I love singing, it makes me feel great and picks me up if I'm low. When we sing, we shift focus and thinking away from our usual life happenings and concerns, towards something 'other-worldly'. There are so many great things singing does for us -
-Singing brings people together. People 'feel the love' that singing generates.
-Singing creates positive energy and a happy mood through endorphine release which is infectious and transparently good for everyone.
-Singing is a real natural pain killer.
-Singing is without doubt a wonderful stress management aid.
-Singing helps to calm negative mental 'chatter' - the distracting unhelpful thoughts we can all have at times - because you are focused on the job of singing, and this stops us dwelling on life's issues and problems.
-Singing is utterly absorbing and like physical exercise, singing requires a level of focus and bodily activity that shifts our minds away from our usual patterns of thinking, even away from quite pressurized and stressful attitudes.
-Singing increases the amount of oxygen you take into the body as you take deep breaths. This produces a feeling of alertness as more oxygen gets to the brain.
Learning to sing stretches people, and will naturally and easily move you out of your comfort zone and daily routine, which is great for the feeling of personal achievement and self-esteem.
To enable me to benefit from all of these wonderful things, I sing in my local Rock Choir which not only gives great singing opportunities but also great feeling of community and friendship.
For centuries Humans have appreciated the uplifting effect of group singing. Choral or group singing has some fantastic psychological effects and can be a great source of mental well-being. Some of the greatest connections between singing and happiness are more mental than physical.
Choral singers need to concentrate on their music and technique throughout the singing process, and it's hard to worry about things when you're actively concentrating on something else. Learning is also part of the process - learning new songs, new harmonies and new methods of keeping tempo. Learning has long been known to keep brains active and fend off depression.
The question remains, though - why choral singing specifically? It's because some of the most important ties between singing and happiness are social ones. The support system of being part of a group, and the commitment to that group that gets people out of the house and into the choir every week - these are benefits that are specific to group singing. And they seem to be a big component of why choral singers tend to be happier than the rest of us. The feelings of belonging to a group, of being needed by the other members of that group (‘we can't do this one without our alto!’); go a long way toward combating the loneliness that often comes along with being human in modern times.
