Pitch Perfect: A Dramatic Interpretation of My Life

By Brittany Taman on October 5, 2012

Top 40 music, awful puns, girl fights, that chick from Twilight, nerdy kids bursting into random song, projectile vomiting… I know, it seems like you’ve been waiting your whole life for such a film. I’m happy to inform you that Pitch Perfect, the collegiate a cappella comedy being released today, Nationwide, October 5th, contains all of these things and then some; it also happens to be a more exaggerated version of my everyday life. As a member of Florida State University’s all-female a cappella group, the AcaBelles, I was understandably excited about this movie, which catalogues wannabe DJ Beca’s first year in the all-girl a cappella group, The Bellas (uncanny, isn’t it). I won’t spoil the storyline for you, but I will take this time to clarify a few misconceptions about the world of collegiate a cappella:

Photo by EstrenosCinema via Flickr.com

It’s acceptable to use phrases like “Aca-scuse me!” and “You just got pitch-slapped!”. No. Just no. Nor is it acceptable to make up terms like “Toner”, head Bella Aubrey’s word for “musical boner”.  It should be understood that this vocabulary is used solely for cheesy teen movie purposes, not real life.

A cappella groups hate other a cappella groups. I am here to report that there is nothing but aca-love (I know, I said I wouldn’t) between groups. It would be way more exciting and dramatic if we all hated each other and got kicked out for intergroup mingling, but here at FSU, the ‘Belles, Reverb, All-Night Yahtzee , A’caphiliacs, and Coda 199 are always hanging out together. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a competitive atmosphere around ICCA time, but we always keep it friendly.

“Riff-Offs” are regular occurrences. In an ideal world, we could have singing battles and everyone would be able to improvise a perfect arrangement at the drop of a hat. In reality, to achieve a presentable sound, there’s arranging and sheet music and rehearsal involved. Greatness takes time… except in movies.

Rituals and tradition are essential. I realize they only did it for comedic and dramatic effect, but I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page here: there was no candle-lit ceremony where I was tied up with hot pink shoelaces and made to swear on my vocal chords. Sometimes we sing in the dark, but that’s as weird as it gets.

They never stop singing. This is completely true, I’m afraid.

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