Last week I wrote about the fascinating phenomenon of the
synchronous heartbeats of singers in a choir.
It seems that the controlled breathing practiced by singers affects the
body, and the emotions, in various ways.
It’s rather like yoga in that respect.
Now and then my singers send me articles on the benefits of singing, and
I’ve saved them over time. Here are a
few more healthful benefits gleaned from those articles.
A joint 2008 study by Harvard and Yale found that a
particular Connecticut town had a higher-than-average life expectancy. It turns out that an unusually large percent
of the town’s population sang in choirs and they were the ones with the extended
life expectancy, thereby upping the average of the entire town! Due to happiness, no doubt!
The Psychology of
Music journal carried out an interesting experiment with 70 college
students. Half of the group attended a weekly,
one-hour choir rehearsal, and the other half spent the same hour doing whatever
they wanted. Eight weeks later, when the
two groups were tested for stress levels, it seems that the choral singers
showed “a significant impact on decreasing the
negative affect and state anxiety levels of the singers.” In other words, the choral singers had reduced
anxiety levels and elevated moods!
The London Telegraph reported on a 2012 study at Cardiff
University that found that cancer patients who sing in a choir have better
breath capacity, which benefits their treatment and recovery.
And related to breath, patients who suffer from chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD (which includes emphysema, chronic
bronchitis, and other lung conditions), benefit from music therapy, which
includes group singing. One patient (who
actually made her way to a therapy session through a snowy November afternoon to
New York’s Beth Israel Center, pulling her oxygen tank behind her) said, “I
wish it were more than once a week. It
makes you feel good and it expands your chest.”
And finally, one last story, from a piece I saw on PBS’s
News Hour in 2010. It made such an
impression on me that I’ve never forgotten it, and I tracked it down for this
blog. It tells the story of two dancers
from the Mark Morris Dance Company who have created dance classes for Parkinson’s
patients, and the amazing outcome those dance classes have on the patients; and
on the teachers as well, one of whom has left his professional dance career to
devote full time to this endeavor. Although
it’s really about dance and only indirectly about music, the effect of music
and dance together on the patients is riveting.
It’s just under 7 ½ minutes long, and it’s deeply moving. Watch it if you possibly can.
Health isn’t the only reason to sing—or dance. I know I, and the MCE singers, do it for
enjoyment, and for the love of it.
Dr. Linda Gingrich
Artistic director and conductor
Master Chorus Eastside
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