This came as absolutely no surprise to me and I doubt it will come as any surprise to my fellow singers.
As I understand it (and am yet to experience it myself), there is a huge amount of pleasure to be gained from exercise. The rush of adrenalin, the thrill of bettering your personal goals, the endorphins, how it's "addictive" and I suppose I must grudgingly admit, good for body and soul and counteracts that packet of Tim Tams. Well, I've always thought the same could be said from singing. Not to mention the fact that singing a 3-hour opera burns about the same about of calories as a half-marathon. (I have zero evidence to back this claim up).
OF COURSE singing improves your quality of life!
Singing in a choir or ensemble is the most joyful, wonderful, uplifting thing. I remember performing once with a choir in Singapore, it was a packed-out (and enormous!) concert hall and at the end of our first set, the audience was screaming for us as if we were rock stars. I think we were all quite shocked at the response; certainly New Zealand audiences had never screamed for Guerrero, Lotti or even Schumann. The shock quickly turned into a rush probably not dissimilar to a hit of some narcotic - but better. And for those who suffer nerves - I think everyone does at some point - the knowledge that you're going out there with a trusted team alongside you...do we need a rugby inspired analogy here?
Solo performing does have a more terrifying edge to it. There's no hiding the fact that you just fluffed that note - everyone heard it. A Swedish study suggests that singers on stage produce the same level of stress hormones as a jet-fighter pilot! You're exposed, emotionally and physically, laying your soul bare, opening yourself up to scrutiny and criticism, like it or not. But there's a moment when you realise that what you are doing with your voice is not only engaging others, but moving them. I think in layman's terms it's called "wrapping the audience round your little finger." It's this spine-tingling moment when all those years in the practice room seem worth it.
These are just the benefits of singing as I see them - I have not used singing specifically to combat a physical or psychological ailment, but plenty of people have and plenty of people are continuing the research.
Because it directly stimulates the musculature associated with respiration, phonation, articulation, and resonance, singing has the potential to treat speech abnormalities caused by a stroke, those with autism and stutterers. We can't yet say that it's a winning form of treatment for everybody, but the studies that have been done do show positive results, and singing can definitely help. What we can say for sure it that it can't do any harm. From the beginning of time, we have sung to our babies to soothe or amuse them, probably without realising that it's such a valuable developmental tool. A two-year-old has quite a repertoire of animal-themed tunes. Our family would sing on long car journeys to distract from travel sickness.
A very recent TIME article reported that 32.5 million American adults sing in choirs. This is a crazy number! And how wonderful! What is bringing people back to their rehearsal rooms week after week? Well, for one, the feelings of elation, either from the endorphins or oxytocin released during singing. Group singing lessens feelings of depression and loneliness. (Unless you're the only 1st tenor, then it's mighty lonely up there). I've definitely experienced choristers' breathing syncing up, but heart rates may too, making singing feel like group meditation.
And since we're talking about singing as therapy, being now 7 and a half months pregnant, I couldn't resist checking out the benefits of singing during labour and childbirth (e.g.: "gives you strength and confidence to own the birth space"). I somehow can't imagine I'm going to be keen on ripping out Un bel' di at the moment of truth, but it might make an interesting column.
Posted by Georgia Jamieson Emms