How acappella is becoming the new Greek life

Perhaps it’s just me, but Greek life sounds rather unappealing. On average, it costs a new sorority member about $1,280 per semester, while a new fraternity member can expect to shell out just over $600. And for what? Endless judgment from your brothers/sisters? Sweaty parties in musty basements? Overbearing rules? Weekly meetings? Obnoxious rituals?

Sounds like a special kind of hell.

Fortunately, for me, I get my social fill from singing and forming friendships with some of the most talented people on campus. Every Tuesday and Sunday, I rehearse with my acappella group, the Pitches and Tones, otherwise known as “Pitt’s most average-looking a cappella group.”

Blending and harmonizing with them is something else. In fact, I would go as far as to call it a religious experience. There’s something about music that connects you with people, no matter who they are or where they’ve come from. Without instrumental accompaniment, we rely solely on our voices and bodies to produce the melodies behind our songs.

It’s like a musical orgy, and everyone is very okay with it. Every song that we sing is a piece of art, and knowing that my friends and I create that art makes it all the more meaningful. While sororities have the ever-symbolic, decorative paddles and fraternities have matching boat shoes, my acappella group and I have a spiritual bond through song.

The social scene is also pretty killer. Everyone is kind, social, quirky – and most importantly, “Love on Top” by Beyoncé is on every party playlist. Everyone usually belts the entire thing, and you’re allowed to sound horrible, because everyone knows it’s impossible to sound as good as Beyoncé.

There are a few parties every month, and as long as you’re in an acappella group, you’re almost guaranteed to get in. In comparison, I was once denied entry to a frat party because my girl-to-guy ratio was only 4-to-1. A note to Pitt fraternities: if you plan on implementing Penn State’s gender admittance rules, your parties need to be as good as theirs.

Now, on to the ever-important topic of sex. The music freaks were probably stereotyped as the “most sexually active” group in your high school, and the same is true for college, for good reasons. There is a lot of sex within acappella. Guess you could say we’re aca-active.

There are inter-group relationships, and there are intra-group relationships. There are relationships that involve admiring a talented singer from afar (the kind of relationship that I’m most accustomed to), and there are relationships that involve admiring a talented singer from a…closer proximity. You may be familiar with the term “toner”. However, if you are not, it is a fondness, if you will, felt by one singer towards another. And let me tell you, I have a raging toner for a good twenty people in the a cappella community. It’s hard to suppress toners because everyone is so gosh-darn attractive. Not the douchey-attractiveness you’ll find in a frat house, but rather, beautiful on the inside and out.

While the level of commitment is certainly a parallel between acapella and Greek life, you have to consider the kind of commitment that each extracurricular requires. You could take quizzes on the history of your chapter, attend formals with people you detest, or memorize the Greek alphabet – but you could also sing with your friends. It might just be me, but I think the latter sounds slightly more appealing.

However, if I still haven’t convinced you that acappella is better than Greek life, I’d like to leave you with one last point:

We don’t have Natural Light at our parties.

Visit our website at pittpitchesandtones.com or our Twitter page, @PitchesandTones for more.