5 Reasons Why You Should Join A Choir Today

Are you a shower crooner with a secret desire to sing in public? Maybe there’s a community choir in your area and you’re toying with the idea of joining? Or perhaps you’d love to sing but were always told you don’t have a voice? Here we offer five good reasons why taking the plunge might be the best thing you ever did.

1. Musicality. Its official, singing in a choir improves the way you hear music, it draws out your innate musical ability and intensifies your appreciation of harmony. There is a natural learning curve that occurs quite organically as a consequence of singing regularly in a group that strengthens your ear. Where choral singing is concerned, the whole really is the sum of its parts, and choir members soon become aware of how harmonies combine and complement each other. The Choir Player app is a tremendously effective way to consolidate choir rehearsals and deepen a singer’s understanding of harmonies. It allows choir members to practise the harmonies of set songs at home by listening to all 4 choir parts and the backing track, either separately, together, or in any combination.
2. Mental Health. Professor Grenville Hancox, Director of the Sidney de Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health in Kent, has researched extensively into the benefits of choral singing on psychological well-being. He is so passionate about the enormous emotional benefits of choral singing, he has been trying to persuade the medical profession to prescribe singing instead of Prozac, “If we could engage more and more people in singing, I’m sure we would have a healthier nation.” Studies have shown that the mental health benefits of choral singing include enhanced brain function, strengthened feelings of togetherness, and the release of endorphins and oxytocin resulting in reduced stress and depression.
3. Confidence. It’s surprising how many people are told at school they can’t sing, a myth that can discourage potential singers for decades. Most people don’t imaging they will ever perform in front of an audience, and to experience this for the first time as part of a choir can be life changing. The truth is that, unless there is hearing loss, anyone can learn to sing. Singing in a community choir gives you permission to make noise as part of group, and choir leaders report witnessing new members’ confidence grow at an alarmingly fast rate. The Choir Player app can be a great way to increase this newborn confidence, with all the lyrics and backing arrangements supplied, choir members can stand up in the comfort of their living room and really let rip!
4. Belonging. The modern world is one where people are becoming increasingly isolated, social media networks offers a semblance of community but the lack of contact with people in real time and space can intensify feelings of alienation. Singing has been central to religion and ritual as a way of connecting communities since ancient times. Being part of a group working towards a shared endeavour, can fulfil this human need for belonging and union. Recent research reveals that groupsinging helps forge social bonds, and it does so particularly quickly, acting as a powerful icebreaker. People feel valued and inevitably make friends with individuals from a diversity of backgrounds, so horizons are broadened and social cohesion is improved.
5. Aerobic and toning. A proper singing session is a wonderful workout for the lungs. The actions of warming up, breathing deeply and opening the diaphragm will oxygenate the blood, creating more white blood cells, which strengthens the whole body. The breathing rate slows and deepens, releasing endorphins and increasing a profound sense of well-being. All this lung action reduces the chance of illness and is excellent for people who suffer asthma, and emphysema. Singing also improves your posture and tones your stomach muscles – a strong core supports the spine so your body will be less prone to injury as you age.

                                       So, what are you waiting for?

This was the best thing about the wedding! The last handsome bearded man on the right at the back is Mark De Lisser, who wrote the Could it be Magic arrangement we did and I did a gospel workshop with him a few years ago which inspired I’m Going All The Way. The dynamics are sublime. He arranged this too. Simple but gorgeous. 

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• Ninety minutes of uplifting, feel good singing every week
• A chance to improve your singing voice in a supportive environment
• A carefree session with people just like you - no airs or graces, a fabulously inclusive team
• Stimulate the corners of your brain that have been crying out for attention
• Doing something that's just for YOU