www.chordials.com
What are you really going to remember when you graduate from Cornell? Are you going to wistfully long for those days when you crammed Orgo reactions into your head? Or will you dream about the time you pulled an all-nighter writing a paper for that damned Government professor? If you step back and put some perspective on things, you’ll realize that what you’ll remember about this place are your friends, the experiences you’ve shared, and the places you met them. A place in which I have met a unique set of friends is in my co-ed a-cappella group, The Chordials. (We’re the people who draw all the pretty martini glasses on campus in chalk.)
The Chordials are a unique community of singers with backgrounds as diverse as the group’s musical repertoire. We sing music from an array of genres including Rock, R&B, and spiritual music – essentially, we do not hold back when it comes to experimentation. Based on Haythornwaite’s SNA attributes, The Chordials are a group of singers that interact with other a-cappella groups on campus. We’ve had archsings and concerts with many of Cornell’s a-cappella groups including Last Call, The Hangovers, After Eight, and probably any other on campus group you can think of. The Chordials also interact with people and organizations that are looking for musicians to perform at special events, i.e. alumni associations and fraternities, as well as with the people who show up to our concerts and archsings (we could not exist without the support of our fans!).
One of the salient factors of a-cappella, I’ve found, is the support to which we give other groups. For instance, if the members of Last Call were to attend a Chordials concert (this Fall, we are featuring Crunkapella III on Nov. 16), then The Chordials will whole-heartedly support the Call Boys by attending their concert, “Save the Clocktower, Save the World”. Supporting other groups with similar interests fosters goodwill in the a-cappella community. Attending social events with other a-cappella groups is not only a form of socializing, but is also a form of networking and support. The Chordials’ attendance at The Hangovers’ afterparty for their Fall Tonic concert is an example of this.
According to Haythornwaite, an important feature of communities is social capital. As I mentioned above, The Chordials’ social network includes the a-cappella community on campus, but its strongest form of social network is within itself. The number of active members changes every year as seniors graduate and freshmen are inducted into the group, but the people stay at an intimate number of about 14. We form close relationships with each other because of frequent rehearsals (7 hours a week) and gigs on campus and around the country. The strength of this social network is due to our common ground for our love of singing – our members call anywhere from
http://cornell.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=33071835&op=4&o=all&view=all&subj=411052&id=424499
http://cornell.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=33071836&id=424499&op=4&view=all&subj=411052&prev
Reciprocity is also an integral part of this community. The Chordials is a student-founded, student-run group, with a faculty advisor that I’ve only seen once in my ~3 years of membership. Attending rehearsals and contributing one’s voice, efforts, and ideas to the group brings many returns for the individual and the group as a whole.
While these in-person rehearsals and gigs are the crux of the group’s existence, CMC plays an enormous role in the group. The Chordials’ secretary sends out each rehearsal’s minutes over the listserv, along with quips and quotes from our quirky Chordial of the day. This listserv is also used to organize meeting times for traveling, as well as to send pertinent YouTube videos to each other about Shoes or Charlie the Horse (it basically acts as another avenue for socialization). The first link I provided above is also to our homepage, where we provide fans with more information about group performances, CD sales, and individual members. Our online presence is also expanded by our Facebook group and MySpace homepage, which help to get our name out to the public.
The Chordials are a small community of musicians with a-cappella running through our veins. Haythornwaite’s SNA features and social capital give evidence for the cohesiveness of our group. While in-person interaction is important in hearing our music, CMC plays a vital role in communication and in-group socialization. But above all, more importantly than Haythornwaite’s or Etzioni’s analyses, remember that the Chords keep it crunk.
Kris's comments:
http://comm245blue.blogspot.com/2007/10/72-web-personality-sleuth.html#links
http://comm245blue.blogspot.com/2007/10/7-better-chance-social-network-analysis.html#links
4 comments:
Dear Kristina,
I found your post to be extremely engaging. I don't know anyone who is a member of one of the a-cappella groups on campus. Thus, your post provided me with a lot of insight into a community that has such a strong presence on Cornell's campus.
Reflecting on your mention of the amount of CMC that goes on among fellow Chordials members, I think that you are correct in your analysis of the ideas presented in Haythornwaite's article. I have seen the website and numerous Facebook groups inspired by a-cappella groups. In each respective online community, it was apparent that such mediums had a dual role. On one hand they helped to advertise for upcoming performances. On the other hand, they also served as a medium for fans and members to communicate. I remember often reading long strings of inside jokes and such.
The one thing that I wanted a little more clarification on was how the concept of reciprocity is applicable. You mention the term kinda of haphazardly and I think I missed the connection you were trying to draw.
I have several questions raised from this post that I think would be interesting to explore:
How connected are the chordials to previou ones (i.e. graduated chodials. As a hotelie, I know a very strong network of weak ties found in the community of alumni. How strong/weak is the network for you all?
You do not seem to include this faculty RA as part of the group? Is this an age difference or a lack of enthusiasm on his part? I would argue that he is part of the Social netowrk as a weak outside tie to the entire group. then again, I dunno your group dynamics and am probably completely wrong.
Clearly your group is tight knit. You seem to regard them as a type of family. How would you say weak ties play a role in your group?
Hey Kristina,
First of all, I LOVE watching a capella groups perform and I never miss a concert.
Regarding your post, I liked your comment about how a capella groups support one another by attending each other's performances. I always thought (not sure why) that there would be some kind of rivalry between groups and that one wanted to take all the attention away from the others. You made really good use of theory but I wonder, what kinds of ties link your group to other groups? Are these weak ties (low interaction frequency but high chance of knowing something you don't) or are they stronger?
Overall, great post!
-Bianca
Wow that's great that you are a part of the Chordials, it's always nice to have a talent outside of academics.
As for your post, I have a question:
Do you see the Chordials as their own community or are all of the Cornell a-capella groups on large community?
That portion of your post was somewhat confusing. Some of the SNA attributes were focused on a-cappella groups as a whole and some where focused on the chordials. Overall good topic, it just needs a little more clarification.
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