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Back in the 50's, being part of an all male singing group might have been a little, well, girly. But today, chicks dig a guy with a good voice! Which could be why so many guys are flocking to acapella groups at college campuses. Want to start yours? Here's how:
Find your people
Like with any group, if you don't get along, you won't accomplish anything. So, the first thing you might want to do instead of putting up a flyer in a study room or dining hall is to just do a post on Facebook saying you want to start this group! That way, you already know (at least to some degree) the people who respond and know if you'd work well together in a group.
There can be no ego
Explain to everyone that you are the leader, and maybe someone else who is co-leader with you and the two of you decide who sings what, and what parts everyone will have. You'll definitely have guys coming in who think they are great at singing high notes but sound like dying cats and are shocked when you assign them the lower chord lyrics. You'll have guys who think they can pull off vocal vibrato like Christina Aguilera, and just sound like they're crying. Explain ahead of time that you don't need to justify who you place where in the group but if they want to be included, they'll accept their assigned role.
Set up a practice schedule
Too many groups get too casual about their practice schedule and just send out an email one week in advance saying, "When can everyone get together?" which of course results in half the group not being there. Decide on a day that you'll be holding practice before even putting together the group. Clarify that guys must be able to attend practice regularly to be a part of the group. Also clarify that they have to be there early enough to do the breathing exercises for singing with everyone. A lot of people slack off and think they can show up late, so long as they're on time for actual practice but, if the whole group does their warm-ups at the same time, it will yield much better results.
Finally, perform!
The group needs to have something to look forward to and work towards! So, get them on the school event schedule regularly. Reserve performance halls, put up flyers and get the group motivated!
