Editing Song (section)

{{short description|Musical composition for human voice with pitches and melodies}}
{{About|musical composition with vocals|the activity of producing song|Singing|other uses}}
{{technical reasons|Song #|the song by Serebro|Song Number 1|the song by Blur|Song 2|the single by Stone Sour|Song 3||prefix=y}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
[[File:Billie Holiday, Downbeat, New York, N.Y., ca. Feb. 1947 (William P. Gottlieb 04251).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|American jazz singer and songwriter [[Billie Holiday]] in New York City in 1947]]
A '''song''' is a [[musical composition]] performed by the [[human voice]]. The voice often carries the [[melody]] (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a [[Song structure|structure]], such as the common [[ABA form]], and are usually made of sections that are repeated or performed with variation later. A song without [[Musical instrument|instruments]] is said to be [[a cappella]].

Written words created specifically for music, or for which music is specifically created, are called [[lyrics]]. If a pre-existing poem is set to composed music in the classical tradition, it is called an [[art song]]. Songs that are sung on repeated pitches without distinct contours and patterns that rise and fall are called [[chant]]s. Songs composed in a simple style that are learned informally by ear are often referred to as [[folk song]]s. Songs composed for the [[mass market]], designed to be sung by professional singers who sell their recordings or live shows, are called [[popular song]]s. These songs, which have broad appeal, are often composed by professional songwriters, composers, and lyricists; art songs are composed by trained classical composers for concert or recital performances. Songs are performed in [[Music studio|studios]] and an [[Music recording|audio recording]] is made, or they are performed live for audience. (In some cases a song may be performed live and simultaneously recorded.) Songs may also appear in theatre (e.g., [[opera]]), films and TV shows.

A song may be for a solo singer, a lead singer supported by [[background singer]]s, a [[duet]], [[trio (music)|trio]], or larger ensemble involving [[part song|more voices]] singing in [[vocal harmony|harmony]], although the term is generally not used for large classical music vocal forms including opera and [[oratorio]], which use terms such as [[aria]] and [[recitative]] instead.<ref name="Grove">Luise Eitel Peake. 1980. "Song". ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'', sixth edition, 20 vols., edited by Stanley Sadie, Vol. 17: 510–23. London: Macmillan Publishers; New York: Grove's Dictionaries. {{ISBN|1-56159-174-2}}.</ref> A song can be sung without accompaniment by instrumentalists ([[a cappella]]) or accompanied by instruments. In popular music, a singer may perform with an acoustic guitarist, pianist, organist, accordionist, or a [[backing band]]. In jazz, a singer may perform with a single pianist, a small combo (such as a trio or quartet), or with a [[big band]]. A Classical singer may perform with a single pianist, a small ensemble, or an orchestra. In jazz and blues, singers often learn songs by ear and they may improvise some melody lines. In Classical music, melodies are written by composers in sheet music format, so singers learn to read music.

Songs with more than one voice to a part singing in [[polyphony]] or [[harmony vocals|harmony]] are considered [[choir|choral]] works. Songs can be broadly divided into many different forms and types, depending on the criteria used. Through [[Semantic change|semantic widening]], a [[Word sense|broader sense]] of the word "song" may refer to [[instrumental]]s, such as the 19th century ''[[Songs Without Words]]'' pieces for solo piano.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/rlyrs-actual-existence-album-stream/ |publisher=Vice |title=RLYR's 'Actual Existence' Is 40 Minutes of Beautiful Chaos|last1=Ozzi|first1=Dan |date=2018-04-11|website=Noisey|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.treblezine.com/el-ten-eleven-bankers-hill-review|title=El Ten Eleven : Banker's Hill Eleven|last=Lewis |first=William |date=2018-08-08|website=treble|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-26 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509154444/https://www.treblezine.com/el-ten-eleven-bankers-hill-review/ |archive-date= May 9, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tokafi.com/15questions/interview-jasper-tx/ |first1=Tobias |last1=Fischer |title=Interview with Jasper TX {{!}} Sweden Experimental interviews|website= tokafi.com|access-date=2019-01-26}}</ref>