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'''Singing''' is the act of producing musical
sounds with the
voice. Air is expelled with the
diaphragm as with ordinary
breathing, and the
pitch is altered with the
vocal cords. With the lips closed, this is called
humming. A piece of
music that is sung is called a
song; someone who sings is called a
singer.
Most singing involves shaping the voice to form
words, but types of
voice instrumental music which use open sounds or nonsense
syllables ("vocables") also exist, for instance
scat singing or
yodeling. ''
Solfege'' assigns certain syllables to
notes in the
scale.
Singing can be heard in many different places, since anyone who can speak can sing. It can be informal and just for pleasure (for example in the shower), or very formal, such as singing done professionally in a
performance or in a
recording studio.
Singing is often done in a group, such as a
choir, and may be accompanied by
musical instruments, a full
orchestra, or a band.
Singing with no instrumental accompaniment is called ''
a cappella''. However, the ''
Choral Journal'' and other vocal-related publications actively discouage the use of this term and prefer the word "unaccompanied". Nonetheless, the term is in common use in popular music for groups such as the
Swingle Singers,
Chapter 6 and
The Bobs.
Barbershop quartets are usually unaccompanied, but are rarely called ''a cappella''.
Show choir is a combination of singing and dancing. Many schools and colleges offer show choir groups for students to participate in. Not only must participants be able to sing well and blend with a group, but they must be able to dance at the same time. This requires endurance, flexibility, and strong vocals, which can all be acquired through practice.
In
hardcore punk, hoarse shouting takes the place of singing, while in
emo, some bands scream rather than sing. In heavy metal, particularly the sub-genres of
death metal and
black metal unhumanly low growls are favored over standard singing. These styles of singing tend to make the lyrics unintelligible.
In our enlightened times, singing is by many considered to be a learnt skill. In recent years many adults who were formerly said to be unable to sing have acquired the ability while attending courses (Singing for the Tone Deaf, Can't Sing Choirs and similar).
== Related article ==
*
Voice registers
----
"Sing" is the title of a track from
Slowdive's
1994 album ''
Souvlaki''.
