Admitting you're a singer

[Thumpalumpacus]

Inspired by Vulcanlogician's thread.

We all do it, even if not all of us will admit it.

We know we're all singers, religious folk and atheists alike.

So, where do you do it?  How well do you do it?  How loudly do you do it?

Do you sing to delight or annoy people around you?

I sing around the house, both playing my guitar and a capella if I've got something moving in my head. I'll sing onstage, too. I'm not very good. I have a limited range and with unfamiliar material my pitch can get wobbly. (Of course, singing onstage, I've got the material wired, or else I won't perform it.) I've got a tenor ranging into baritone voice, but can occasionally grab higher notes in the right key.

If I'm singing while puttering around the house, it's soft. If I'm singing while practicing guitar, it's loud enough to work with my guitar's volume (unless I'm playing along with a cranked CD, at which point -- without a PA -- I'm singing my ass off). Onstage, again it's measured against the band's volume and our PA setup, but at that point I'm gut-singing and can push out some decibels on my own anyway.

Seems like mostly it annoys people, unless I'm onstage -- again, being utterly familiar with all the nuances helps, and also, in bars, most listeners are lubed-up enough that they aren't going Simon Cowell on me. There have been moments where I could tell my singing has really gripped an audience, but those moments are few and far-between ... they're memorable for a reason.