簡單來說，a cappella即"純人聲合唱"，即在演唱時沒有樂器(或由非人聲造出的聲音)參與的音樂，如https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ3VtEDdM5k&ab_channel=TheBuzztones
把a cappella稱作"無伴奏合唱"，也不適合，因絕大部分的a cappella歌曲都是有伴奏的，祇是"人聲伴奏人聲"而已。以本文第一段所引的影片為例，主唱者以外的歌手，唱的就是伴奏 (包含了低音、人聲敲擊及和音等)。不過在港澳地區，"無伴奏合唱"一詞已被廣泛應用，被更正的機會不大。而港澳的a cappella愛好者，亦不習慣使用中國大陸或台灣音譯名"阿卡貝拉"。
上世紀九十年代，美國a cappella歌手、編曲者德克夏倫(Deke Sharon)創辦了美國當代無伴奏合唱社 – The Contemporary A Cappella Society of America，(註二) 因而出現了contemporary a cappella一詞。然而它並無準確定義，夏倫提出的這個名詞，大概是指八十年代起用純人聲演唱的西方流行歌曲，與早一代如doo-wap一類歌曲相對。然而在The Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA)這錄音比賽裡，卻有“理髮店”甚至“古典”等項目。因此廣義點看，祇要是20世紀以後創作或改編的a cappella音樂，風格與傳統或古典合唱有明顯區別者，大概都可稱為contemporary a cappella。(作者: 馮國東)
A cappella means "singing with just the human voice," indicating music performed without any instruments or sounds other than those created by voices. An example can be found in this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ3VtEDdM5k&ab_channel=TheBuzztones
The term "a cappella" originally comes from Italian, meaning "in the style of the church," as much of the church music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance was purely vocal. (Note 1) However, today's a cappella encompasses a diverse array of styles and themes, extending far beyond religious music. Groups like Pentatonix (US )and O-Kai (Taiwan) demonstrate that contemporary a cappella does not directly relate to sacred works by composers like Josquin des Prez and Palestrina. Thus, it is inaccurate to associate a cappella music today exclusively with religious works. Currently, 'a cappella' encompasses a wide variety of pure vocal performances.It's important to clarify that defining a cappella as "unaccompanied group singing" is misleading. Most a cappella pieces do include accompaniment provided by bass singers, background vocalists, and vocal percussionists, all using their voices.In the 1990s, American a cappella enthusiast Deke Sharon established the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA, see Note 2), which led to the term "contemporary a cappella." This term broadly refers to Western pop songs performed solely with human voices since the 1980s, in contrast to earlier styles like doo-wop. However, competitions such as the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) encompass various styles, including barbershop and classical. Therefore, contemporary a cappella can be defined as any a cappella music created or adapted after the 20th century that clearly differs from traditional or classical forms.
