Singing is good for you!

Looking across the world, the human species is a singing animal. It´s an odd culture - or sub-culture - that doesn´t sing . And from the perspective of those that do, it must seem quaint to see western medical science seriously studying how and why singing promotes health.

However, if we need science to prove the worth and health benefits of singing, here are some examples:

1. Researchers at the University of Manchester have discovered that the sacculus, a little organ in the inner ear, responds to frequencies commonly found in music, and is connected to the part of the brain responsible for registering pleasure. This sacculus is ONLY responsive to low frequency, high intensity sounds, which include singing, and it responds within a few seconds of hearing that kind of sound. So you get immediate pleasure when you sing , regardless of what it sounds like to anyone else. Now if there are no criticisms or put downs from anyone else to cause you pain, you´ll find the experience enjoyable and get release of good old pleasure-giving endorphins as well. Singing provides catharsis across the full emotional spectrum. It can give a directly-experienced, felt-sense of happiness. It´s a mood lifter and an anti-depressant with no side effects. And it´s not news to health professionals that mental and physical health are intimately linked.

2. So what are the physical benefits? Professor Graham Welch who is Director of Educational Research at the University of Surrey in Roehampton UK has spent 30 years studying aspects of singing. He says people who sing are healthier than people who don´t. Singing gives the lungs a workout, tones up abdominal and intercostal muscle and the diaphragm, and stimulates circulation. It makes us breathe more deeply than even many forms of strenuous exercise, so we take in more oxygen, improve aerobic capacity and experience a release of muscle tension as well.

3. Community health benefits are well documented too. Researcher Robert Putnam did a study of Italian regions where he discovered a positive correlation `between the vigour of voluntary organisations, particularly choral societies and choirs, and the level of civic engagement´. In other words, the more people sang in groups, the higher the level of involvement in the tasks that a healthy community needs to do to care for itself. Presumably ANY vibrant and pleasurable voluntary activity will strengthen the `level of civic engagement´ and Italians may be more inclined to sing than your average person, but it does suggest one accessible, inexpensive option for re-developing the ´social capital´ that we used to take for granted as common decency and good citizenship.

Music makes your kids smarter!

Besides being fun, a musical education offers children benefits that are more fulfilling than any other educational experience. Studying music may be one of the most academically beneficial things a child can undertake. Making music is also fun and rewarding. Although musical aptitude will vary from one person to another, music educators tell us that early exposure to music, particularly during the learning and growing preschool years, can be an important influence on a child’s development. Early exposure to music also encourages the power of concentration, coordination and self-discipline, enhancing creativity and creating a positive attitude to schoolwork generally. Learning music from an early age won’t necessarily turn students in to modern day Mozarts, but it may give them a head start in other areas of their school work.

FOR EXAMPLE, DID YOU KNOW THAT… In one US University, preschool children given weekly keyboard instruction and daily singing lessons were found to have significantly increased their spatial reasoning abilities. This is the ability to mentally visualise shapes, objects or ideas and their relationships. This may suggest that musical training may not just be good for self development but may actually help train the brain to carry out specific mental tasks essential to subjects such as science and maths. Children who received structured musical training were found to have improved their spatial reasoning by an average of 46%. Those who received no music lessons only improved by an average of 6%.

Singing also offers academic benefits!

If words to a song are printed on chart paper, then singing can be a way to help build sight vocabulary. Songs can help students learn different languages. Simple counting songs can reinforce math lessons. Traditional folk songs can bring history to life. Songs about rivers, stars, and rain can help children learn about the natural world and all its wonders.