singing

They disagree about a lot, but these singers figure out how to stay in harmony

6:00am November 18, 2024

Members of the North Fork Community Choir in Paonia, Colo., aim to set aside their opinions on big topics when they sing. When differences arise, they figure out creative solutions to stay in harmony.

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Afghan women sing to protest a law that orders them to keep quiet

7:57am September 12, 2024

A new morality law is full of restrictions. No neckties for men. Photos cannot be reproduced. The harshest rules are for women — who are singing out on social media to protest the ban on singing.

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New research suggests that zebra finches must sing a lot to maintain top-tier singing performances.

These songbirds sing for hours a day to keep their vocal muscles in shape

9:00am December 13, 2023

by Ari Daniel

Zebra finches who did not sing every day quickly lose their vocal prowess, a new study finds. The results could potentially shed light on vocal rehabilitation for humans, too.

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A comic of a man worrying about being infected by someone singing karaoke.

Health & Safety

Coronavirus FAQ: I'm vaccinated. Is it OK to sing into a karaoke mic again?

8:00am October 15, 2021

by Vicky Hallett

During the pandemic, karaoke has been kayoed due to fears of viral spread. If you've got a song in your heart and a vaccine in your arm, is it safe to pick up a karaoke mic in public?

The simplest of sentences requires a complex set of the vocal "gymnastics" of the tongue and throat that relies on timing and gives rise to a sort of music that is human speech.

A Writer Lost His Singing Voice, Then Discovered The 'Gymnastics' Of Speech

7:00pm January 26, 2021

by Dave Davies

New Yorker writer John Colapinto developed a vocal polyp when he began "wailing" with a rock group without proper warmup. His new book explores the human voice's physicality, frailty and feats .

Classical music concert with a sheet music in the foreground

Opinion: COVID-19 Cannot Stop The Hum Of A Church Choir

7:57am August 15, 2020

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon muses about a choir that had to stop singing because of the pandemic...so now they hum.

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Jazz legend Billie Holiday at a recording session in 1957. Holiday's pioneering vocal style played with tempo, phrasing and pitch to stir hearts.

How The Brain Helps You Sing Or Say What You Mean

9:00am July 27, 2018

by Sara Kiley Watson

The richness of human vocal communication turns partly on our ability to control pitch, scientists say. Consider the difference you hear between "Let's eat, Grandma" and "Let's eat Grandma."

Invisibilia: Inspired By 'American Idol,' Somali TV Show Aimed To Change The World

7:20pm March 16, 2018

by Alix Spiegel

Reality TV is popular around the world. It's also roundly mocked as formulaic and contrived. But can that kind of fragile fantasy meaningfully influence the real world?

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A new study finds people all over the world are able to differentiate between lullabies and dance songs from cultures they're unfamiliar with.

Some Types Of Songs Are Universally Identifiable, Study Suggests

5:27pm January 25, 2018

by Rebecca Hersher

To see if music really is a universal language, researchers gave people 14 second samples of songs from around the world and asked them to say what kind of song it is.

Most of the people in a choir at Ryerson University in Toronto have joined a study testing how practicing music might help people with hearing loss handle noisy environments better.

'Like Brain Boot Camp': Using Music To Ease Hearing Loss

3:44pm May 31, 2017

Researchers in Toronto are studying whether singing in a choir and practicing pitch can help hearing-impaired people function better in noisy environments.