Vocal Group History and Styles (by Accent)

[@sapen98]

take 6 is unbelievable!

[@AccentVocal]

Especially the real Take 6! ;)

[@Thomas-vc9gv]

If you knew what your name means in Germany, you'd hate your parents xD

[@francoomarlopezlopez]

Never forget about Clare Fischer's contributions to vocal harmony! He arranged tenderly by the hi-los (lead by Gene Puerling!)

[@masterp443]

I caught that "Angels We Have Heard On High" in the Pentatonix arrangement!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Can you do Santa Claus is coming tomorrow? It has the same tune just different words.

[@sydneysitwala]

100

[@WoodenClockwerk]

Not enough people talk about The Singers Unlimited! Love there version of we've only just begun

[@richard.nicolini]

Singers Unlimited is for me one of the groups that goes the furthest in harmonization

[@DavidFowlerMusic]

Damn... you totally nailed mimicking the arrangement style of the various groups. That was just astoundingly entertaining and brilliant. Would like this video twice if I could. More content like this, please!

[@AccentVocal]

Thanks, David--we plan on more!

[@mujahidanuar5615]

Yesssss. please do more. this is really good!

[@MOMdad1962]

is the sheet music available? @@AccentVocal

[@AccentVocal]

@@MOMdad1962 Join our mailing list! You'll automatically get some bonus versions and we'll follow up with these if you want them too. eepurl.com/gd7VYb

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@AccentVocal Here's the French Pentatonix:kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqrZlKGsfZVnoNk

[@blueorange8551]

I could listen to the Take 6 one all day

[@AleciaBAndersonBassSinger1]

2:37 "when you wish upon a star" the real group. I like that one.

[@AccentVocal]

Thanks!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@AccentVocal Neat, try also adding Baa Baa Black Sheep and ABC'S to the mix since they're all the same tune. BTW kevin from pentatonix also plays the cello.

[@Mel-su9sf]

I've been a Take 6 fan forever! But I did enjoy the Disney riff.

[@Kamil-B]

They're all my favourite! Unlimited singers and the Real Group are amazing, I'm surprised they are not as popular as Take 6! :D thank you

[@abhchow]

Do a Jacob Collier analysis video!

[@AccentVocal]

Could be a good idea for part 2...

[@JuneLee]

agreed

[@ohooper]

Good luck!

[@austincovey5663]

June Lee you already got that covered lol

[@MrSoccerboy429]

YES!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

The Barbershop Quartet version has the Melody in the Lead part while the Tenor, Baritone, & Bass provide the Accompaniment harmonies.

[@ScottNoelle]

I'd give the prize for best chord to "Singers Unlimited," bar 2, beat 4 -- the "bold reharmonization" at 1:46. One of my favorite Puerling moves!

[@AccentVocal]

Yeah!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@AccentVocal In Barbershop Quartet Music the Melody always falls in the Lead part while the Tenor, Baritone, and Bass parts provide the background accompaniment.

[@KathyWashburnBunn]

Thank you so much for this bit of a cappella arrangement history! It's my first time hearing about some of these groups, but I recognize elements of their style in other more recent groups; they've certainly been influential. You nailed Pentatonix for arranging style! The first few measures sounded like they were lifted straight from their "Angels We Have Heard on High", and that solo at the end...I can just imagine my fellow-Pentaholics fangirling like, "KEVIN!!! Your voice is so beautiful! You should sing more!"

[@AndrewKesler]

Well that was Andrew doing his best Kevin impersonation, which falls short of the real thing!

[@KathyWashburnBunn]

Well, you know, not everyone can be Kevin. ;) Anyway, the arrangement choice of giving Kevin a solo made me happy.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@AndrewKesler Kevin from pentatonix also plays the cello.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@KathyWashburnBunn Neat it needs Cello.

[@alexandra.willitts6988]

Go to "sort by" (which is right next to the number of comments) and click on the "newest first" prompt, then read my original comment from Friday August 27th 2021......

[@dedede5586]

i wish i could watch this for the first time again

[@jeremyneil1125]

Take 6 is probably the best one! That soulful lead is beautiful!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@William L. Dobbs It sounds best in German.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@William L. Dobbs And in French to. A version for Choir, Band, and strings would work for the CFAE Concert.

[@sortat246]

As one of your fans who took part in the fun workshop you gave in London at King's Place Dec 2015, I find this video really valuable as now this lets us study these scores slowly and work out exactly what's happening. Compared to instrumental arrangements where different musicians are producing very different sounds, accapella is more mysterious and magical as the voices blend so well that our ears can't identify all the notes being sung from moment to moment. You are such a generous gang and we all love you. Don't stop. Geography is there to be defeated!

[@AccentVocal]

Thank you for your ongoing support! You're the best!

[@sandalero]

simons take 6 bit knocked my socks off !!!!!

[@HDTv052432]

I love them all! Take 6 is probably my favorite! I've been listening to them since birth pretty much. I think the Real Group style was the most fun to sing though.

[@oneman49instruments]

This is like to arrive at the final monster of a game, and win, obviously! What a masters to arrange this!

[@robsm5570]

They are all great. Puerling's bold chord substitutions and smoothness into and out of dissonance make SU my absolute favorite historically! Kudos Accent!

[@balbino4]

Fantastic! Very very very very good! Thank you very much!

[@truefilm1556]

BTW: obviously the quote that is the intro of The Real Group arrangement is: "When You Wish Upon A Star". Awesome!

[@jeremiahacosta422]

You killed the barbershop version.

[@truefilm1556]

Fantastic!!!!! Well I love Take 6 dearly, but I have a weak spot for The Singers Unlimited. Listened to their records when they came out in the early '70s. You guys nailed the sound! I thought I was listening to Bonnie Herman as the lead and of course Gene, Don and Len - Perfect! Thanks for sharing this with the sheet music. Awesome!!!

[@AccentVocal]

Thank you! Great compliment!

[@samidtaek_]

When I listened to that Pentatonix bit I really got nostalgic feelings. Spot on.

[@Nostaljack]

I remember many of these from Simon's video from long ago. The barbershop and Pentatonix are new to this package and both are incredible. Oh...and NAILING!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

I really love the stylistic switching leads because all choirs can make the best of the song they're doing.

[@KevinSmutsMusic]

I must have watched this a dozen times. You guys are insane!!!

[@AccentVocal]

Thank you!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@AccentVocal Wow because I'm learning Chinese, send me all those arrangements with English and Chinese Lyrics.

[@alexandra.willitts6988]

Go to "sort by" (which is right next to the number of comments) and click on the "newest first" prompt, then read my original comment from Friday August 27th 2021........

[@maddvgray]

That take 6 arrangement is just ridiculous haha bravo

[@AccentVocal]

Hehe thanks dude!

[@felixsatia]

I like "The Singers Unlimited!" What a harmony!

[@marisolecheverri3195]

excellent what can i say. What a joy to be able to understand harmony.❤

[@mamaan3978]

Wow Accent. I'm loving Singers Unlimited and Take 6.

[@musicloungepty507]

I found the momentum I was needing to start my arrangements.

[@AccentVocal]

That's the best compliment!

[@sydneysitwala]

the reference to when you wish upon a star and angels we have heard on high is very pleasing if you know what is happening.

[@marlonsabile]

Take 6 and Pentatonix are favorites on this one 🙂

[@caspardejonge5902]

Unbelievable! Thanks from Holland. I'll share this great work

[@gtbier]

Fantastic! Sharing with my theory students, thanks!

[@AccentVocal]

Let us know what they think!

[@gtbier]

It was finals week, so a distraction, but apparently hit the spot: "That's awesome!! Just what I needed."

[@AccentVocal]

Probably the best we could hope for! :)

[@Freddie3487]

Thank you so much for this very interesting video! Please do more of these arrangement lessons!

[@mauricedurufle9818]

Outstanding and sophisticated understanding of styles and theory. Super well done! -Krumhorn

[@robcrtr798]

I love Take 6!

[@jackpage2]

Great video guys! Excited for the new album :)))

[@AccentVocal]

Thanks! Us too!

[@peopleofthecant]

totally nailed it. Wow.

[@Africappellaonline]

Simply brilliant!! Gotta how you keep turning simply nursery rhymes into such versatile arrangements. Understated powers!!! Well done Gents (:

[@eduardoparedes4355]

wow !! Take 6 and Pentatonix

[@dennisdesormier6886]

This video is STUPENDOUS. What wonderful mini-examples, wonderfully contrasted, and beautifully performed in the styles of the groups - what a versatile singer!

[@robertshrewsbury2891]

Liked all of them.

[@harczymarczy]

I love this video, just printed the screens and having fun even while analyzing the scores... :) I just love jazz and a cappella in general but I would be in trouble if I had to choose one group as my favorite because I love a LOT of them. TRG (they are superb in both jazz and pop), Take6 (jazz), TKS (classical/jazz, but pop too), Sonos/Arora (pop) all are great. There are a lot more of them, of course - well, I live in Europe, so Fool Moon (Hungary, pop), Chilli da Mur (Austria, mainly pop but folk/classical too), Jazzation (Hungary, jazz/folk), Jazzappella (Romania, jazz), Skety (Czech Rep., jazz/rock), The Quintessence (Georgia, jazz), HörBänd (Germany, jazz/pop/comedy) are far less (if at all) known in the US (with a possible exception of The Quintessence) but I just love all of them. I just feel warmth and love while seeing and hearing a good group a cappella or with a combo (NYV, MT, Singer Street [Hungary, jazz], Fräulein Kokett [Austria, old-timer pop and jazz], Voice Messengers [France, jazz] etc.) and I could hug a lot of the girls singing in these groups because IMHO you need a certain level of cuteness :) to be able to do a cappella and vocal jazz/pop at a really high level.

[@wisebee]

How to sing barbershop with Nordic accents. LOL Seriously, you're showing off some crazy arranging skills! Bravissimo!

[@AccentVocal]

French, in this case :)

[@wisebee]

Bah ouais? ça me surprend! :) I am trying to recall if Ward Swingle ever performed Mozart so that there might be a unique Swingle arrangement style, or Southern Gospel, or Manhattan Transfer. A traditional "big singing" shaped-note arrangement for your ensemble might be quite delightful, with the tenor doubled in the treble as a descant. I think that you could carry that off quite well! You all have mad vocal and ensemble skills.

[@melodicharmony9772]

This helps me a bunch. I know almost NOTHING about theory, but I have Absolute (Perfect) Pitch so NOTHING escapes me. My faves are Take 6, The Singers Unlimited, Accent (of course).... and Jacob Collier. I'm learning daily and I'm aspiring to be like you all. This lesson does wonders for me! Thank you!!!

[@BACCHUS3DAnimation]

The first two chords in the Pentatonix version were technically Abm9omit5 and BMaj9omit5/Db.

[@layandar9553]

TAKE 6 is always the best! No doubt..and again I say...NO DOUBT

[@simaocranmer2949]

more of this please

[@ForwrdMovmntMusc]

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I've been looking to start practicing vocal arrangements (because of you guys), so this was super timely. Thanks!

[@AccentVocal]

Thanks, man! How ya been? Keep at it!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

The Citizen Queen group is a Female A cappella Quintet of 5 Daughters that belong to Scott from PTX. The Citizen Queen version would essentially be the PTX version transposed up a Fourth or Fifth to match the vocal ranges of all the members of Citizen queen.

[@jonjenz]

Genius. Well done, men.

[@AccentVocal]

Thank you :)

[@lukesky30]

My favorite is Accent!

[@concertoldham]

This is my favorite video you guys have made. more like this please. from a long time fan.

[@AccentVocal]

Thanks so much--means a lot from someone who's been following us for a while!

[@concertoldham]

Also my favorite one was probably The Singers Unlimited. But I'm really glad to know you guys aren't too "high and mighty" for Pentatonix. They're a good group who have a lot of pressure to keep producing content in an ever changing industry. It's just that Acapella music is so foreign and new to people that we as vocalists have to provide an accessible route to the art we are proud of the most. Pardon my ramblings!

[@AccentVocal]

Agreed!

[@gfunk449]

I want to hear a full version of that Singers Unlimited interpretation!

[@AccentVocal]

What a lullaby that would be :)

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@AccentVocal Neat but can you do it in Chinese?

[@arataka57]

Writing a vocal arranging method would be great

[@faellou6975]

first one is my favorite

[@juliansaintdenis8617]

Would love to see a Jacob Collier analysis! You guys do amazing work and it would be awesome to see into Jacob’s insane harmonies and other tricks. Thanks!

[@AccentVocal]

You might enjoy the part 2 video, then :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJy2p6t8rZ6glac

[@camtaylormusic]

Hell yeah, just finding this now, but I remember back in the old days of KZbin seeing your first few videos after watching Danny's Go The Distance way too many times and transcribing it. Great practice here singing through all of the harmony parts in all the examples, some of those "bari"(?) or second-from-bottom parts can be tough! Now I want to get into more Singers Unlimited and Take 6 recordings and do the same thing!

[@AccentVocal]

Thanks for watching and listening so attentively!

[@thecompanysingersph]

favorite style is Singers Unlimited of course

[@saschakool]

I red about your plans to work with Patrick Williams! Amazing, I started Patrick to work with me in New Yorkwhen he graduated from Duke. He had great arranging talent! He worked a year for my company, C/Hear Services.So sorry he passed awa6

[@grupocantarte]

Me ENCANTO! Gracias! y Swingle Singers? podrían analizarlos? Saludos desde Paraguay!

[@AccentVocal]

Gracias! Podríamos incluir a los Swingles en parte 2!

[@BarusFredrik]

got it the core, thanks

[@kodiakaguero]

Wow, amazing! I love the Singers Unlimited and enjoyed that part the most, but you nailed all of them. Congrats!

[@AccentVocal]

Thanks!

[@klashjelte6029]

Great!!

[@nellyrousselle]

BRILLIANT! thank you sooo much for making this video! The Take 6 part gave me chills

[@phillipeuring3356]

As their project is aptly named they are the standard, Take 6 hands down. Love Accent too.

[@paulnolingo]

definitely take 6

[@AlexRobinson_Music]

SO cool!! Definitely going to show this to my jazz vocal students. Thanks for this!

[@AccentVocal]

Glad to hear that! Hope they like our music, too...and they can find us on TikTok :)

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Accent You can even do the ending of the ABC song in the same styles as it's the same tune but different words.

[@andreahnicole2812]

This is seriously one of the coolest videos on youtube!!!

[@priscilaabritto]

Awesome !! Congratulations teacher James Rose and your group Accent Vocal. I LOVED!! Watching from Brazil. I'am a student at CCV of Dr. Blacy

[@crazisinger4008]

Wow guys, this is cool! Thnx !

[@philgolson6306]

FANTASTIC VIDEO.

[@MaytreeSoo]

AMAZING!!! So clever! ;) I could tell how much you love acapella. Thanks for this post!

[@sagarkapoor9892]

More of these analysis videos please!!! Thank you. Its a great insight. :)

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Accent Vocal In Barbershop Quartet music the Melody is always in the Lead part.

[@BWilliamsmusic]

Let's get one going in the style of The Hi-Los!!!!!

[@AccentVocal]

We actually do that in our extended workshop version. We'll also be releasing some of our other versions to our patrons who subscribe to our Patreon stream over at www.patreon.com/Accent :)

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@AccentVocal Can you do versions with Chinese Lyrics? We also need Baa Baa Black Sheep and the ABC song in the mix since they're the same tune.

[@reynitasanjuan8237]

Amazing, I'm. Between take 6 and Pentanonix, I loved it!, pelase analize Dirty loops.

[@cmacpan]

To me Take 6 nailed it. I not a contemporary guy more jazz, maybe that's why. those harmonies are Wow!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Barbershop quartet has the melody in the lead part.

[@axelSixtySix]

To me Accent is one of the most interesting band actualy because I'm a Jazz fan. I like also Banda de boca. And in my hall of fame I can't forget the marvelous Double Six of Paris (I dunno if it's well known abroad these days but JB may find something about them and translate their funny french lyrics).

[@AccentVocal]

We love Les Doubles Six!

[@SpeldosaMusik]

Nice an informative! Would love to see more things like this in the future!

[@AccentVocal]

That's the plan!

[@coreykindrix6185]

Take 6!!!!!!!!!

[@lgkmusic2445]

TAKE 6 ARE LIFE

[@ChaplainAcosta]

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliantly done!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@UCbmnbSnH3wQmuUPZSxtCovg It's also a french folk song called "Ah Vous Dirai-Je Maman" & the Melody in the Barbershop voicing is the Lead.

[@VocMusTcrMaloy]

My fav? DEFINITELY Take 6!

[@SheenBine]

Please do a gaither vocal band analysis video

[@AccentVocal]

Great idea!

[@marcubale]

Agreed

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@AccentVocal Do a version in Japanese.

[@evanfreddy5631]

Buenisimo!

[@AccentVocal]

Gracias!

[@bruceodera5759]

THANKS a lot guys. I absolutely loved the history tour. I want to learn how to arrange better so bad, I was with my pen and paper. I hope you can explore how to write different background parts and effects for different genres of music. Thanks again Accent

[@untonik]

Good job!

[@ryanwaddy5221]

I would totally dig a Voctave analysis for the next part...providing some soprano descants can be accomplished.

[@AccentVocal]

Good idea...might have to hire a female for that one :)

[@ordningsfrun318]

I'm sure that Simon can find a great soprano at home!

[@AccentVocal]

;)

[@thekingoface8338]

Great video!

[@bochasotes]

Impecable trabajo, echa luz sobre los grupos vocales a cappella y su dificil escritura. Ojalá puedan servir mas ejemplos como estos, muchas gracias

[@Pabloikn]

Muchisimas gracias