Correction appended
For the past two weeks, Dartmouth students have received blitz after blitz from various a cappella groups. With an endless bombardment of tryout announcements and show information, groups like the Dodecaphonics and the Aires have bested even Rocky Voxmasters in the contest to govern our inboxes.
To what degree do the campus' a cappella groups deserve this level of command, dashing our hopes that a friend or a group promising free pizza might be behind that most recent notification? A cappella groups' musical gifts are impressive, but their exact role on campus is slightly more ambiguous. Are these vocal extraordinaires as dominant in campus culture as their endless blitzes seem to suggest?
It appears the answer is largely correlated with social group and age.
Several students who are members of a cappella group acknowledged that their genre of music plays a particular role at the College.
"There are nine [a cappella] groups now on campus, so I'd say we have a pretty big presence," Maddy Kaye '10, a member of the Decibelles, said. "We're a little different from the classical music at Dartmouth. We have shows at frats, and we're more integrated in the social scene."
True to Kaye's word, this past Monday, Alpha Xi Delta sorority hosted performances by the Decibelles and the Aires as it sought to draw a crowd to its housewarming party.
"The show was really, really exciting," Eliana Ramage '13, who attended the show to see one of her friends in the group, said. "A ton of people were there, and everyone yelled at [the Aires] to come out and sing another [song]."
There's no denying that, freshman year, many of us elevate these fellow students to icon status, falling over ourselves like teeny boppers at a Backstreet Boys' concert circa 1997. And perhaps with good reason: some of these groups draw audiences across the U.S. and internationally on tour.
Still, some students noted that their adoration seemed to wane as the allure of pong overcame that of dreamy upperclassmen and going to a cappella concerts became more about supporting their performing friends.
Indeed, many members of the a cappella groups noted that their fan base tends to be made up of friends and those of a younger persuasion.
"It's usually a mix of people that know us, and '13s who love a cappella because they want to hear new stuff [who attend our shows]," Nic Chuaqui '12, a member of the Aires, said.
Although many members of a cappella groups told The Dartmouth that their decision to join a group was motivated by a pure love of music, some acknowledged that their crowds most often consist primarily of friends or of freshmen looking for some sort of show and not necessarily those with an undying love of a cappella music.
"Two of my friends are in groups, so I love to see them perform," Margaret Jessiman '12 said. "The only drawback is sometimes they sing the same songs a lot."
"If I go [to a show], I go to see a close friend," Tyler Quinn '10, a member of the Dodecs, said. "That sells it."
That sort of support can also be found within many of the College's a cappella groups as well: perhaps as a result of the amount of time groups members must spend together, practicing, traveling and going on tours over breaks from school, many members of the campus' a cappella groups said they tend to form intense camaraderie with their fellow group mates, leaving the groups more like families than performance teams.
For those without classmates in a cappella groups, however, it can be tough to relate to this exclusive campus culture.
"I find a cappella weird," Shinian Ye '10 said. "It's like a fraternity based on singing."
The groups' intense exposure on campus I wasn't kidding about the blitz thing also gains the groups the censure of some on campus.
"It's all a masturbatory contest. Who can join the Aires ... I don't even know the names," Miles Kenyon '10 said. "I went to like three shows my freshman year, and decided they weren't worth going to. It's just not an interesting musical expression."
Despite the complaints of their detractors and erstwhile fans, however, it should be noted that an a cappella show at Dartmouth is never empty which should be enough to keep Dartmouth's nine groups busy for terms to come.
"I'm flattered by how often people come to shows," Quinn said. "I thought they'd be sick of us by now, considering the number of groups and regularity with which we sing."