Line #110 Main/ACappella


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6	->''"We do it without any instruments, it's all from our mouths!"''
7	-->-- '''Chloe''', ''Film/PitchPerfect''
8
9	A cappella is, like many musical terms, a phrase with multiple definitions.
10
11	* As a '''musical term''', "a cappella" means what it means in its native Italian: "In the manner of the chapel." At the time, instruments weren't allowed in churches[[note]]The style contrasted with cantata, which is singing accompanied by instruments, and there was also a difference between polyphony and concertato style[[/note]], so everything had to be done solely through voice. "''A cappella''" just means a voice, or voices, alone. It is either the oldest or the second-oldest expression of music to have been invented (the other being "hitting [[EverythingIsAnInstrument stuff]] rhythmically"). SingingInTheShower trying to hit the high notes of Music/{{aha}}'s "Take On Me" counts as ''a cappella'' singing.
12	* However, the one thing we can say about our erstwhile shower soloist is that "trying to hit the high notes in the shower" is not a ''complete'' expression of the music -- nor is it meant to be. As a '''style''', "A cappella" is when vocalists get together to perform complete expressions of music using nothing but their voices: in addition to a melody and lyrics, there will be backing chords, a bass line, and even some form of rhythm.
13
14	This distinction is important because A Cappella, the ''style'', transcends genre. It can be applied across multiple places such as religious music, choirs, barbershop, doo-wop, doit, beatboxing, popular music and so on.
15	* Traditionally, religious music and holidays' songs like Christmas carols might be performed without any instrumental accompaniment. (This was an EnforcedTrope for Shaker religious music.) Also gospel music and choir performances often don't feature any instruments.
16	* [[UsefulNotes/BarbershopMusic Barbershop]] is a uniquely American style, typified by consonant four-part chords for every melody sung in homophony. They usually perform easily understandable lyrics and easy melodies. You may also recognize them [[CoordinatedClothes by their striped outfits with straw hats]].
17	* Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music developed in black communities in the 1940s, achieving mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s.
18	* Doit is vocal ornamentation used in jazz music.
19	* Popular music often involves covers, partially because [[TruthInTelevision most yet-to-be-"discovered" musicians make their names via covers]]. They will contain vocal approximations, sometimes one-to-one imitations and sometimes modified interpretations, of the instruments used. They may also contain beatboxing, a form of vocal percussion in which musicians produce drum beats, rhythm, and sounds with only their mouth, lips, tongue or voice. It's connected with HipHop, but not exclusively. Music/{{Pentatonix}} is the group that put this section of the trope on the map.
20
21	Musical talent shows frequently have the auditions part sung A cappella.
22
23	Tons and tons of [=YouTubers=] do ''A cappella'' covers of various songs (often with the original recording playing in the background) and sometimes create and sing new ones.
24
25	----
26	!!Examples:
27
28	[[foldercontrol]]
29
30	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
31	* In the anime version of ''VideoGame/TheIdolMaster'', President Kuroi convinces the audio technician from the Idol Jam to conveniently forget where he put the CD with the 765PRO idols songs. This comes to bite him in the rear, when Chihaya starts to sing in A Cappella, making the tech (and crowd) be so moved by the scene that he restarts the audio in the next chorus, effectively creating a greater effect on the public than it would be if she had just started singing normally.
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Comic Books]]
35	* In one ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'' story, while the Archies are driving to a concert, their van keeps breaking down and they have to take apart their instruments to fix it. When when they finally reach the concert, they're forced to improvise and sing A cappella.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Fan Works]]
39	* ''WebVideo/UltraFastPony'' has [[http://youtu.be/YyK8ASLpfmw a bonus video]] where the cast sings an a cappella version of (Soft Cell's version of) "Tainted Love"
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
43	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': The scene where Héctor is singing "Remember Me" starts out with him singing it a cappella with no music, then when it changes to the flashback of him singing it to little Coco the acoustic guitar slips in, then slips back out upon returning to the present. The album version keeps the guitar intact for the entire song.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
47	* The first ''Film/PitchPerfect'' film centers around the ''a cappella'' scene in American universities, particularly the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Championship_of_Collegiate_A_Cappella International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella]] competition.
48	* ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'' has a hilarious BigLippedAlligatorMoment of the guys singing an ''A cappella'' "Afternoon Delight".
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
52	* On ''Series/AmericanIdol'' auditionees have to sing a cappella during the first rounds, however, later in the competition, they sing with backing music.
53	* ''Series/TheSingOff'' was a talent show on NBC specifically for a cappella groups, mixing in groups from the thriving collegiate scene with post-collegiate, typically smaller, ensembles.
54	* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': In "The One with All the Jealousy", Monica dates a co-worker named Julio who is a foreigner and a pretentious poet. In one of his poems, he refers to her as an "empty vase", then later claims it was a reference to all American women, not just her. Monica gets her revenge by sending a barbershop quartet to the diner to ridicule him (and call him a buttmunch) while he's hitting on another woman. Well played.
55	* Andy from ''Series/{{The Office\|US}}'' was a member of an a cappella group at [[IvyLeagueForEveryone Cornell]]. In one episode he asserts that all songs sound better without instruments, although it's also been shown that he can play banjo.
56	* ''Series/DaAliGShow'': Ali G is a wanna-be hip-hop artist and he would do beatboxing from time to time, often improvising on the topic that was discussed. As if the guests were not trolled enough already.
57	* ''Series/{{Glee}}'':
58	** Blaine's group the Dalton Academy Warblers is an all-male ''a capella'' group (played by the RealLife Tufts University Beelzebubs, in their second TV appearance after competing on ''The Sing-Off'').
59	** In the final scene of "Lights Out" (the acoustic episode), this is how the students did [[Music/BillyJoel "The Longest Time"]] (in "doo wop" form).
60	* ''Series/NewsRadio'' had an episode where Dave was visited by the other three members of his ''a capella'' group.
61	* There was an episode of ''Series/TwoGuysAGirlAndAPizzaPlace'' where the Girl had visions of an ''a capella'' group that would appear out of nowhere and sing Wilson Phillips songs.
62	* In an episode of ''Series/MadAboutYou'', Paul walks past an ''A Cappella'' group [[DiegeticSoundtrackUsage singing the theme song]], which he'd cowritten. To further mess with the wall, he mentions its familiarity. At the end of the episode, Paul and Jamie listen to the same group singing the theme again as the end-credits play. This time, Paul recognizes the tune and grins with satisfaction, but does not identify the tune out loud.
63	* In "Slutty Pumpkin" of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', Ted goes to a Halloween party at the rooftop with a performance by an a cappella group. Barney thinks the party is super-lame.
64	* ''Series/GilmoreGirls'': There are ''a cappella'' performers at Yale during the parents' day. Lorelai flees from them as fast as she can.
65	* On ''Series/{{Psych}}'', Gus is revealed to have been in an a cappella group in college when his old bandmates seek him out for a case. For that episode, the show even got Boyz II Men to perform the theme song a cappella.
66	* Rockapella from ''Series/WhereInTheWorldIsCarmenSandiego''. They sing a cappella, while rocking out. The group is still touring today, though all four founding members have moved on to other projects.
67	* On ''Series/SchittsCreek'' Moira, Jocelyn, Twyla and Ronnie all sing in the town's ladies a cappella group The Jazzagals.
68	* ''Series/TheWestWing'': "Holy Night" includes an appearance by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Whiffenpoofs The Whiffenpoofs]] who are visiting the White House. Toby Ziegler's father, who is also visiting, has been a fan of the group since the 1950's which leads to a touching moment when he learns the source of the singing he's been hearing all day.
69	* ''Series/Charmed2018'': One episode has Maggie and Lucy join their school's a capella group. Their director gets posessed by a pitch pipe and tries to turn the group into sirens [[spoiler:to prove that it was his music that made the original sirens powerful in the first place.]]
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Music -- General]]
73	* When the American Federation of Musicians went on strike in 1942-44, the record labels initially hoped that their stockpile of songs they rush-recorded the month before the strike began would last them through the strike, but it ended up lasting much longer than they anticipated, so they started to record their vocalists accompanied by vocal groups acting as the "orchestra", taking advantage of the fact that vocalists were not AFM members. A notable example is Music/FrankSinatra, who had the bad fortune to start his solo career right in the middle of the strike: his first few singles with Creator/ColumbiaRecords were recorded with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers and the label reissued a 1939 recording he did with Harry James' band. His legions of fans didn't mind, however, as most of the a capella tracks, as well as the reissue, made the hit parade.
74	** The AFM went on another strike in 1948, but this time they were more lenient, allowing the usage of "non-serious" musical instruments such as ukuleles, harmonicas and toy xylophones in recording sessions. The "vocal group as orchestra" trick was still often used however.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Music -- Groups]]
78	* The Blanks: A cappella group fronted by Sam Lloyd who plays Ted Buckland on ''Series/{{Scrubs}}''. The band has made many appearances on ''Scrubs'', introducing themselves as The Worthless Peons. They have covered many things ranging from commercial jingles to TV show theme songs.
79	* The Bobs, a novelty a cappella group.
80	* Bobby [=McFerrin=], for instance his famous "Don't Worry, Be Happy".
81	* The group "[=DaVinci=]'s Notebook" was ''a cappella''. The half of the group that experienced a BreakupBreakout, Music/PaulAndStorm, have done some bits in the same style, such as their Gregorian-chant-inspired "Pay-Per-View Nun Fights" skit.
82	* ''Visa Röster'': A group doing {{Chiptune}}s a cappella. Mostly tunes from Platform/Commodore64 games.
83	* ''The Flying Pickets'' are an a capella group who scored the UK's Christmas #1 single of 1983 with a cover of Yazoo's electro-pop song 'Only You'. This was their only hit, however they have continued under various lineups to this day, covering songs including Under the Bridge, Who's That Girl and You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling
84	* Music/VanCanto is an ''a cappella'' '''metal''' band, which besides using real drums creates all of the guitar effects vocally, and covers the songs of other metal bands.
85	* German band Music/DiePrinzen made many a cappella songs and are quite famous for this style.
86	* Music/{{Pentatonix}}, the winners of the above-mentioned ''The Sing-Off'' contest show's season.
87	* Moosebutter is a comedy band that always performed in a cappella. They are probably the most famous for ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5_OSsawz4 Corey Vidal's lipsync cover of]]) their [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGYAPr6UKhs Star-Wars-themed John Williams medley]].
88	* Music/{{NSYNC}} were more famous as a BoyBand, but their ability to perform a cappella in five-part harmony is their musical genesis and remains their point of pride. Hell, their name comes from the fact that they could sing a cappella in harmony. Unaccompanied numbers include "I Thought She Knew" from their second album, ''No Strings Attached'', and "O Holy Night" for their Christmas album. In addition, they contributed an a cappella version of "When You Wish Upon a Star" for the [=DisneyMania=] CD series and have performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" for the 2000 World Series and 2002 Winter Olympics as well as an a cappella tribute to Music/TheBeeGees for the 2003 Grammys.
89	* Music/PeterHollens sings multiple vocal tracks, frequently a hundred or more, for his recordings. He frequently records with other vocalists, notably his wife Evynne Hollens, [[Music/{{Pentatonix}} Avi Kaplan]] and Tyler Ward, as well as other musicians such as Music/LindseyStirling.
90	* The Nylons, best known for their a cappella versions of "Drift Away" and "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)".
91	* Home Free, also victors of NBC's Series/TheSingOff alongside PTX, is a rare country music a cappella group, doing a mix of contemporary and classical country covers.
92	* Spiralmouth, a group of six composers for TV and movies, are best known for providing the soundtrack for ''VideoGame/CrashTwinsanity'' (mentioned below), but they also released an album consisting of A Capella covers of pop songs (such as [[Music/MichaelJackson "Wanna Be]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1hdT4ZPAAI Startin' Somethin,'"]] [[Music/SherylCrow "Love is]] [[https://youtu.be/yb2XE6TDKqQ Good Thing,"]] [[Music/TheBeatles Come]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm6ASifuw-w Together]]) and songs made by the individual band members (such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3Wtmba4iCc Sated]] and [[https://youtu.be/8fGkGSDQ1lA Spend Another Minute.]])
93	* The Flying Pickets are a British a cappella group probably best known for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZED46yZb0Vo a cover of Yazoo's Only You]]
94	* Straight No Chaser, a group of ten men whose repertoire includes cover versions of songs that they often sing with the original artists, such as Rob Thomas' "This Is How a Heart Breaks".
95	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dapper_Dans The Dapper Dans]] who perform at Ride/DisneyThemeParks (specifically the original Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Hong Kong Disneyland). The group has been part of the parks since 1959 with members cycling in and out over the years.
96	* The long-running Contemporary Christian group [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glad_(band) GLAD]] did not begin as this, but began incorporating a cappella music gradually; with their most successful album being 1988's "The Acappella Project" (selling over 400,000 copies while receiving a Dove Award nomination and Billboard's Critics Choice Award), the first in a series of a cappella albums that would be released over the remainder of the band's existence.
97	* Music/MoxyFruvous, like N SYNC, were discovered fully-formed; they had a lot of musical history before they ever started recording, particularly with singing together. The majority of their albums contained at least one track performed without instruments, and almost every track they ever produced involved elaborate 3- or 4-part harmony.
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Music -- Specific Songs and Albums]]
101	* Music/JanisJoplin, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-4AheUl6ls "Mercedes Benz"]] from ''Pearl''. It is an a cappella song written by singer Janis Joplin with the poets Michael [=McClure=] and Bob Neuwirth. In the song, the singer asks the Lord to buy her a Mercedes-Benz, a color TV, and a "night on the town".
102	* Music/{{Queen\|Band}}, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tJYN-eG1zk "We Will Rock You"]] from ''Music/{{News of the World\|Queen}}''. The song is generally set in a cappella form, using only stomping and clapping as a rhythmic beat, except at the very end, which has a guitar solo. "We Will Rock You" has been covered, remixed, sampled, {{parodied}}, {{homage}}d, referenced and used by multiple recording artists, TV shows, films and other media.
103	* Kelis has a song called Acapella: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8D9xCBcfzw Listen to it here.]] Strangely, the song is not A Cappella, but there was a version done in that mode.
104	* The Futureheads have a handful of a cappella songs, and they brought out a whole a cappella album, including a cover of Kelis song. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_qaIvDffWw See it here.]]
105	* The song "Ievan Polkka" [[note]]The name is commonly misspelled Levan polkka, due to the similarity of lower-case L and upper-case i[[/note]] (Finnish for "Eva's Polka") is a Finnish song with lyrics written in the early 1930s by Eino Kettunen to a traditional Finnish polka tune. It is also known as "Loituma's Polka" (or "Loituma's Polkka") because it resurfaced after an a cappella performance by the Finnish quartet Loituma. A part of the song was used for the Internet meme "Loituma Girl" (also known as "Leek Spin").
106	* "Tom's Diner" is an a cappella pop song written in 1981 by American singer-songwriter Music/SuzanneVega. It's about impressions and feelings of a woman in a city during one morning. She did later also an instrumental version of the song. The song was actually used to develop the Platform/MP3 sound compression process, and is technically the first Platform/MP3.
107	* Music/CrosbyStillsNashAndYoung's "Find the Cost of Freedom" is an A Cappella song with lots of harmonizing that they regularly used to finish off concerts.
108	* Music/ToriAmos's "Me and a Gun" is a quiet vocal solo about her experience with rape.
109	* Claire Hamill's 1986 New Age album ''Voices'' consists entirely of Hamill's multitracked vocalisations. An instrumental album without instruments, so to speak.
110	* Music/BillyJoel's "The Longest Time", from a singer/songwriter who normally plays either the piano or guitar.
111	* Nearly all of Music/{{Bjork}}'s ''Music/{{Medulla}}'' is a cappella, and the breadth in which she experiments with the human voice is as vast and eclectic as [[GenreBusting everything else she's known for]]. There are a few minor smidges of a synth or a piano to flesh out the mix of a track or two, but everything else is a sound coming from a human's mouth, with "instruments" ranging from London choirs, Icelandic choirs, beatboxing, Inuit throat singing, a "human trombone", even minor vocalizations like breathing, grunts, and tongue clicking.
112	* Music/FlorenceAndTheMachine's cover of Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" is a cappella for the first verse only.
113	* Big Daddy's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW7n8eArJV0 cover of "Eye of the Tiger"]] is done InTheStyleOf an a cappella street corner do-wop group.
114	* The B-side of Music/{{Yes}}' "Leave It" was the same song A cappella.
115	* Music/BenFolds released '''Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!'', an entire album of his songs covered by collegiate a cappella groups after hearing his song "Brick" covered by a collegiate group.
116	* In Havergal Brian's "Gothic" Symphony, several sections of the "Te Deum" are sung by unaccompanied choruses, including the first 5 1/2 minutes of "Judex crederis esse venturus," which has over 20 independent vocal parts.
117	* "Si puer cum puella" from Carl Orff's ''Music/CarminaBurana'' is sung by the male chorus ''a capella''. The sequel ''Catulli Carmina'' has the singers entirely unaccompanied except in the framing scenes.
118	* Music/ToddRundgren has an entire album of ''a cappella'' music entitled, appropriately, "''A Cappella''". While several songs use vocal samples to create drum and keyboard tracks, the only sounds on the album are Todd's voice.
119	* Music/TonesOnTail's "Slender Fungus" is composed of vocals over rhythmic mouth noises.
120	* "Hi How Are You?" and "She Called Pest Control" from Music/DanielJohnston's ''Music/HiHowAreYou'' and "King Kong", "The Dead Lover's Twisted Heart" and "Rarely" from his album ''Music/YipJumpMusic''.
121	* "The Dust Blows Forward And The Dust Blows Back", "Well", "Orange Claw Hammer" from ''Music/TroutMaskReplica'' by Music/CaptainBeefheart.
122	* "Because" by Music/TheBeatles in the rendition of ''Music/TheBeatlesAnthology''.
123	* Music/YokoOno and Music/JohnLennon read newspaper clippings about them by ''singing'' them during "No Bed For Beatle John" on ''Music/UnfinishedMusicNo2LifeWithTheLions''.
124	* Music/TheManhattanTransfer are capable of a cappella vocals, notably their version of "A Nightingale Sang at Berkeley Square".
125	* "The Union Forever", a ''Film/CitizenKane'' ShoutOut from Music/TheWhiteStripes' ''Music/WhiteBloodCells'', has a bridge made up only of handclaps and Jack's vocals.
126	* Music/{{Haken}} does this in parts of "Cockroach King", the opening of "Because It's There", and the mid-way point of "Crystallised".
127	* In Music/GustavMahler's Symphony No. 2, the chorus sings the first verse of the Resurrection Chorale as quietly as possible, totally unaccompanied unless the chorus needs help negotiating some of the harmonic shifts. Each successive verse of the chorale is sung louder with more accompaniment, finishing with full orchestra and pipe organ.
128	* Arthur Sullivan's ''The Golden Legend'' includes two ''a cappella'' chorales, "O gladsome light" and "O pure in heart."
129	* In Music/HectorBerlioz's "Grande messe des morts," the orchestra and four brass bands fade away quickly at the end of "Rex tremendae," and the chorus proceeds with "Quaerens me" unaccompanied. "Hostias" has highly intermittent accompaniment for the male chorus, most of it being flute and trombone chords played while the singers take a breath between phrases.
130	* Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "Since You've Been Gone" is done ''a cappella'' with several Weird Als [[SelfBackingVocalist singing all harmony]] except the bass line, which is done by his bassist Steve Jay.
131	* CountryMusic band Southern Pacific was known for doing an ''a cappella'' rendition of Peter and Gordon's "I Go to Pieces" in concert. They released a studio version, also done ''a cappella'', as a single in 1990.
132	* CountryMusic band Ricochet (best known for their 1996 hit "Daddy's Money") recorded an a cappella rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" for a 1996 UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}} promotional album, and sent it to radio due to fan demand. Later on, they sent an a cappella version of "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" as a Christmas single.
133	* Music/DaYoopers did "My First Time Ever" on their 1995 album ''We're Still Rockin''', the first album after Jim Bellmore took over as lead guitarist/songwriter. The track features Bellmore [[SelfBackingVocalist singing all four parts]] in the style of a barbershop quartet.
134	* In Music/BenjaminBritten's ''War Requiem'', "Kyrie eleison," "Pie Jesu Domine" and "Requiescant in pace" conclude three of the work's sections with quiet variations on the same mournful chord progression, with the chorus accompanied only intermittently by the bells tolling their dismal tritone together.
135	* Music/TheBeachBoys' "A Young Man Is Gone" from their ''Little Deuce Coupe'' album, an a cappella homage to James Dean based on the melody of "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" by Music/TheFourFreshmen, itself an example.
136	* Music/NateWantsToBattle's CoverVersion of "Bonetrousle" from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''.
137	* Music/HueyLewisAndTheNews has the song "It's All Right".
138	* Music/{{Sia}} has two on her debut album ''[=OnlySee=]'', "Mad Love" and "Tripoutro".
139	* Music/ViennaTeng, taking cues from Tori Amos, sings "Passage" ''a cappella'' from the perspective of a woman slain in a car crash, watching the world move on without her.
140	* "Cletus [=McHicks=] and His Band From The Sticks" by Music/RayStevens is about a wannabe musician who can't afford instruments, but undeterred he rounds up a couple of guys to [[{{Scatting}} scat]] the parts (drums, bass, steel guitar, lead guitar). The song's chorus is a demonstration of their style.
141	* Music/TracyChapman's song "Behind the Wall" is a haunting ''a cappella'' song about a domestic abuse incident turned violent, and how the [[PoliceAreUseless police do absolutely nothing to help the situation]].
142	* Music/{{Chumbawamba}} has done several songs acapella, notably some versions of "The Day the Nazi Died". Their album "English Rebel Songs: 1314-1984" was entirely acapella.
143	* '70s jazz vocal quartet The Singers Unlimited recorded three albums of a cappella music, helpfully titled ''A Cappella'', ''A Cappella II'', and ''A Cappella III''.
144	* 19 years after Music/TheSawDoctors released their song "Red Cortina", they released an a capella version for charity.
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
148	* The {{Trope Namer\|s}} comes from the ancient practice of singing church music without any instruments. Today, the Eastern Orthodox Churches,[[note]] The Oriental Orthodox Churches-- churches that split with the Eastern Orthodox Churches after a dispute over the specifics of Christ's divine nature-- avert this trope. They usually include drums or tambourines, depending on the local customs.[[/note]] the Churches of Christ, conservative Mennonite churches, some Presbyterian congregations, and a few Baptist churches do not use musical instruments in worship. For those that do use accompaniment, the instruments will often drop out for portions of hymns (usually the first or last verse, or first half of the final chorus) purely for dramatic effect. \
149	Whether or not a Roman Catholic choir will practice this is typically {{Zig Zagged\|Trope}} depending on whether or not the church/cathedral involved has an [[OminousPipeOrgan organ]] built in. Many earlier pieces of music (such as in the mid-to-late Renaissance) were intended to be accompanied simply because they were ''that hard'', and talented choristers trained to sing complicated unaccompanied polyphonies were much rarer than they are today.
150	* In Islam, whether or not music is haram (forbidden) remains debatable. Officially, it is neither discouraged nor condoned, but a capella music is generally looked upon more highly than instrumental music.
151	[[/folder]]
152
153	[[folder:Theatre]]
154	* In ''Theatre/TheMusicMan'' (both the stage play and the film) Professor Harold Hill teaches the four squabbling members of the school board to sing Barbershop. All of their performances from then on are ''a cappella''. All the other songs, performed by anyone else, have orchestral accompaniment (except for "Rock Island," which isn't really sung anyway). In both the original production and the film, the School Board was played by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bills_(quartet) Buffalo Bills]], the 1950 International Quartet Champions of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA).
155	* Peter Schickele's ''Go For Broke: A Comedy For Chorus''. The only instruments indicated in the score are pitch pipes played at the beginning of each scene so the singers can start in the right key.
156	* ''The Student Prince'' includes an a cappella chorus of the traditional college song "Gaudeamus Igitur."
157	* In Music/LeonardBernstein's ''Mass'', "Almighty Father" is a chorale accompanied only intermittently after phrases by the drum rhythm from the (faster) previous number.
158	* ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'' has the entire cast joining in singing the a cappella anthem "Hail Poetry".
159	* In ''Theatre/{{Cabaret}}'', a male chorus sings "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" mostly a cappella.
160	* ''Down in the Valley'' has the spiritual "Little Black Train" sung a capella by the GreekChorus taking on the roles of congregation and preacher. The first verse of the title song is also done this way.
161	* In ''Where's Charley?'', the nostalgic opening number, "The Years Before Us," is sung a cappella by a male ensemble.
162	* In ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'', the opening chant and most of the Latin hymns are sung by the nuns' choir without accompaniment, though the orchestra does provide light accompaniment for the canticle "Confetimini Domino" (sung at the wedding) as well as full accompaniment for their reprises of "Maria" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain."
163	* In ''Theatre/PeerGynt'', the Morning Hymn in Act V is supposed to be sung ''a cappella'', though some editions of the score include an accompaniment for rehearsal purposes only.
164	* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Transit_(musical) In Transit]]'', which ran on Broadway from 2016 to 2017, marketed itself as a totally ''a cappella'' musical, starring 10 singers and a vocal percussionist. (Various other superlatives, such as "first ever", were both added and subtracted as the show evolved from its 2010 off-Broadway roots.)
165	[[/folder]]
166
167	[[folder:Video Games]]
168	* ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'': Luna/Althena's "Song" from Lunar Silver Star Story. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDmncfwu9zs Here is a youtube link.]] This song is used as a kind of "theme" that's attempted by others in singing, though tempo and quality varies. It's kind of the game's "staple song" and is incredibly familiar to all who've played the game in any of its incarnations.
169	* ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'': ''Christmas [=NiGHTS=] Into Dreams'' has an a cappella version of the game's main vocal theme "Dreams Dreams" over the credits.
170	* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'' has secret levels in which the background music, "Platforms a Plenty", is an a cappella version of the original Super Mario Bros. theme.
171	* ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'':
172	** A vocal rendition of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" opens the game.
173	** The second piece of sung music you hear in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' is a [[UsefulNotes/BarbershopMusic barbershop]] arrangement of Music/TheBeachBoys' "God Only Knows," written and performed by the real-life quartet [[http://www.amightywindquartet.com A Mighty Wind]] (dba The Bee Sharps).
174	* ''VideoGame/CrashTwinsanity's'' entire soundtrack is performed by an A Cappella group named Spiralmouth, including the cutscenes.
175	* In ''VideoGame/{{Incredibox}}'', you make your own acapella band.
176	* The final battle between [[spoiler:Dante and Vergil]] during [[spoiler:Vergil's campaign]] in the ''Special Edition'' of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' kicks off with an A Cappella rendition of [[spoiler:the final chorus of Vergil's theme, "Bury the Light"]] It sets the tone quite nicely for the final battle.
177	* ''VideoGame/CookServeDelicious 3'' has nearly half its tracks done in a capella.
178	[[/folder]]
179
180	[[folder:Web Animation]]
181	* ''WebAnimation/BrawlOfTheObjects'': Six words; A Rap by Popsicley and Chocolatey.
182	* ''WebAnimation/EddieAtTheLMV'' has The LMV band, who have covered songs in this style, such as "It's In Her Kiss" by The Hollies and a mash-up of two WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo show theme tunes.
183	* The opening and ending credits of the ''VideoGame/{{Mappy}}'' web series are acapella renditions of the game's themes.
184	[[/folder]]
185
186	[[folder:Web Comics]]
187	* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'': In "A Cumberland Ninja in King Radical's Court", King Radical employs a {{Dubstep}} Quartet, who perform [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/25p93/ a cappella bass drops.]] [[SuperScream Weaponized]] a cappella bass drops.
188	[[/folder]]
189
190	[[folder:Web Videos]]
191	* [[https://www.youtube.com/user/trudbol trudbol/Julien Neel's]] videos of song covers on Platform/YouTube, posting videos that usually consist in all the recordings (video recordings) singing to the camera at the same time.
192	* ''WebVideo/SonicTheHedgehog2SpecialEdition'': In one video, the game degrades because [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve not enough people believe it's real]]. One of the symptoms is that the level music is replaced by a crude a cappella cover version. In the very last video, apropos of nothing, there's an a cappella version of the ''Sonic 2'' ending cutscene music, this time WithLyrics.
193	* Music/SmoothMcGroove sings songs from video games a cappella.
194	* In a similar manner to Smooth [=McGroove=], [[https://www.youtube.com/user/Triforcefilms Triforcefilms]] (a.k.a. Mr. Dooves) performs a cappella covers of various video game songs, cartoon theme songs, television theme songs, etc.
195	* On his ''WebVideo/{{Paint}}'' channel, Jon Cozart sings his songs a cappella in multiple parts, then [[SelfBackingVocalist mixes them together]] for the final result.
196	[[/folder]]
197
198	[[folder:Western Animation]]
199	* In one flashback episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Homer, Skinner, Apu and Barney performed as Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet and they are epically successful. Their career path mirrored The Beatles.
200	%% * There was a barbershop quartet in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' that alternate between this and non-diegetic musical accompaniment.
201	* The themes to ''WesternAnimation/MightyMouse Playhouse'' and its 1987 reboot, ''Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures,'' were both performed A cappella.
202	* The ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Filli Vanilli" features an A Cappella singing group, "The Ponytones".
203	[[/folder]]
204
205	[[folder:Real Life]]
206	* Let's face it, everyone's done it in their spare time at least once (whether just walking somewhere, in the shower, etc.).
207	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ACappella