Are you a shower crooner who fantasizes about being on stage? Do you often find yourself driving down the road joyfully singing at the top of your lungs with a song on the radio? If so, have you ever considered joining a choral group? If not, maybe you should consider the overwhelming evidence that singing— especially with a group—is beneficial to your health and well-being.
As a music lover who has sung all of her life, whether in a church choir, a musical production, or as now in the Lake Country Chorus, I personally know many of these benefits and would like to share them with you.
Mental and Emotional Benefits:
Singing is a natural antidepressant. It releases endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine, the feel-good brain chemicals that make you feel uplifted and happy.
Singing helps you relax and lowers stress levels. It releases stored muscle tension and decreases levels of the stress hormone cortisol in your bloodstream.
Singing improves mental alertness, memory, and concentration. The breath work required for singing brings oxygenated blood into circulation and consequently more oxygen to the brain which improves alertness, memory, and concentration. Music and singing have even been touted recently as potentially helpful to those with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Physical Benefits:
Physical Benefits:
Singing strengthens the immune system. A study conducted by the University of Frankfurt concluded that after singing, songsters had higher levels of the protein immunoglobulin A, an antibody known to benefit the immune function of the mucous membrane.
Singing improves lung function. When you learn to sing properly, you learn to breathe well, use your diaphragm, and increase your oxygen intake and lung capacity. Improved breathing and knowledge of their breath can help people deal with anxiety and panic attacks. It also is excellent for people who suffer from asthma and emphysema.
Singing improves posture. Standing up straight with an expanded chest cavity and with shoulders and back aligned is part of the correct technique in singing, so with time, good posture becomes a habit.
Social Benefits:
Singing improves social bonding and cohesion. Whether you’re in a choir or enjoying singing karaoke with friends, singing with others is an intimate activity and helps strengthens bonds.
Singing together creates a strong sense of community and social inclusion. It generates a feeling of being connected and having a social support system in which you feel valued and esteemed. It also builds self-confidence. Finally, singing
Finally, singing increases your ability to appreciate more accomplished singers. Sometimes you don’t even realize something is difficult until you try it yourself. So, you may develop a new appreciation for those in the performing arts.
So, what are you waiting for? We’re looking for new members for our Lake Country Chorus. We are a multi-generational, nonprofessional group whose common denominator is a love of choral music. We are directed and accompanied by music professionals Donna Valvo and Amy Reber. The chorus will resume auditions and rehearsals in August in preparation for our annual Christmas program and next year’s spring production.
Please consider joining us by contacting Melanie Schultz at rometavo@aol. com with questions or to schedule an audition.
Of course, even if you don’t join a chorus, I encourage you to support all our local performing arts programs through your attendance.
Both you and your community will reap the benefits by being exposed to great musical performances that uplift and inspire, whether provided by professional musicians or local talent through our Lake Country Chorus, OPAS, Lake Country Players, Plaza Arts Center, or Festival Hall.
Music has the power to transform, heal, unite and enrich our lives individually and collectively as a community. For more information about arts happenings in Lake Country go to lakecountryarts.org.