Sam Page
Singing—why do we enjoy it so much? What is it about singing that lifts our spirits? Don’t we all love to sing, whether it’s in the shower, singing along with the radio in the car, with the iPod phones in our ears, the stereo or whatever? We love to sing! We’re making music without having to be able to play a musical instrument—in fact, we’re our own self-contained musical instrument!
Singing might be fun, might be joyful and uplifting, might inspire poetry and lyrics, but could it actually be good for you? Oh, yes. The research available on singing identifies some key physical benefits: it exercises major muscle groups in the upper body; it is an aerobic activity that improves the efficiency of your cardiovascular system; it encourages you to take more oxygen into your body, leading to increased alertness.
“He who sings frightens away his ills,” said Cervantes. There is nothing like singing for generating that feel-good factor. “It’s almost indescribable,” says singer and singing coach Helen Astrid. “It’s an incredible endorphin rush.”
Okay, that’s settled—we like singing and it’s good for us. The next question that came up was, in the case of choral music, who enjoys it more, the singers or the audience? The audience is out there, tapping their feet or nodding their heads in time to the music, many with a smile on their faces and surreptitiously (or not) mouthing the words or singing along, swept up in the experience of multiple voices singing the same song in unison or in harmony, sounding like an orchestra with each vocal part representing a different musical instrument. And they’re thinking, “I could do that!”
And there up on the stage is the chorus, such as the SaddleBrooke Singers, singing in time and harmony with each other and the music and the director. Each singer contributes to the whole group to make the music come together. Why, they’re a team! And the members of the team feel a double benefit—not only are they feeling that individual rush that comes from singing, but they are also getting a great emotional uplift from singing together.
There’s an excitement, they feel part of it; singing together bonds people and always has done. There’s an indescribable feeling of connection. Members of the choir report physiological and emotional reactions such as shivers down the spine, goose bumps and even tears. And when they really nail a song, there’s no other feeling like it.
And, you can be a part of our team yourself! We are always looking for new singers and we invite you to join us as we begin rehearsals for our Christmas Concert. We rehearse from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. each Sunday at the HOA 1 Activity Center and our first rehearsal for the upcoming season is September 11. If you like to sing, we want you to sing with us! Questions? Call Sam Page at 825-1047.