singing - Techniques

One of the oldest of human activities, which, in the sense of inflected pitch, may well have preceded speech as a form of human communication. In Western art music, it has usually been allied to words (especially poetry), but this is by no means the case in many ethnic communities, or even in some Western folk traditions (eg Irish keening). The training of choirs was important in the mediaeval and Renaissance church, but it was with the development of opera in the 17th-c that the highly trained solo singer, especially the soprano and the castrato, came into prominence. Singing treatises of the period tend to concern themselves with matters of notation and vocal embellishments, and it was not until the 19th-c that teachers began to set down methods of voice production. The 20th-c witnessed a reaction against a too scientific and ‘cultured’ approach to vocal training, and a return to more natural methods of voice production.

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with speech.

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 and yodeling.

Nearly anyone who can speak can sing, since in many respects singing is merely sustained speech. Singing at a high amateur or professional level usually requires a great deal of regular practice, and/or instruction.

According to Alfred Alexander (formally an ENT consultant to the home office), "a singer is a person of adequate musicality, who is gifted with a voice of such power and beauty that competent judges can recommend singing as a career".

Singing is often done in a group, such as a choir, and may be accompanied by musical instruments, a full orchestra, or a band.

Show choir is a combination of singing and dancing. Not only must participants be able to sing well and blend in with a group, but they must be able to dance at the same time.

It is also imperative that singers continuously practice with drills, voice exercises and strengthening activities.

Techniques

The human voice is usually considered to have at least three voice registers; (The whistle register, comprising the highest notes that a human voice can reach, is also often considered a "full" register, although individuals who are able to use it well are fairly rare.) Some singers choose to remain in a single range (usually the chest register) throughout a piece, but many will switch between these different ranges in order to produce a wide range of pitches, or even simply for effect.

Vibrato is a technique used by singers (and many instrumentalists, for instance, string instruments that are played with a bow can produce vibrato tones) in which a sustained note actually wavers very quickly and consistently between a very slightly higher and a lower tone, giving the note a slight quaver.

Singers use vibrato as a means of expression.

Melisma occurs when a singer switches pitch while singing the same syllable.