Subject: A-Cappella Music FAQ, Part 6/6
Date: 10 Sep 1995 22:55:20 GMT
Summary: Information About A Cappella (unaccompianed vocal music)
URL: http://www.best.com/~casa/FAQ1.html
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The rec.music.a-cappella & alt.music.a-cappella Frequently Asked Questions
Part Six: A Cappella Internet Resources
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Questions answered in part 6:

Q. Are there any electronic mailing lists dealing with a cappella music?

Q. Are there any cool a cappella web sites?

Q. Is there a rec.music.a-cappella FTP site?

Q. Can we store arrangements at the FTP site?

Q. Does anyone have the <lyrics|chords> to <song>?

Q. Do any music tutorials exist for FTP access?

Q. Are there any music typesetting programs I can use?

Q. Why is alt.music.a-cappella so quiet these days?
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Q. Are there any electronic mailing lists dealing with a cappella music?

     * The Friends of the Bobs *
     The FOBS mailing list discusses all aspects of the Bobs.

     The Bobs' upcoming concert listing (THE POOP) is available from
the NETFOBS site:

  WWW:   http://www.io.com/~thompson/netfobs/
  FTP:   ftp.io.com in /pub/netfobs/poop/
  MAIL:  send a message with "poop" in the body to "netfobs-infobot@io.com"
                and it will mail the POOP back to you

Also, you can join the NETFOBS Mailing list to automatically receive
messages from others about The Bobs, including the POOP.  Send a message to
"majordomo@io.com" with ONE of the following:

        subscribe netfobs
        subscribe netfobs-digest
        subscribe netfobs-announce

If you ONLY want to get the POOP and other items of importance, join
the NETFOBS Announcements-Only list (netfobs-announce).

     * Barbershop *
     There is also a mailing list for fans and performers of barbershop
music, which you can subscribe to by emailing: bbshop-request@fig.cray.com

     * Shape Note Singing *
     Discussion and announcements of Sacred Harp singing, based on "The
Sacred Harp" songbook published in 1844 and using shaped note notation,
can be obtained by contacting: shaped_note-request@tahiti.umhc.umn.edu

     * Zap Mama *
     Discussion about this international group by fans from around the
world. Contact:

Q. Are there any cool a cappella web sites?

     Why, yes! Why do you ask?

     The definitive directory of a cappella web pages and links is
maintained by Greg Weiss at the CASA site:

          http://www.casa.org/web_directory.html

     There you'll find links to over 100 homepages for professional and
collegiate groups, and much more. 

Q. Is there a rec.music.a-cappella FTP site?

     Yup. Greg Weiss (grweiss@cs.princeton.edu) is maintaining the a
cappella FTP site at ftp.casa.org. To find out what's currently available
to download, check out Greg's up-to-date README files in each directory.
All of this is available for anonymous FTP at:

     ftp.casa.org   (204.156.128.98)

     To do this from UNIX, type "ftp casa.org", login as "anonymous", and
use your email address as the password. Typing "HELP" at a prompt will
describe the available commands. The normal files can be downloaded using
the standard "get" command, but the compressed files (those which end with
.Z) must be downloaded using binary mode, and either viewed using the
"zcat" command, or decompressed by simply typing "decompress <filename>.Z"
at your UNIX prompt.

     If you don't know about FTP (File Transfer Protocol), ask someone at
your site to find out if you have access to the service. If you've tried
using FTP yourself but know it won't work, try sending "help" in an email
message to an ftp-by-mail server (please choose the nearest to you):

     ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com          (USA)
     ftpmail@src.doc.ic.ac.uk        (England)
     ftpmail@cs.uow.edu.au           (Australia)
     ftpmail@grasp.insa-lyon.fr      (France)

Q. Can we store arrangements at an FTP site?

     This has been a topic of much discussion, nearly since the inception
of the newsgroup. Most people have said that they would love to see an
electronic collection of a cappella arrangements on the Internet, but a
few have raised doubts concerning the legality of such a venture. Until
such problems are resolved, we can't store arrangements on the network.

     However, this doesn't stop people from storing arrangements of
*original* songs (i.e. written by the contributor) on their site, and of
course they can store lists, reviews and other information as well.

Q. Does anyone have the <lyrics|chords> to <song>?

     Before you post a request for lyrics to the newsgroup, please check
out the archive at:

     ftp.uwp.edu     (131.210.1.4)

     in the directory pub/music/lyrics

     A caveat: the lyrics on this site were submitted by people in good
faith, but do not take their words as gospel. If you are recording or
performing on a large scale, it would probably be worth checking out the
lyrics against some sheet music or the lyric sheet from the album, if
possible.

     The chords to songs can sometimes be gleaned from the entries in the
guitar tablature archive at:

     nevada.edu

     The songs submitted here are organized according to group name, and a
comprehensive index can be downloaded. Many songs are written in tab,
which is harder to work out but will give you individual notes; but other
songs have the chords written out with the song lyrics, which are
sometimes all an arranger needs (you can usually work out the melody on
your own if you have a recording).

Q. Do any music tutorials exist for FTP access?

     * The Jazz Primer *
     The Jazz Primer was written by Marc Sabatella for the readers of the
rec.music.bluenote newsgroup (jazz and blues music). It was written
specifically for those who want to learn more about jazz and blues theory,
to improve their performing, improvising, or listening ability.

     It assumes a basic knowledge of music and notation, and recommends
that you have access to a piano and the ability to play simple examples on
it. The primer discusses, among many other topics, chord/scale
relationships (in all modes), scale types, and chord voicings.

     This text file (4064 lines, 29 sheets when printed using a2ps) can be
read at several levels, depending on your previous knowledge and
experience. It can be used as a harmony tutorial, improvisation guide, or
technical discussion of chord/scale relationships.

     Although instrumental jazz music is discussed throughout, the
techniques can obviously be applied to arranging and composing a cappella
music. I can recommend this file as an introduction to harmony and
chord/scale relationships, but if you prefer verbose texts which
continually emphasize the topics, this isn't for you. It packs a lot of
information into a small space.
     
     The file may be obtained via FTP from:

     ftp.njit.edu

     and is called: /pub/jazz-primer/primer.asc

     * GEMS *
     The GEMS series of articles on music composition were written by
Matthew Fields, fields@eecs.umich.edu for readers of the newsgroup
rec.music.compose. It consists of five parts, each dealing with a
different aspect of music theory and/or composition.

     The files may be obtained via FTP from ftp.hyperion.com, or via
gopher at gopher.cic.net. Matthew informs us: "Gems 5 may have a notice
trimmed off.  If so, please splice it in on the bottom.  The missing
notice is as follows: ORCHESTERSTUECK Op.16 No.1 (Arnold Schoenberg) Copr.
1952 by Henmar Music Corp. Permission for use granted by C.F. Peters
Corp."

Q. Are there any music typesetting programs I can use?

     A program called MuTeX exists which enables users on most operating
systems to typeset single-staff music and lyrics, but a better option for
a cappella arrangers/composers is MusicTeX, a polyphonic system written by
Daniel Taupin (taupin@frups51.bitnet). The latest version is available via
anonymous FTP from:

     nic.stolaf.edu

     MuTeX is also available at this site. A TeX-and-music mailing list
also exists: to join, send a request to: mutex-request@stolaf.edu.

     Be warned! The MusicTeX output looks nice, but is by no means easy to
get! You have to type in everything as text, using sometimes convoluted
commands, and many of these commands are in French. For those with MIDI
keyboards, a MIDI-to-MusicTeX program can be obtained somewhere.

Q. Why is alt.music.a-cappella so quiet these days?

     Originally, the only a cappella newsgroup was alt.music.a-cappella.
In August '93, a vote was put forward to create a newsgroup
rec.music.a-cappella which, aside from having better USENET status,
(supposedly) reaches more network sites than an alt group. The vote was an
overwhelming success (342:34 in favor), so the group was created. Thanks
to Steve Simmons for suggesting the rec group and controlling the voting
process.

     The charter of the group is as follows:
     rec.music.a-cappella:   For a-cappella music of all styles.
     For friends, fans, and singers of all flavors of pure vocal
     music. Barbershop, madrigals, chorales, rockers and folkies
     are all welcome provided the instruments are left home (or
     mostly home).

     Many thanks to the countless 'netters who contributed, directly or
indirectly, to this FAQ list. Special thanks to Brendan Quinn who started
the FAQ, and wrote much of its contents.
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     End of rec.music.a-cappella Frequently Asked Questions (1-6)
     Please send comments, corrections and information to CASA
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