I'm pretty skeptical when Dan Newman '09 tells me that anyone can beat-box. I've marveled at the vocal percussion featured at many a coffeehouse performance but the talent still seems, well, superhuman. Still, sitting in Usdan on a Monday morning, Newman teaches me how to koovk'chow a convincing basic beat. "It's just part of a toolbox of sounds," he encourages, adding, somewhat improbably, "It's good for your abs."Newman is co-music director of the a cappella group Rather Be Giraffes, which, according to the group's history, was formed when several Brandeis singers "decided they would Rather Be Giraffes than be in any of the other, then-existing a cappella groups on campus," due to the animals' notorious silence. They withdrew from their respective groups to establish the club in which Newman now sings. In RBG, he tells me, everyone really does beat -box.

The beat-boxing may seem like a minor detail, but each a cappella group has a unique structure that serves as something like its mission statement. Sarah Mulhern '08 says Up the Octave routinely "makes people sort of push themselves and try different things" vocally.

In Company B, "everyone is encouraged, but not required, to be involved in arranging music at some point," according to Jacob Lazar '09. Other groups focus more on honing individual specialties. Starving Artists assign the same type of parts to the same people for each song, while VoiceMale retains a single arranger.

It's safe to say that whatever tensions may have precipitated RBG's founding have subsided in the five years since the secession. Allie Winer '08, Proscenium's business manager, assures me, "I have so many friends in so many other a cappella groups. It really is a community." This community became official last semester with the creation of A Cappella, Etc., an umbrella group headed by Newman that promotes inter-a cappella group communication and cooperation.

A Cappella, Etc. brings together groups as diverse in pedigree as they are in structure. Too Cheap For Instruments, for example, is a fledgling group on the rise. After dorm-storming for the first time this semester, the group enjoyed "the biggest audience that we've ever had before" at A Cappella Stein Night in February, according to Becky Sniderman '10. VoiceMale, by contrast, books epic tours along alternating coasts of the United States each February break, and, according to Jonathan Shuster '08, may perform the National Anthem at Fenway Park this spring. The nine other vocal groups range across the middle of this spectrum of experience.

The groups click perfectly, though, there exists fierce affection among their members, which everyone describes in their own effusive terms. "We're all super-good friends," says Newman. Jennifer Faber '09 calls the members of Voices of Soul her "truest friends here." Bryan Wexler '09 says Jewish Fella A Cappella has "given me an opportunity to form friendships that hopefully I'll keep forever." Mulhern agrees: "It's like family."

As a result of their friendly dynamic, Newman says, "We all enjoy being at rehearsal because we like each other." Some admit that this summer-camp spirit can also be distracting. The members of Starving Artists "sometimes don't get as much done as we'd like to" at rehearsals, Eli Matzner '08 admits, because diversions overtake discipline. Sniderman describes how TCFI also struggles "to maintain the balance between being goofy and being productive ... At rehearsal we joke around a lot; we make fun of each other," she says.

Ultimately, though, Brandeis a cappella groups infuse their trademark casual mood into musically polished performances. Wexler describes how JFA's "pretty relaxed, laid-back" atmosphere translates into "playing up the fun, goofy, awkward part and then surprising people with some really good music" on-stage. "Joking around in rehearsal" often inspires choreography that makes it into performances, according to Winer. There's a "very thin line between good choreography and tacky choreography," Newman acknowledges.

RBG members continually negotiate that line during practice sessions.

Really, though, our a cappella singers just love to sing for an audience. "That's physically you that they're hearing, but it's also the time and effort that you've put into it," says Shuster. Faber reminisces how last semester Voices of Soul ambitiously debuted three new songs with a brand new music director, Lisa Fitzgerald '10. "We couldn't believe how we sounded at the coffeehouse," remembers Faber. "It just felt so good."

However, the cost of performing is a source of contention on the a cappella scene. "It would be nice to get funded so that we don't have to pay $50 to sing," Faber remarks, referring to Cholmondeley's coffeehouse fee. Because their audition process is exclusive, Brandeis a cappella groups don't qualify for charters or Finance Board funding to support their performances. They are, however, required to file their accounts with the Student Union. Matzner says the Student Union accounts are "much more organized and much more safe but also can be more of a hassle."

"It costs money to put on performances for the community," Newman argues, but at the same time "our a cappella groups are selling the University" by making it more attractive to applicants with an interest in music. Mulhern adds that Brandeis a cappella groups often absorb the cost of hosting outside a cappella groups that perform here. She points out that over 100 Brandeis students are involved in a cappella and that three new groups have formed in the last five years, suggesting that few, if any, aspiring singers are truly excluded.

As part of Hillel, Manginah and JFA are able to receive funding up front for their ventures, which members then pay back. By performing more shows off-campus at paying gigs like rabbinical installations and bar mitzvahs, these two groups have fewer money complaints. "We're lucky to have Hillel backing us," Akiva Fishman '09 says. "Hillel trusts us to pay them back and we've been able to do that in the past." In return, Manginah and JFA sing for other Hillel groups and give albums to Hillel donors.

Meanwhile, Matzner says Starving Artists have been "finding ways to operate on as little money as possible," but he still pays for many of their expenses out of pocket, recouping the money after paying gigs. TCFI sells food at its semester shows and may initiate a singing telegram program next year to raise funds. "A lot of groups end up borrowing from their members," says Winer. "It's kind of sad that a cappella groups have to focus on fundraising when they're trying to put out albums."

As creative as the groups have been in trying to supply funds, they're also willing to think outside the box when it comes to earning charters and the monetary support that would accompany them. "What if we had an open singing hour?" Winer suggests. A few people also mention the possibility of collaborating on an album to be distributed by the Admissions Department. "Hopefully, A Cappella, Etc. will make strides" in getting F-Board funding, Mulhern says. Newman confirms, "Changing the University's stance on money toward a cappella is one of the goals A Cappella, Etc. has on its radar."

In the short term, the groups are preparing for A Cappella Fest, an annual charity show organized bythe Starving Artists. All of Brandeis' a cappella groups will appear at the concert, which is scheduled for April 13. In another highly anticipated event, VoiceMale is bringing acclaimed professional a cappella group the House Jacks to Brandeis May 3 for an open singing clinic followed by a free show.

There may be one remaining dispute left to settle, however. "Emily Silver '08 is one of the best beat-boxers on campus," Mulhern tells me. Meanwhile, Faber has similar enthusiasm for Alexandra Kriss '11, claiming, "I've never seen a girl beat-boxer as good as her. I didn't know it was possible.