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A Cappella Through the Ears of Kids

Written by

Ransom Carlson

in

Blending, Beatboxing, and Barbershop

Last month in the Music Lab, our students spent time exploring A Cappella—music created entirely with the human voice. They listened to performances, watched videos, and learned a bit of history. Their observations were thoughtful, funny, and surprisingly detailed. Here’s what they noticed, in their own words.

What Students Heard in A Cappella Music

Only Voices — No Instruments

Many students immediately recognized that A Cappella uses no traditional instruments at all.

  • “No traditional instruments used—just body and human voice.” — Aleksander S.
  • “No instruments are used.” — Kristofer S.
  • “They only used voices.” — Wynn F.
  • “It was all mouth singing like beat boxing.” — Olly C.
  • “Non-instrumental.” — Haley N.
  • “No instruments.” — Aaron RT.

Some students noticed that voices can even stand in for instruments:

  • Vocals can mimic different instruments.” — Sebastian A.
  • “They made instrument sounds with noises.” — Lukas S.

Layers of Voices Working Together

Students picked up on how A Cappella groups blend different parts and ranges:

  • “Each part has a different pitch (bass, tenor, soprano).” — Nubung R.
  • “Need multiple voices.” — Penelope H.
  • “You need different types of people to hit different vocal ranges.” — Sebastian A.
  • “They all sang together but at different times.” — Beatrice V.
  • “There were 2 or 3 main singers, 1 person doing sound effects, and 1 person singing deep notes.” — Sebastian V.

Meanwhile, several students noticed how well the voices came together:

  • “I liked how different voices blended together.” — Hayden C.
  • “They sing very on-key.” — Aaron RT.

Beatboxing, Sound Effects, and Vocal Creativity

A favorite discovery was that A Cappella groups use beatboxing and sounds made with the mouth instead of drums and instruments:

  • “They used beat boxing.” — Kristofer S.
  • “Beat boxing instead of music.” — Penelope H.
  • “At least one person needed to beatbox for percussion.” — Nubung R.

Covers, Lyrics, and Song Choices

Students rather enjoyed recognizing familiar songs:

  • One song was the Coco movie theme. — Owen C.
  • One was a holiday song, Carol of the Bells. — Owen C.
  • “Each song was a cover of an existing song.” — Nubung R.
  • “I liked the lyrics about friendship.” — Wynn F.

They also noticed how expressive the singers were:

  • “They act with their voices.” — Ellie M.

And some paid attention to details like visuals and performance style:

  • “One song had background colors changing rapidly.” — Owen C.
  • “I liked the moves. Some of them were spins.” — Wynn F.
  • “They wear fancy clothes.” — Beatrice V.

Observations About Group Size and Roles

Students disagreed a bit—while some saw large groups, whereas others saw small ones:

  • “In each song, there were 4 or more people singing.” — Aeson H.
  • “You don’t need a large group for A Cappella.” — Sebastian A.

They also noticed that different people take different roles:

  • “There’s usually one person who sang more and the others were doing the background.” — Ellie M.
  • “At least one person needed to beatbox for percussion.” — Nubung R.

Some even pointed out challenges performers face:

  • “The audience can sometimes make it hard to harmonize.” — Aeson H.
  • “Strangers were singing with them.” — Aeson H.

History Moments the Students Discovered

Students learned that A Cappella has a long history, stretching back to early vocal music:

  • “A Cappella started in the church and monks would chant it.” — Ellie M.
  • “A Capella originated from stuff they did in religious churches.” — Haley N.
  • “A Capella has been around since the 13th century.” — Olly C.
  • “A capella has been around a long time.” — Kristofer S.

They also connected it to barbershop singing:

  • “It started in barbershops.” — Sebastian V.
  • “Barbershop is part of A Capella.” — Haley N.
  • “There used to be barbershop music. Barbershop is sung by a quartet.” — Owen S.
  • “Barbershop was a common classic in the 1950s and 1960s.” — Wynn F.

And some learned what the word means:

  • “A cappella means chapel in Italian.” — Sebastian V.
  • “A Capella in Italian means cathedral.” — Ellie M.
  • “Definition of A Capella is just singing.” — Ellie M.

While others absorbed how broad the style can be:

  • “A cappella can be many different genres.” — Wynn F.
  • “A cappella has been done in all genres.” — Kristofer S.
  • “Any song can be acapella.” — Noah G.
  • “Some music almost sounds like yodeling.” — Owen C.

Additionally, one student even noticed personal growth benefits:

“A Capella singing helps ear training and confidence.” — Owen S.

A Final Note: Students Really Paid Attention

Even small observations stood out:

  • “It’s not all words.” — Haley N.
  • “Some were very high-pitched.” — Noelle
  • “A lot of them were in 4-piece harmony.” — Noelle
  • “The drum section sounds interesting in certain parts.” — Nora W., when comparing her video to A Cappella
  • “They weren’t going up and down at the same time.” — Ellie M.

Together, these comments show how observant students can be when engaging with a new style of music. Their reflections highlight the creativity of A Cappella. They show the many ways voices can come together to create something big, bold, and memorable. And A Capella artists achieve it all without a single instrument in sight.

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