A Cappella As Art

A cappella music is quite a paradox. Groups take a musician's masterpiece and tear it to pieces, only to rebuild it to fit their style.  Whether the final product is overly true to the original work, or something so shockingly different it could be considered a new song, all a cappella arrangements make one fundamental change: the stripping of the diverse collection of instruments and the reallocation of melody and rhythm to human voices, the only natural instrument.  While some may consider this a simplification of song, the truth is that the incredible differences between every human voice guarantees that no version is the same.  Although the art of a cappella is basic thievery, it is also one of the more creative arts.  Think of a recorded and sold song as a painting, and a cappella is the artist that separates the assortment of paints, or musical components, used and consequently rearranges the colors to form endless new paintings.  Just like in painting, the blend of the colors can make a recognizable difference in these new paintings.  Every a cappella group listens to the blend of voices and reorganizes to form the best colors.  A cappella is often enjoyed and considered fun by the singers and the audience, but rarely does a cappella receive its proper label of art, no more or less art than the original music off of which a cappella feeds.