At 2:29, there’s a shift to the parallel minor for a brief bridge before a jubilant return to major at 2:40. Many thanks to first-time contributor Joya M. for submitting this track!

Voctave (feat. Mariachi Cobre) | Remember Me

“They say repetition is key to retention,” said Jon Burlingame, writing for Variety. “And in Disney/Pixar’s animated feature “Coco,” the song “Remember Me” is the tie that binds multiple generations in the shared love of music. It is central to the story about a young boy named Miguel who is pulled by the song from the land of the living to the land of the dead, gradually discovering the origins of the composition and awakening his own inner showmanship. Also part of the plotline are recollections of the distant past – hence, the song’s title — and of beloved long gone family members.”

The song won the Academy Award for Best Song in 2018, and was nominated for a Golden Globe and Grammy as well. This cover, by the a cappella group Voctave, features the instrumental group Mariachi Cobre, which regularly performs at Disney and also tours. Two modulations sprinkled in at 0:41 and 1:12.

Vox One | Shenandoah

The Boston-based five member a cappella group Vox One was founded in 1988 by a group of students who met at the Berklee College of Music (they went on to all serve as professors there.) The group’s arrangements combine elements of blues, funk, gospel, and folk; they have toured internationally and released five acclaimed albums.

Their cover of the traditional folk song “Shenandoah” appears on Say You Love Me, released in 1999. It moves through many tonal areas, beginning in Gb and ultimately landing in Bb at the end.