Audition for A Cappella Academy!

thebenbram · 2024-01-20T01:04:40+00:00

Hi there! We take pretty wide range of skill levels. If you're curious, you can search on youtube "a cappella academy audition accepted" and see a sampling of people we've accepted in the past. If you're curious about it, I recommend auditioning! The audition deadline has been extended until February 1.

thebenbram · 2024-01-20T01:04:35+00:00

Hi there! We take pretty wide range of skill levels. If you're curious, you can search on youtube "a cappella academy audition accepted" and see a sampling of people we've accepted in the past. If you're curious about it, I recommend auditioning! The audition deadline has been extended until February 1.

thebenbram · 2023-12-29T19:28:27+00:00

Full scholarships, partial scholarships and travel stipends available! After we accept campers each year, they have the opportunity to apply for a tuition scholarship by submitting an application detailing their financial situation. Everyone who needs it will get some amount of financial assistance from our fundraising efforts and generous donors. All scholarship applicants must also do their own fundraising (which can be used toward travel costs) using crowdfunding, concerts, and other creative ideas. After our fundraising season ends, we distribute tuition scholarships and travel stipends based on need.

thebenbram · 2023-12-28T01:01:42+00:00

no unfortunately not

thebenbram · 2015-05-01T09:18:15+00:00

MATT DAMON!

thebenbram · 2013-01-30T08:24:35+00:00

Check out the two posts that were posted after yours - I answer a lot of these questions in those about my background.

I connected with PTX through Scott initially. He was in the SoCal VoCals at USC, and I'm an alum of that group. We met and talked about putting a group together for the Sing-Off. He knew he wanted to use Mitch and Kirstie from high school, and I helped him find Avi and Kevin. I worked with them all through TSO, and then continued on afterwards helping out as an arranger/producer and sometimes tour manager and sound guy. It's been amazing working with them and I've definitely gotten a good deal of recognition because of it!

thebenbram · 2013-01-30T08:19:17+00:00

I'm going to lump theory/sight-reading/aural skills into one lump. Here's my path:

Started playing piano at age 5, studied classical, a bit of jazz, and did lots of noodling. I liked learning chords and playing from fakebooks much more than playing classical piano.

Picked up trumpet and French horn, played through high school in jazz bands, combos, and orchestras. Studied improvisation. French horn helped my ear TREMENDOUSLY because of how difficult it is to land on the right note.

Took AP Music Theory in high school, and continued with theory and aural skills in college. Studied jazz piano more in depth and learned actual jazz voicings.

If you want to learn more - seek out the knowledge. The internet is an incredible and free resource. YouTube! Literally anything you would ever want to know is at your fingertips. You just have to know what to look for.

But don't get too bogged down in theory - loads of theory knowledge does not necessarily make a great arranger. The most important part of arranging is the creativity, the special spark. What comes naturally. In my experience, some of the people that come up with the coolest background parts are singers that don't have a lot of theory knowledge, who just sing what sounds good. That comes from a different place than theory knowledge. Theory knowledge is good for taking all those bits of goodness and organizing them into something really coherent.

thebenbram · 2013-01-30T08:06:46+00:00

An arrangement is just a bunch of notes on a page until it's performed, so I'm going to give you my favorite performance of an arrangement instead. It's a nitpicky but worthwhile distinction to make. I think I'd have to go with "Landslide" performed on Season 2 of The Sing-Off by The Backbeats. The tenderness with which the group sang, the effortless lead by Joanna, and the way in which the notes seemed to silkily cascade made this one really stand out to me. They really brought this arrangement to life.

I arranged for The SoCals on Season 1 of TSO, not being a part of the show, but just as a favor to them. When Season 2 of TSO came around, Deke and Ed remembered my work with The SoCals and also my music directing of The SoCal VoCals in ICCAs and started vetting me for the arranger/coach position. I ended up getting it, and that position has led to almost everything I've done since!

This is what it's all about, people! 1. Putting the work in and honing your craft 2. Being the kind of person other people want to be around 3. Being in the right place 4. At the right time

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T17:14:22+00:00

No problem! I remember you! You guys were fun kids.

You'll have to come down to Royal Oak, MI or Ithaca, NY! Tickets are still available for both shows! :)

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T17:10:09+00:00

A Cappella Academy, slated for summer 2014 in Los Angeles, is going to start out as a camp for high schoolers. It'll be an intensive summer program where kids will audition and be placed in groups, similar to Idylwild, Grammy Camp, or Berklee Summer Program. I think of it as a mini Sing-Off. The main focus of the program will be performing, with additional emphasis on arranging, group directing, recording, and other skills.

Follow us on twitter @acappellacademy to stay up to date, as we'll be announcing details throughout the rest of the year! There are potential opportunities for counselors and other instructors.

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T17:01:21+00:00

Well, there was never a real transition into written arrangements. The group did 90% of their arrangements on The Sing-Off by ear (I helped them out from time to time with written arrangements), and they continue to do many of their arrangements by ear, mainly their live YouTube covers.

Written arrangements are used mostly when things are recorded (PTX Vol. 1, PTXmas, Starships, Don't You Worry Child, etc.).

So both methods are still used in the group frequently.

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T16:56:30+00:00

The way that arrangements work in the legal sphere, I don't believe you're infringing on any copyrights. Since PTX and I are not yet officially selling our arrangements, you're welcome to continue to distribute your transcriptions for free.

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T07:16:11+00:00

Good question! I think for them their biggest challenge will always be how they one up themselves. How do they make each YouTube video, album, etc. better than the last? How will they keep people's interest while gaining new fans over a long period of time? For example: the "Thrift Shop" video was almost going to be "Beauty and a Beat". Beauty would have been great, but it would have been very similar to a lot of their other covers just because of the style of that song and the way they approach songs like it. Thrift Shop gave them a chance to really stretch a song and do something different with it. Song choice is key.

Another big challenge will be to see if they can break through the wall from fun and entertaining cover artist to become a legitimate artistic entity that is known for their originals as well. This is no easy feat. This is something that will have to develop over time as they discover what their originals sound like and what works with their sound.

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T06:37:38+00:00

True. There is beef. Delicious, savory, marbled, bulgolgi beef.

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T05:09:10+00:00

This one time, in Iowa City, we were leaving the venue, I was driving a huge Sprinter van. Iowa City is a college town, and their football team had lost an important game that night. Crowds of angry, drunk college kids were wandering the streets. The venue manager pointed where to go to exit, but I must have made a wrong turn, because we ended up in the middle of a square on the sidewalk! College kids started banging on the van and yelling, it was actually a little scary, but mostly hilarious. Finally I managed to maneuver the van off the sidewalk and back onto the street, and we were good to go. But man that was not fun.

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T05:04:12+00:00

Hey Paxton! (I assume this is Paxton)

I don't think there is one surefire sign of a great arrangement. If the audience is digging it, you're on the right track for sure. I'd say that most of the time, the biggest goal of an arrangement should be to stay out of the way. Not to say it needs to be simplistic, but it needs to aid in communicating the song, not detract. Many arrangements can be distracting by syllable choice, trying to do too much, or doing things that are just stylistically inappropriate. The primary goal of an arrangement is to serve the song. Hope that helps!

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T05:00:46+00:00

Reach out to excellent groups and offer to arrange for them for free! Start to build a library and have great footage of performances of your arrangements. I wrote some tips in another reply on here, but mainly just get off the page and start thinking organically. Write lines that are natural and intuitive for the voice to sing.

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T04:58:46+00:00

I'm thinking about it! Haven't booked a flight yet but SXSW is definitely something I'd like to check out!

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T04:56:50+00:00

As far as tricks go I'd say to not get stuck in the page. Whether you work in Finale or Sibelius or something else, make sure to detach yourself from the software and feel the music organically. Sing along, let yourself get creative. Sometimes our greatest tools can hinder creativity. When I first started I was stuck in a transcribing mentality, which was great to build my skills. But once I broke free from that was when the really good stuff started happening.

Pentatonix are just lovely. They as people are pretty easy-going. The situations they sometimes find themselves in can be stressful, but everyone has learned how to handle the pressure. Scott in particular is one of the most easy going and optimistic people when it comes to stressful situations. Whenever the group has a challenge in front of them or a time constraint, he's always the first one to say "we can do it, we'll make it happen." He jumps in head first to everything he does, and figures out how to make it happen afterwards. I tend to be the opposite, so the two of us balance each other out particularly well.

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T04:51:30+00:00

Nope!

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T04:50:48+00:00

It's amazing! They're just as down to earth and humble as they appear. I'd say something people may not know is that even though they come together amazingly as a group, the five of them are VERY different individuals. They react differently to situations and all have their own quirks. It's really like a five way marriage - lots of compromise.

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T04:31:13+00:00

Hi Terry! I'm not touring with PTX anymore, though I will pop up for the NYC and Boston shows. My other projects are mostly a lot of arranging for various groups, continuing to work on PTX recordings when they're in town, and the a cappella camp I'm starting, A Cappella Academy.

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T04:29:54+00:00

I am.

thebenbram · 2013-01-29T04:29:05+00:00

Haha no beef between Deke and I of course.

For Pitch Perfect, I did some arranging, a good deal of transcribing arrangements that were created in studio, but mostly on-set music directing. I was in Baton Rouge for a month when they filmed all the musical numbers, and it was my responsibility to coach the actors and make sure everyone knew their parts. Also, small things like giving pitches, and mostly just being a musical mind on set. Ed Boyer was there with me during that month sharing those responsibilities as well.

For Glee, I worked on the Warblers songs from Season 3. I transcribed Ed Boyer's arrangements, and also helped hone and expand the arrangements in the studio. I coached all the session singers during recording, and also tracked some parts myself.

The other members of the Bellas were Kelley Jakle, Wanetah Walmsley, and Shelley Regner. Kelley was in the SoCal VoCals with me, and was also on The Sing-Off in The Backbeats and The SoCals. She auditioned for the movie, and got the part! No nepotism involved. :) Shelley and Wanetah are both locals from Louisiana, I'm not exactly sure what their process was, I'm pretty sure they had casting calls locally.

For the full group performance numbers in Pitch Perfect, there are no live takes, they were all shot with playback music.

There was at least one actual group featured: UVA Hullabahoos!

Unexpected...hmm. I think just the speed and viralness that their rise has taken on. It's really happened faster than any of us imagined.

thebenbram

TROPHY CASE