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Our office is located in Tkaronto, Dish With One Spoon territory and covered by Treaty 13 and the Williams Treaties. We are grateful to work, live and make music on the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of Credit, Anishnabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee and Wendat.
#BenefitsOfSinging – Curated Research
Explore the curated research that highlights some of the scientific evidence for the many and varied ways that singing together contributes to our psychological, physical, spiritual, social and emotional health.
Physical
Heart
Singing regulates heart and circulatory system
Research has found that singing regulates blood pressure, increases oxygenation in the blood, and reduces heart rate variability.
Bernardi, N. F.; Snow, S.; Peretz, I.; Orozco Perez, H. D.; Sabet-Kassouf, N.; Lehmann, A. (2017): Cardiorespiratory optimization during improvised singing and toning. In: Scientific reports 7 (1), S. 8113.
de Witte, M., Spruit, A., van Hooren, S., Moonen, X., & Stams, G. J. (2020). Effects of music interventions on stress-related outcomes: a systematic review and two meta-analyses. Health psychology review, 14(2), 294-324.
Immunity
Singing triggers the immune system
Group singing has been shown to trigger the immune system. In particular, a growing body of literature demonstrates the role of group singing on increased production of immunoglobulin A, an antibody that is essential to fighting disease.
Communication
Singing supports communication rehabilitation
Singing can strengthen aspects of productive and receptive communication in individuals. While anyone can benefit from proper breath and vocal support, this is particularly valuable for disorders such as Aphasia, Stuttering, Parkinson’s Disease, Lung disease, and Hearing loss (see, for example, our colleagues at SingWell)
Zumbansen, A., Peretz, I., Anglade, C., Bilodeau, J., Généreux, S., Hubert, M., & Hébert, S. (2017). Effect of choir activity in the rehabilitation of aphasia: a blind, randomised, controlled pilot study. Aphasiology, 31(8), 879-900
Dubinsky, E., Wood, E. A., Nespoli, G., & Russo, F. A. (2019). Short-term choir singing supports speech-in-noise perception and neural pitch strength in older adults with age-related hearing loss. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13.
Lungs
Singing improves lung and respiratory function
Singing involves deep controlled breathing and has been shown to improve lung function. In fact, medical professionals advocate for the use of singing as a therapy for individuals with breathing difficulties!
Psychological
Brain
Singing stimulates brain function
Participating in any musical activity, including singing, is a powerful way to stimulate the brain. Singing has been shown to activate and connect different regions of the brain, including those involved in memory, thinking, movement, attention, language, and emotion.
Peretz, I. (2002). Book Review: Brain Specialization for Music. The Neuroscientist, 8(4), 372-380.
Stress Relief
Singing decreases stress
Whether singing in the community choir or belting it out solo in the shower, singing appears to be an effective stress-reliever. Not only do people feel more relaxed after a singing session, but studies have shown that singing can actually decrease levels of salivary cortisol, a hormone best known as the stress hormone.
Pain Relief
Singing increases pain threshold
Studies have shown that people can tolerate more pain after singing with others; resilience gained through group bonding (power in numbers!). Some researchers think it has to do with pain-relieving endorphins that are released during group singing.
Mood Booster
Singing boosts mood
Researchers have found that singing, especially in a group, can help individuals manage their emotional state and boost mood. Singing can alter mood immediately after participation in a short singing session, and some of these effects are still evident one week later.
Kreutz, G., Bongard, S., Rohrmann, S., Hodapp, V., & Grebe, D. (2004). Effects of choir singing or listening on secretory immunoglobulin A, cortisol, and emotional state. Journal of behavioral medicine, 27(6), 623-635.
Good, A., & Russo, F. A. (2021). Changes in mood, oxytocin, and cortisol following group and individual singing: A pilot study. Psychology of Music, 03057356211042668.
Social/Emotional
Identity
Singing strengthens individual and cultural identity
Singing programs have found success in increasing feelings of competence, self-esteem, and confidence in singers. Engaging in song creates a platform for self-expression in individual people and provides insight into social and cultural group membership. Singing together helps Indigenous youth reconnect with their cultural identity.
Davidson, J. W. & Faulkner, R. (2019). Group Singing and Social Identity. Welch, G (Ed.). Nix, J (Ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Singing, (1), pp.836-850. Oxford University Press.
Parker, E. C. (2018). A grounded theory of adolescent high school women’s choir singers’ process of social identity development. Journal of Research in Music Education, 65(4), 439-460.
Wellbeing
Singing improves quality of life
Group singing has been shown to contribute to psychological wellbeing and personal development. Many studies over the decades have documented singing-related improvements in quality of life.
Coulton, S., Clift, S., Skingley, A., & Rodriguez, J. (2015). Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community singing on mental health-related quality of life of older people: randomised controlled trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 207(3), 250-255.
Barrett, M. S., & Bond, N. (2015). Connecting through music: The contribution of a music programme to fostering positive youth development. Research Studies in Music Education, 37(1), 37-54.
Community Building
Singing fosters social connectedness and belonging
Group singing has been shown to rapidly build social connections and generate a collective identity. Simply put, individuals who move together, feel together. Some theorists claim that one evolutionary purpose of group singing is for social bonding.
Social Skills
Singing increases prosocial behaviours and cooperation
A growing body of research demonstrates that singing together leads to more prosocial behaviours such as helping, sharing, and cooperating. This prosocial effect is even found in infancy!
Good, A., & Russo, F. A. (2016). Singing promotes cooperation in a diverse group of children. Social Psychology.
Empowerment
Singing empowers marginalized communities and stigmatized individuals
Extensive scholarship has explored the ways in which stigmatized individuals experience positive impacts such as community and/or empowerment through choral singing. Studies also show that group singing is an effective means of raising consciousness on important social issues faced by under-represented populations.
Consciousness Raising of Social Issues:
Community Building Among Marginalized Populations:
Gosine, J., & Travasso, R. (2018). Building community through song: The therapeutic hospice choir. British Journal of Music Therapy, 32(1), 18-26.
Educational
Memory
Singing facilitates learning and memory
Singing is a highly effective way to learn and remember items of information. It’s easy to remember the alphabet, a phone number, or passages of a foreign language when they are in a song!
Calvert, S. L., & Tart, M. (1993). Song versus verbal forms for very-long-term, long-term, and short-term verbatim recall. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 14(2), 245-260.
Wallace, W. T. (1994). Memory for music: Effect of melody on recall of text. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20(6), 1471-1485.
Focus
Singing increases classroom engagement
While scientists are still investigating whether singing can improve non-musical skills, singing in the classroom has been found to increase student engagement and attention.
Language Development
Singing supports language learning
Songs and movement are excellent methods to teach important pre-reading skills and reading to children, and these experiences significantly enhance the effectiveness of the language and literacy programs.
Murphy Odo, D. (2021). Examining the influence of English songs on English L2 lexical learning: a quantitative meta-analytic review. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 1-18.
Musicianship
Singing develops musical skills and understanding
Group singing develops an understanding of musical concepts and elements, including form, rhythm, timbre, pitch, texture, dynamics, phrasing, and more! Aural skills are developed along with musical memory and thinking in sound.
A project of Choral Canada
The #BenefitsOfSinging campaign was initiated by the European Choral Association,
and adapted and extended for Canada by the Advocacy Committee of Choral Canada.
THANK YOU
This advocacy campaign was made possible by Choral Canada and its generous donors.
We would also like to thank the organizations and individuals who are showing their support through their commitment to sharing this campaign.
National Campaign Project Donors
Diana Clark
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Heather Fraser
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Kim Eyre
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National Campaign Project Supporters
Heather Sparling
Alliance chorale du Québec
Manitoba Choral Association
Manitoba Music Educators' Association
Ontario Music Educators' Association
Our office is located in Tkaronto, Dish With One Spoon territory and covered by Treaty 13 and the Williams Treaties. We are grateful to work, live and make music on the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of Credit, Anishnabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee and Wendat.- ABOUT
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