also: しょうが
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb
Refers to singing or to a song, often with a school, simple-song, or somewhat old-fashioned flavor compared with everyday 歌 or 歌う. As 唱歌する, it means to sing, but it sounds more formal or dated than 歌う.
教室から子どもたちの唱歌が聞こえた。
The children's singing could be heard from the classroom.
母は
My mother hummed an old familiar song.
式の最後に全員で唱歌した。
At the end of the ceremony, everyone sang together.
noun
prewar school music class; school music-class song
Obsolete historical school term, especially for music instruction or songs used in music classes at pre-WWII schools.
戦前の学校では、音楽の授業を「唱歌」と呼ぶことがあった。
In prewar schools, music class was sometimes called shōka.
祖父の古い通知表には、科目名として「唱歌」と書かれている。
On my grandfather's old report card, shōka is written as the name of a subject.