Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of tonality, rhythm, the use of sustained tones 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 without accompaniment or with accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in a group of other musicians, such as in a choir of singers with different voice ranges, or in an ensemble with instrumentalists, such as a rock group or baroque ensemble. Singers may also perform as soloist with accompaniment from a piano (as in art song and in some jazz styles) or with a symphony orchestra or big band. There are a range of different singing styles, including art music styles 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 for 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.

Singers (album)

Singers (styled SINGERS) is an album by Phil Elverum. The album is often credited to Elverum's musical project Mount Eerie (and includes several songs which re-appear on other Mount Eerie releases), although the sleevenotes offer the following declaration: THIS NEW BAND CALLED "SINGERS" IS BORN. THIS IS THE FIRST ALBUM BY SINGERS. The album was pressed on white vinyl and is now out-of-print.

Track listing

All songs by Phil Elverum.

Recording

The album features songs written by Elverum and performed with a large group of singers (in some cases more than fifty individuals), often recorded during sessions for other projects at Dub Narcotic Studio in Olympia, WA. Performers on the album include Jason Anderson, Zac Pennington, Anna Oxygen, Geneviève Castrée, Adam Forkner, Kyle Field, Calvin Johnson, Adrian Orange, Khaela Maricich, Dennis Driscoll and Mirah.