Sign singing or Karaoke signing is

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung accompaniment, wi ...

using

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...

. Typically a song is played, and the performer expressively performs a sign language version of the lyrics. Whereas vocal singing uses pitch and tone to convey expressions, sign singing relies on the performer's hands, body, and facial expressions. Choirs can perform sign singing and have gathered popularity in recent years as accessibility for the Deaf community and interest in signing languages have risen. Competitions in which sign choirs can compete include the National Signing Choir Competition in the UK. Well-known sign singers include the Japanese Tomoko Nakayama, a follower of

Nichiren Buddhism Nichiren Buddhism ( ja, 日蓮仏教), also known as Hokkeshū ( ja, 法華宗, meaning ''Lotus Sect'') is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one o ...

, and the bawdy Australian duo Dislabelled. In London in 2003, a series of "Deaf Idol" events were held where deaf participants competed in karaoke singing, dance etc., in a similar format to the TV show Pop Idol. Sign language can be used to express extremely nuanced feeling, and so sign singing is an important creative input for the deaf. Sign singing is featured in the movie '' Napoleon Dynamite'' during a scene when two members of the "happy hands club" perform a song titled "The Rose" written by Bette Midler, entirely in sign. The signing club depicted in the film was largely inspired by a sign singing club that was previously established at Preston High School (Idaho), where the movie was filmed. The film brought wider attention to the club, originally called the "Good hands club," which was founded by educator Dan Robertson, who conceived the idea for the group while studying ASL at Brigham Young University. In 2013 the troupe performed on stages at Disneyland, in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and flew to Orlando for the convention of a large corporation. A sign language interpretation by the late Kimberly Rae Schaefer during

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, ...

's 2000 tour for " Given to Fly" garnered public attention for the passionate and emotional signing. The

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europe ...

was sung and signed in

British Sign Language British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom (UK), and is the first or preferred language among the Deaf community in the UK. Based on the percentage of people who reported 'using British Sign Language at home' o ...

at the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympics by The Kaos Signing Choir for Deaf and Hearing Children. The 2015 Broadway musical theater production of '' Spring Awakening'' integrated American sign language within the choreography of dance moves, while also utilizing a mixture of hearing and deaf performers.

References

Singing Sign systems Deaf culture {{sign-lang-stub

See also

References