Singing Uses the Same Instrument as Speaking
Singing is producing musical sounds with the voice. It uses the same vocal folds as speech, controlled differently.
Singing is making musical sounds with the voice. The physical machinery is the same as for speech: air from the lungs sets the vocal folds vibrating and the throat, mouth and nose shape the sound. Singing simply controls pitch, breath and resonance far more precisely, which is why it can be trained.
- Producing musical vocal sound. *Choral singing.*
- A style of it. *Her singing is unmistakable.*
- Informing on someone (slang). *The suspect was singing.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | singing | Group singing. |
| Verb | sing | Sing the second verse. |
| Past | sang | She sang beautifully. |
| Participle | sung | It has been sung. |
| Person | singer | A trained singer. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The singing carried across the square.Uncountable.
- She sang, then she had sung enough.Sang is the past, sung the participle.
- They were singing from the same hymn sheet.Meaning in agreement.
Voice types
- Soprano — the highest female voice
- Mezzo-soprano — between soprano and contralto
- Contralto — the lowest female voice
- Tenor — the high male voice
- Baritone and bass — the middle and lowest male voices
From Old English *singan*, one of the language's oldest strong verbs, related to German *singen*. Its vowel pattern — sing, sang, sung — has survived unchanged for over a thousand years.
Sang or sung?
She sang yesterday; it has been sung many times. Sang is the simple past, sung follows have or was.
Can anyone learn to sing?
Most people can improve substantially with training. True tone deafness, amusia, affects only a small percentage.