Signing Stars- "Singing" in ASL

         

Signing Stars- "Singing" in ASL

         In this crazy world of colliding views, constant fighting, and partitions in beliefs, there is one 
thing that everyone has accepted- country music is terrible. No? Okay, rap is just babbling and 
yelling. No? Pop is like nails on a chalkboard. Still not everyone agrees?!  Fine, we all have different 
views on music, but one thing is for sure- it is only for those that can hear it, right? Nope! Even the 
deaf community loves music! Roots of music in sign language date back to basically the beginning of 
the language. Just like for the hearing community, music is incredibly influential and inspirational for the deaf community. In recent years, mainly thanks to YouTube, signed music has grown more and more popular. Signing stars are continuously emerging, creating an entire community for not only signers, but viewers as well.

            Signed music is different from English in more ways than the obvious. There are two forms of signed music. The first is translation. This is when a signer translates the English lyrics to ASL (American Sign Language). According to an article in The Oxford Handbook of Music and Disability Studies, there is more to translating music than just than just signing the words. The signer must create emotion in the signs by putting an emphasis on certain signs, using facial gestures, and slightly mixing up the lyrics for a more comprehensive translation, due to the fact that ASL does not directly translate. In a video by Stephen Torrence , he not only signs the song Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus, but he also provides what he is saying in ASL under the lyrics in English to show the differences in the languages. Another way of signing music is what is called “percussion signing.” This includes songs, chants, etc. that were originally created in sign language. 

Interpreter Barbie Parker at Lollapalooza Day One in Chicago, Illinois

           Translation signing is what has really blown up lately though. Though there are plenty of videos of serious translation, the humorous translations are what took the internet by storm. In a video by Keith Wann, he comically describes the difficulties of signing rap in a rendition of ICE ICE Baby. Both Stephen and Kieth, along with a few others, were mentioned in a New York Times article about signed singing. At the time the article was written, Stephen's rendition had 2 million views. A few years later and the video has over 3.1 million views! This, of course, cannot be credited fully to the NYT, but it is safe to say that the exposure to the masses helped. Videos of interpreters at music festivals and concerts, such as Lollapalooza, have also brought attention to signed music. In February 2018, the spotlight will be on  the deaf community more than ever. According to an article from fox2detroit.com, deaf performer Kriston Lee Humphrey will sign the National Anthem at this year's Super Bowl while country superstar Luke Bryan sings. 

           Signed music is a great way of connecting people of two different communities. Chance the Rapper is doing his best to seamlessly integrate both communities during his shows. An article on Hiphopdx.com explains that the 24 year old has created a team called DEAFinitly Dope that is composed of ASL interpreters that he will bring on tour. They will sign all of his songs alongside him for the entire tour. Chance is also putting members of the deaf community in the front row to enhance their experience as much as he can. In addition to providing interpreters for his deaf fans, Chance has also posted videos of him learning to sign his song as well. 

        Signed music is not something new to the deaf community, but for many hearing people, they are only just discovering the art that is singing without making a sound.  A YouTube trends manager explains that "40 percent of all videos tagged 'sign language' on YouTube were posted in just the past year." Though signed music is getting attention in pop culture, it is still severely lacking in academic writing. There are very few sources of academic writing on the topic, but hopefully within the next few years as the art continues to become more popular, there will be more scholarly articles on it.