There is a proverb from Zimbabwe that states, “If you can walk, you can dance…If you can talk, you can sing.”
Not only is singing good for the soul but there is a growing body of clinical evidence that indicates that singing, with its emphasis on deep breathing and good posture, can help heal the body – from helping patients with Parkinson’s to strengthening their throat muscles, alleviate physical stiffness and improve motor function; to stroke patients using melodies to facilitate their speech recovery. Oliver Sacks (well-known neurologist and author of many books, including Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain) states that “music is not only of one of the fundamental ways we bond with each other but it literally shapes our brains. This is because musical activity involves many parts of the brain (emotional, motor and cognitive areas) even more that we use for our other great human achievement,language.”
There is so much evidence now showing the physical, neurological and psychological benefits of singing in a choir. Not singing in the shower on your own (although that is also wonderful!) but singing in the joyful company of others.
To cite a few more benefits: Singing in a choir boosts your mental health; choir members who sing together have synchronized heartbeats; singing is as beneficial to your health as yoga.
We all know that singing together feels good and now “Group singing has been scientifically proven to lower stress, relieve anxiety and elevate endorphins.” (Stacy Horn - Imperfect Harmony: How Singing With Others Changes Your Life) Horn also states that “Group singing is cheaper than therapy, healthier than drinking and certainly more fun that working out!”
Singing is our birthright. “Your voice is unique only to you, and your soul tunes in the moment it hears your vocal frequency.” (YOGA magazine February 2010)
“For most of human history, people sang together. It wasn’t seen as a competition or a contest. It was a joyful communal experience. In the last 500 years we have had concert halls which set up a separation between the performer and the audience that didn’t exist in human history before.” (Daniel Levitin - This Is Your Brain On Music)
If you are in desperate need of an added boost of endorphins floating gleefully through your body, join Sing for Pure Joy! Community Choir. Every voice is welcome. No experience is needed and no auditions are required.
No written music is used. All songs are taught in the traditional method of call and response. They build community and raise our spirits with heartfelt melodies, soulful gospel songs and rousing spirituals, meditative chants, luscious layered songs and robust rounds – songs from the sublime to the ridiculous!
They gather to raise our voices in glorious song at The Lions Den in Campbell River on Wednesdays from 3 - 4:30 beginning Sept. 13.
As Ella Fitzgerald said “The only thing better than singing, is more singing.” So if you just can’t get enough of this endorphin rush, join them in Room 3 at the Quadra Community Centre on Mondays from 1 - 2:30 p.m. beginning on Sept. 11. The Fall Term fee ($112 for 14 weeks) allows those enthusiastic singers to participate at both venues for the same fee. There is a sliding scale by request.
Contact Mary Dennison at singforpurejoy@gmail.com or call (250)285-3764 or (250) 202-1003 for more information.