A cappella groups around the Seacoast skip the instruments but still rock the house.

“A cappella” is an Italian term that literally translates to “in the church.” According to Mark Miller, one of the seven singers in local a cappella group Tuckermans at 9, the term’s origins stretch back to Italian religious music of the 19th century, when musical instruments were not allowed in churches. The result was vocal music with no instrumental accompaniment.

Today, “a cappella” refers to any musical form that consists entirely of singing. It can include everything from barbershop to classical, from doo-wop to hip-hop.

“You can pretty much do anything with a cappella,” Miller said. “There’s almost no limit to what you can do.”

Tuckermans at 9 has two upcoming shows in the area. The first takes place on Saturday, March 27 at The Portsmouth Pearl. The second takes place on Saturday, April 3, at the Garrison Players Arts Center in Rollinsford.

Formed in 2004, the group consists of four men (two tenors and two basses) and three women (one4 soprano and two altos). They mainly perform a cappella arrangements of contemporary pop and rock songs, with some jazz and classics thrown in.

The group rehearses every Tuesday night, usually at the home of one of the singers in Durham. Miller said they’ve been practicing some new numbers, including Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and Meatloaf’s eight-minute epic “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights.”

“That’s extremely unusual, to have an a cappella song that long,” Miller said. “A lot of people are kind of surprised that we sing as much as we do. I mean, it’s what we do. If you’re singing correctly, you’re not gonna hurt your voice.”

Tuckermans at 9 is among a plethora of a cappella bands singing with regularity on the Seacoast. There’s Exeter-based 12-woman group Mamapella, as well as six-woman group The 6 Pitches. The University of New Hampshire is home to all-male group Not Too Sharp, all-female group the New Hampshire Notables, and co-ed group Alabaster Blue. Then there’s the larger all-male chorus the Seacoast Vocal Union, as well as all-female chorus Sounds of the Seacoast, both of whom have concerts coming up.

The Seacoast Vocal Union, formerly known as the Yankee Clipper Chorus, will perform at a Spring Serenade Supper at First Congregational Church in Kittery, Maine, on Saturday, March 20. The evening will feature a Celtic-themed meal and, in all likelihood, a group sing-along.

Started more than 30 years ago, the Seacoast Vocal Union is a local chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, the largest all-male singing organization in the world. The four-part chorus sings in the barbershop style. Anyone is welcome to show up at their Tuesday night rehearsals at the Kittery Estates and audition for the group.

“Our material is written to be singable by the average singer,” said tenor Ted Blank. “A man who enjoys singing and can make his way through ‘Do-Re-Mi’ will find a good home with us.”

The group’s four parts include the leads, who sing the melodies; the tenors, who sing the highest part; the basses, who sing the lowest part; and the baritones, who fill in notes and give the sound its richness.

“Our repertoire includes popular songs from modern day, all the way back to Tin Pan Alley days,” Blank said. “We enjoy singing songs the people recognize and can tap their foot along with.”

Sounds of the Seacoast, which will perform an annual concert at Bethany Church in Greenland on May 22, is another four-part chorus that sings in the barbershop style.

“It really is a specialized style,” said director Wendy McCoole. “The thing that really makes it unique and inspiring is the ability to really lock and ring chords—the kind of singing that just makes your hair stand up.”

Now in its 30th year, the all-female group has about 45 members. It’s a branch of Harmony Inc., an international organization of female barbershop singers. They participate in two annual competitions through Harmony Inc.
Like the Seacoast Vocal Union, Sounds of the Seacoast supplements its singing with some choreographed dancing.

“During our performances we dance, we don’t just stand there and sing,” McCoole said. “We’re not just signing a song beginning to end; we’re telling stories.”

The group holds rehearsals every Monday night at Holy Trilogy Lutheran Church in Newington, and women of all ages are encouraged to audition. Women do not need to be proficient singers, as long as they can hold a tune.

McCoole has been director of Sounds of the Seacoast for six years now. Originally called The Harbor Belles, the group was founded by her father, Jim Dodge, who is also a past director of the Yankee Clipper Chorus. “It’s sort of neat that it’s come full circle with me being the director,” McCoole said.

A former guitarist and folk singer, McCoole has been singing in barbershop a cappella groups since she was in her late 20s. She and her sister Debbie also founded New England Voices in Harmony, a woman’s barbershop chorus based in Nashua. She struggles to put the feeling she gets from singing into words.

“For me, it’s just so fulfilling,” she said. “When the music is sung well, with lots of heart and good energy, it’s exciting. It’s exciting for us as singers and it’s exciting for the audience.”

Mark Miller, of Tuckermans at 9, started singing in school choirs in sixth grade and performed in a number of rock bands and classical choruses over the years. His interest in barbershop a cappella swelled when he heard Rockapella, which rose to prominence as house band on the PBS children’s game show “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” He’s also a fan of vocalist extraordinaire Bobby McFerrin.

Miller said singing and harmonizing without instrumental accompaniment can be challenging, but it’s a challenge he welcomes. In addition to singing, he uses vocal percussion techniques to mimic the sound of drums.

“You really have to hold your own. You have to blend with the other people, but you’re also sometimes called on to solo,” Miller said. “It’s the idea of taking songs that we like from whatever era and saying, ‘OK, this song was originally with instruments, let’s see if we can do it without instruments.’”

But perhaps his motivation is simpler than that. “Maybe it’s a way for geeky choir people to be cool,” he said.

Interest in a cappella music appears to be on the rise on the Seacoast. McCoole said Sounds of the Seacoast’s membership is near an all-time high. Sounds of the Seacoast and the Seacoast Vocal Union provide their members with “learning tracks”—CDs that include separate recordings of each part of an a cappella arrangement to help singers learn their specific parts.

“If you have any time in the car during the day and you turn the CD on, you can sing along with just your part,” Blank said.

Both groups also emphasize the storytelling aspect of their performances. In addition to working on things like matching vowel sounds and singing phrases all the way to the end, concentrating on energy and forward motion, the singers discuss the theme, content and characters of each song, McCoole said. 

For the Seacoast Vocal Union, choreographed dancing is a relatively new component, and it’s gotten an enthusiastic response from audiences, according to Blank.

“We have three minutes to bring the audience on a little journey, and we want to do that with as many techniques and as much interest as we can,” he said.

Singing together also builds camaraderie. Tuckermans at 9 came up with their name based on their weekly ritual of throwing back a few beers after each two-hour rehearsal (Tuckerman is a brewing company in Conway).

“We got to the end of two hours, it was 9, the Tuckermans came out of the fridge, and that’s it,” Miller said. 

For McCoole, the connection with her fellow singers runs deeper. Shortly after she became director of Sounds of the Seacoast in October 2003, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Members of the chorus stepped forward to help her in numerous ways, cooking enough food for a Thanksgiving dinner.

“We really look out for each other,” McCoole said. “We’re a chorus and a sisterhood and a family.”

The Spring Serenade Supper, featuring the Seacoast Vocal Union, begins at 6 p.m. on March 20 at First Congregational Church, 23 Pepperrell Road, Kittery, Maine, 207-439-0650. Tickets are $15; reservations are required. 

Tuckermans at 9 will take the stage at 8 p.m. on March 27 at The Portsmouth Pearl, 45 Pearl St., Portsmouth, 603-431-0148. Tickets are $15. Their April 3 show begins at 8 p.m. at The Garrison Players, corner of Route 4 and Roberts Road, Rollinsford. Tickets are $15, or $10 for youths under 18.

Sounds of the Seacoast will perform their annual show on May 22 at Bethany Church, 500 Breakfast Hill Road, Greenland, 603-431-3646. Details TBA.