Editing Sign singing (section)

{{refimprove|date=December 2009}}
[[File:Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - Makaton Sign Language.webm|thumb|''[[Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star]]'' sign sung in [[Makaton]]]]
[[File:FROLO - La petite Clémence (Officiel).webm|thumb|[[Music video]] for French-language song ''La petite Clémence'' featuring [[French Sign Language|French-Sign-Language]] singing]]

'''Sign singing''' or '''Karaoke signing''' is [[singing]] using [[sign language]]. 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.<ref name="Stokoe Sign Language Structure">{{cite journal |last1=Stokoe |first1=W. C. |title=Sign Language Structure: An Outline of the Visual Communication Systems of the American Deaf |journal=Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education |date=Winter 2005 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=3–37 |doi=10.1093/deafed/eni001 }}</ref><ref name="Bogliotti Isel Manual and Spoken Cues">{{cite journal |last1=Bogliotti |first1=Caroline |last2=Isel |first2=Frederic |title=Manual and Spoken Cues in French Sign Language's Lexical Access: Evidence From Mouthing in a Sign-Picture Priming Paradigm |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |date=25 May 2021 |volume=12 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.655168 |doi-access=free |pmid=34113290 |pmc=8185165 }}</ref>

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.<ref name="Stokoe Sign Language Structure"/><ref name="Bogliotti Isel Manual and Spoken Cues"/>

Well-known sign singers include the Japanese [[Tomoko Nakayama]], a follower of [[Nichiren Buddhism]], and the bawdy Australian duo [[Dislabelled]].{{cn|date=July 2020}} 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. <ref>{{Citation|last=FlatheadedGorilla|title=Napoleon Dynamite - Happy Hands Club [HD]|date=2011-08-02|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5G3XKsq7Ic |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/C5G3XKsq7Ic| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|access-date=2018-09-09}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.handsandvoices.org/articles/SocEmot/V9-4_happyhands.htm|title=Hands & Voices :: Articles|website=www.handsandvoices.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-09-09}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />

A sign language interpretation by the late Kimberly Rae Schaefer during [[Pearl Jam]]'s 2000 tour for "[[Given to Fly]]" garnered public attention for the passionate and emotional signing.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://pearljam.com/acts/news/remembering-kimberly-rae-schaefer|title=Pearl Jam - Remembering Kimberly Rae Schaefer|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref>

The [[God Save the Queen|national anthem]] was sung and signed in [[British Sign Language]] at the [[2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony|Opening Ceremony]] of the [[2012_olympics|2012 Olympics]]
by [[Kaos_Signing_Choir_for_Deaf_and_Hearing_Children|The Kaos Signing Choir for Deaf and Hearing Children]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imaginemedicine.com/the-kaos-signing-choir/4582367588|title=The Kaos Signing Choir - Imagining the Future of Medicine|website=www.imaginemedicine.com|language=en|access-date=2018-09-09}}</ref> 

The 2015 Broadway musical theater production of ''[[Spring Awakening (musical)|Spring Awakening]]'' integrated American sign language within the choreography of dance moves, while also utilizing a mixture of hearing and deaf performers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2015/09/27/songs-meet-sign-language-in-this-broadway-musical/|title=Songs meet sign language in this Broadway musical|date=2015-09-28|work=New York Post|access-date=2018-09-09|language=en-US}}</ref>