So, who sings?

[Melody]

I'll be audition and hopefully joining the Bay Area Showcase Chorus, which is a Sweet Adelines International (women's barbershop) chorus in January. And it had me wondering -- who else here sings?

Mel who'll be singing bass

[songlady]

I am an elementary music teacher, so I sing all day long My emphasis was in voice during undergrad and have a masters of vocal peformance.

[Bad JuJu]

I can sing...if I want to clear a room really fast.

Seriously, I'm in awe of people with good voices. And musical talent is all around me in my family, but skipped my own self entirely. My brother can play anything he puts his hands on (though the violin is just now kicking his a$$), his eldest son plays piano, his youngest son plays cello, my dad even in the depths of Alzheimer's can still play a tune on his harmonica, and my 10-year-old niece toured Italy with her youth choir (from Juneau, AK) this past summer, so she's got the pipes her Aunt JuJu didn't get, apparently.

Good luck with your audition, Melody! (Hey, is that really your name?)

[7rider]

DH sings - kind of a James Taylor-esque style and sound. Works for me!
I only sing in the car. When I'm alone.
My usual request comes as "Hey, why don't you sing "By the Window" and we'll help you out?"
Good luck with the audition!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I sing. I play oldtime music with my DH, mostly fiddle tunes. But I also sing unaccompanied (with no instruments, voice alone) Appalachian ballads from before 1940, some from the 1800's. They are usually very long (8 to 20 verses long or so) and they depict love, mayhem, gallantry, betrayal, stabbing, drowning, poisoning, and lots of other fun things! I can sing about 30 of them by heart. Music is not what i do for a living, but I do perform occasionally in public and at events.

[CyclChyk]

Oh I sing alright - tho most who are within earshot wish I wouldn't.
And no one has ever paid me for it either...........

...am thinking they are trying to tell me something.

[Brandi]

I sing in my car all the time!

[Duck on Wheels]

I sing in the Humanist Society choir here. We sing at alternative ceremonies, like naming days and youth celebrations. The choir is much better than most of us individually (although we do have one good tenor who sings with a band). I got in because we don't have auditions. But we do have seminars once or twice a year, and a good conductor who gives us voice tips, so I'm getting better. Have fun in the choir, Mel. Singing is great stress relief! Oh, and the breathing exercizes might also have some side benefits for biking and such.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

A couple of generations ago, everyone sang- in church, in the shower, singing to babies, while riding in the family car, at local dances, at holiday gatherings or caroling, in school, at sports events or parades, while working....didn't matter whether they "could" sing or not, singing was part of life and EVERYONE did it, whether in or out of tune. It was a joyful part of being part of a community. Too bad we think only "professionals" should sing nowadays. It's a poorer world because of it.
Nowadays we as a society tend to buy or pay for others to provide music. Even when someone actually hires music for an event you'll often just see a "dj" guy with speakers just spinning cds instead of real live musicians.

Be part of the resurgance of real living music for the people!....SING!

[Bad JuJu]

A couple of generations ago, everyone sang- in church, in the shower, singing to babies, while riding in the family car, at local dances, at holiday gatherings or caroling, in school, at sports events or parades, while working....

OK, I may be showing my age here, but my family did that when I was growing up. We had an ancient upright piano, and at every family gathering, everyone would eventually end up hanging around the piano and singing. I'm only in my 50s, and I remember this pretty clearly.

[Trek420]

Knott here, too lazy to switch login from Trek:

I sing 2nd alto. Can't read music unless I'm playing an instrument, so I get parked next to another 2nd alto and told to "sing with her." Works for me!

SKnot has perfect pitch and an amazing voice and musical memory, but refuses to sing in a group. Bummer.

Trek here, I know I know very confusing but now this is actually me, really.

I sang soprano, or maybe I was mezzo soprano in HS choir. Although I no longer play (flute) I had (have still?) perfect pitch, a good ear anyway.

My (and Duck On Wheels also) brother is a gifted musician too, check it out at:

http://whassuppussycat.com/

[Geonz]

I've recently come out as bisectional... found out that there's a second soprano as well as alto tucked into my vocal chords
I have always sung, though I didn't get anything remotely resembling "voice training" until being drafted into a small town church choir (I couldnl't hit the high notes so I dropped a third: I could do harmony, therefore I was good enough). I have a voice that was designed for group singing and I love getting the people around me going.
Had a sparsely attended caroling night tonight; will carol with our community college "class" (about 10 people take it for credit each semester, and about 30-40 more of us take it for fun; no auditions).
We had visitors from an Eastern European country... we attempted a song... and the director was most impressed that the "common folks" were singing; his group was professionally trained, and that's who did the music in their section of the culture.
I enjoy the old ballads, too (Mary Cliff sometimes plays 'em on Saturday nights at www.weta.org ) - and tonight, one of the folks at our little sing was somebody from a local bluegrass band, who wanted my email address Who knows, maybe I"ll be singing more!

[kelownagirl]

Me! I'm not awesome but I'm ok, especially if the song is right for me, and I'm good in a choir (alto preferred). DH sings too and we do some wonderful harmonies together...

[Melody]

You know, it's great hearing that so many of us sing! As Duck says, it's great for breath control. And it's just fun, no matter if you're a professional or an amateur.

I'm really looking forward to the audition. I've sang for most of my life, directed the children's choir at my church back in my college days and nearly (like >< close) became a vocal music major at Baylor University back in Texas, though I also play the violin. My DH did actually study music and is a classically trained tubist and plays various other instruments.

I still laugh when I think about the conversation that I've had with him when I told him I'm singing bass. He went "You're voice isn't that low. " and I went "well, yeah... Bass in women's barbershop is sung an octave higher." The look went away Specifically I'm a contralto.

Mel

[spokewench]

A couple of generations ago, everyone sang- in church, in the shower, singing to babies, while riding in the family car, at local dances, at holiday gatherings or caroling, in school, at sports events or parades, while working....didn't matter whether they "could" sing or not, singing was part of life and EVERYONE did it, whether in or out of tune. It was a joyful part of being part of a community. Too bad we think only "professionals" should sing nowadays. It's a poorer world because of it.
Nowadays we as a society tend to buy or pay for others to provide music. Even when someone actually hires music for an event you'll often just see a "dj" guy with speakers just spinning cds instead of real live musicians.

Be part of the resurgance of real living music for the people!....SING!

I second that Lisa! My husband is a musician on the side - drummer (he has also been know to sign backups too). When he was younger, music was how he made his living. He can be a music snob! I hate that.

Last semester, he took a community college jazz performance course and I think he learned that it is not so bad to help out the young performer to get better. Maybe he is finally learning some patience and humility! The course was definitely good for him.