Singing, the magic pill?

Latest Posts  •  March 21, 2016

I’ve heard all great musicians have one thing in common – each and every one had a childhood full of singing. Having met quite a number of musicians in my life so far, I can attest to it being mostly true.

But what I can’t help but notice is – outside the odd shower rendition of Frozen’s ‘Let It Go’ –  families don’t sing much anymore. We still admire the people who do though! We celebrate our pop stars and tune into their music all day long. But when it comes to belting our own tune, we’re unlikely to sing a single note.

And yet singing’s a basic human need. In fact, I’m pretty sure that even singing’s heaviest critics happily warble away when no one’s listening.

The need is there, which is a good thing because singing makes us happy. It gets under our skin, it stirs emotions – in fact always positive emotions, you just can’t feel anything but happy when you lift your voice in song!

In his talk, “How to use our brain optimally,” the German neurobiologist Gerald Huether explains that the posture we’re in when we sing – our air-filled chest, head lifted up high – means we wouldn’t be able to feel any other way. When we’re singing we always feel good because anything else would be impossible.

When something stirs our emotions, those centers in the brain light up, and various emotional neurotransmitters respond. When we sing as a group, the ‘love and trust’ hormone oxytocin, or ‘happy’ hormones like dopamine and serotonin as well as endogenous opioid (peptides) wash over our brains (good news – this also happens in solo-shows under the shower).

Huether calls singing the ‘magic pill’ against anxiety and stress.

Believe it or not, singing can do even more than that! The hormonal cocktail that we release when we sing doesn’t just have mood enhancing and stress and anxiety reducing qualities. It also enables our brains to build new synapses. Older neural connections can be transformed and new ones developed – a singer actually becomes smarter, and can get rid of old thought patterns that no longer serve him or her, and begin to remember things more easily again.

In his talk, Huether describes singing as the activity that most optimally uses our brains – and that goes for everyone; from the young to the elderly and everyone in between.

For kids, singing is the best way to practice fine motor skills. Singing requires a copious amount of these, which modulate the delicate vocal chords to hit the right tune. By contrast, practicing scissor skills (one of the most widely used exercises to improve fine motor skills in any preschool or daycare) can’t even get close.

And when children begin to understand that they can regulate their own emotions through singing, the experience becomes a resource for the rest of their lives. Children not only learn to regulate their moods through singing, they also learn to be considerate, empathetic and cooperative when singing in a group, which has a positive effect on their social and emotional skills.

Seniors also benefit from song. Singing keeps them active. It’s invigorating and fun. It triggers emotions and fosters communication, engaging them in a positive communal activity. And when an activity is able to ignite a senior’s emotions, they’re enlivened, no longer fragile or inert. They become aware of existing abilities and feel challenged. These challenges get under their skin and provide them with much-needed stimulation, switching on their emotional centres. Sadly, more often than not, our society’s elderly no longer get many opportunities to feel challenged and emotionally touched.

Singing, especially with young children, is a touching and exciting challenge that stimulates seniors’ brains. Projects where preschool groups sing with residents of retirement homes beautifully demonstrate how singing can enrich lives at any age.

So why are we losing the art of singing – whether together as a family or group, or solo on our own? The joint fun and the individual joy of singing should always be the main focus, but far too often, singing is viewed as a performance or achievement. It’s time we return to singing as an individual and authentic expression of our sensitivities and moods – meaning there is no right or wrong way to sing!

At Modern Music School we believe singing can be taught to everyone. If you have a healthy voice we can teach you to use it and make you sound great.

Just like the other instruments we teach, we believe the most important thing for you is to have fun learning. Our teachers will work with exercises and songs that you love, because when you feel great, you’ll sound great as well.

Trust us when we say singing can come as naturally as speaking. So go on – stay happy and smart, and get singing!

2020-04-28T08:16:48+00:00March 21st, 2016|

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