Singing
What is singing?
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of sustained tonality, rhythm, and a variety of vocal techniques. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in an ensemble of musicians, such as a choir of singers or a band of instrumentalists. Singers may perform as soloists, or accompanied by anything from a single instrument (as in art song or some jazz styles) up to a symphony orchestra or big band. Different singing styles include art music such as opera and Chinese opera, religious music styles such as gospel, traditional music styles, world music, jazz, blues and popular music styles such as pop and rock.Singing can be formal or informal, arranged or improvised. It may be done as a form of religious devotion, as a hobby, as a source of pleasure, comfort, or ritual, as part of music education, or as a profession. Excellence in singing requires time, dedication, instruction, and regular practice. If practice is done on a regular basis then the sounds can become more clear and strong. Professional singers usually build their careers around one specific musical genre, such as classical or rock, although there are singers with crossover success (singing in more than one genre). They typically take voice training provided by voice teachers or vocal coaches throughout their careers.
What is Vocal music?
Vocal music is music performed by one or more singers, which are typically called songs, and which may be performed with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Vocal music is probably the oldest form of music, since it does not require any instrument or equipment besides the voice. All musical cultures have some form of vocal music and there are many long standing singing traditions throughout the world's cultures.
Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered as instrumental music. For example, some blues rock songs may have a short, simple call-and-response chorus, but the emphasis in the song is on the instrumental melodies and improvisation. Vocal music typically features sung words called lyrics, although there are notable examples of vocal music that are performed using non-linguistic syllables or noises, sometimes as musical onomatopoeia. A short piece of vocal music with lyrics is broadly termed a song, although in classical music, terms such as aria are typically used.
What are singing competitions?
In recent years, the talent of singing has become competitive. Currently, there are several television shows that showcase these talents. Indian Idol was one of the prominent of these shows. Contestants audition in front of a panel of judges to see if they can move on to the next round, from then, the competition begins. The field of contestants is narrowed down week by week until a winner is chosen. In order to move on to the next round, the contestants fate is determined by public vote. Bharat Ki Shaan is another well known singing competition program. Similar to Indian Idol, the contestants audition in front of a panel of judges, however, the judges chairs are faced towards the audience during the performance. If the coaches are interested in the artist, they will press their button signifying they want to coach them. Once the auditions conclude, coaches have their team of artists and the competition begins. Coaches then mentor their artists and they compete to find the best singer. Other well known singing competitions include Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs, India's Got Talent, Music Ka Maha Muqqabla, and Chhote Ustaad.
What are the health benefits of singing?
Scientific studies suggest that singing can have positive effects on people's health. A preliminary study based on self-reported data from a survey of students participating in choral singing found perceived benefits including increased lung capacity, improved mood, stress reduction, as well as perceived social and spiritual benefits. However, one much older study of lung capacity compared those with professional vocal training to those without, and failed to back up the claims of increased lung capacity. Singing may positively influence the immune system through the reduction of stress. One study found that both singing and listening to choral music reduces the level of stress hormones and increases immune function. A multinational collaboration to study the connection between singing and health was established in 2009, called Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing (AIRS). Singing provides physical, cognitive, and emotional benefits to participants. When they step on stage, many singers forget their worries and focus solely on the song. Singing is becoming a more widely known method of increasing an individual’s overall health and wellness, in turn helping them to battle diseases such as cancer more effectively due to decreased stress, releasing of endorphin's, and increased lung capacity.