Imagine singing your favorite song on a big stage in front of a full house. Sounds pretty scary, right? Well, now take away all the instruments to that song. You’ll have to depend on your own voice to create those sounds. And, yes, that includes percussion.

Singing since 1997, TakeNote has made its mark as the only all-female a cappella group on campus.

“I love that TakeNote is a cappella so that it can showcase the singers’ individual talents,” said Paige MaGill, a fan of TakeNote and a junior biological sciences major. “It’s amazing to hear songs that you’re familiar with without the instruments.”

While a cappella is the blending of voices without accompanying instruments, this form of music is not choir and the two shouldn’t be compared.

“In a big choral group, your individual voice may not be heard as much and it might be easier to blend with so many people,” explained Laney Preston, the former music director of TakeNote and a senior psychology major.

“Since there are not as many people, each voice section tries to create a cohesive sound, so they sound like one voice,” Preston said. “Blending is very important in a cappella.”

MaGill recalled one of her favorite a cappella performances from a TakeNote show last semester being an arrangement of popular pop song “Cuz I Love You” by Lizzo.

“The last show I went to was amazing,” continued MaGill. “Each time they get better and better.”

The group is comprised of about 12-16 women, who all are also a part of one of Clemson’s main choirs including Cantorei, CU Singers or Women’s Choir. TakeNote is classified as a pop a cappella group, but they cover a variety of genres and song types including country, up-beat pop, soft ballads and throwbacks from the 2000s.

“We try to cover a wide variety of things because our audience is going to love all different music,” said Alex McNair, TakeNote’s president and a second-year graduate student in nutrition. “We try to keep open a category that kind of attends to everyone’s preferences.”

McNair described one of her favorite performances with the group being a fun arrangement of one of Carrie Underwood’s top hits, “Cowboy Casanova.” In addition to being a soloist for this song, she also got to rock some cowboy boots and a white cowboy hat on stage for the show.

The group also gave a very emotional performance of Dolly Parton’s “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” during a vigil for sexual assault awareness last semester where the group joined hands and projected their powerful voices throughout the Amphitheater in front of the Clemson University Cooper Library.

“For each of these events there’s obviously different themes,” McNair said. “So, we kind of pick what we sing based off of that.”

In addition to the vigil, the group performed for Clemson Miracle towards the beginning of the year and at a Clemson donor’s event. TakeNote also joined TigerRoar, Clemson’s all-male a cappella group, in singing “Happy Birthday” to Clemson University President, Jim Clements last spring.

TakeNote arranges its music for these events with the assistance of David Conley, the lecturer and instructor of TigerRoar and TakeNote.

“As the music director, I collaborate a lot with David Conley to give tips throughout rehearsals and to make any stylistic changes, or to emphasize certain parts of songs,” said Preston, the former music director.

The arrangement process usually begins with studying the bass line and understanding the general chord progression of a song. The group may adjust syllables and sounds when they sing to imitate the sounds the instruments make.

“We try to make each arrangement fit the overall style of the original song, with rock-and-roll styles using more real words and older doo-wap styles using more plain syllables,” Preston added.

Many members of the group emphasized that one of their favorite arrangements was a collaborative performance of “Somebody to Love” by Queen, performed alongside TigerRoar at their last spring show in Clemson’s Brooks Center of Performing Arts.

“It is just incomparable to anything when both our groups are up there singing together. It’s indescribable,” said Anvita Pudipeddi, the former marketing director of TakeNote and a junior microbiology major. “You get so happy that your chest gets tight, and you can’t breathe.”

For almost 26 years the group has accumulated a wide variety of song arrangements and performances that have led them to where they are today.

“I think this is about the highest level of pure just vocal talent that I’ve ever seen in terms of their raw vocal skills,” Conley said.

He co-founded the group with Daniel Rash, the previous choral director at Clemson University. In the beginning, the group had its weaknesses, Conley explained. But now it’s in one of the best places it has ever been, according to him and alumni who are former members.

TakeNote went from what Conley described as “creepy and crazy arrangements that were kind of dark” to what Clemson alumna and former member Camryn Gardner called “an amazing place.”

The group has performed covers for a variety of popular songs including “Dangerous Woman” by Ariana Grande, “Stay” by Rihanna and “Bust Your Windows” by Jazmine Sullivan. They’ve also created arrangements for some classic hits like “Crazy” by Patsy Cline.

Many of the young women in the group emphasize that much of TakeNote’s success and growth wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for their connection, as well as their unique backgrounds and overall passion for music.

“Whatever connection you have is going to influence the type of performance you have,” said McNair. “When you hang out outside of class and create these special bonds, you just tend to bounce off of each other for performances easily and it really shows for us.”

TakeNote continues to show that a cappella is more than just the blending of powerful voices, but also the combining of powerful friendships that will last a lifetime.

For those interested in being a part of TakeNote and taking on their iconic purple blazer, look out for audition dates towards the beginning of each semester.

To learn more about upcoming shows, follow TakeNote on Instagram @clemsontakenote. More information is also available through their website about applications and booking the group for future gigs.