BRATTLEBORO — Why sing? Here are five good reasons why singing is so natural a part of the human condition.
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• Because you are made for it. Singing is our first language. Anthropologists and neurologists alike now concur that singing (i.e., using pitch to communicate) is the manner in which our human ancestors relayed basic information and feelings. At the turn of the century, there were still three identified groups of peoples who used pitch and pulse as their primary form of communication.
French author Victor Hugo once wrote, “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.” We are now beginning to understand just why this form of communication is so potent - and so vital in becoming fully human.
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• Because it makes you healthier, from brain health to heart health to mental health, and more. One could write a book about this. (And many have!)
Singing in a group appears to make you even healthier than solo singing, since heart and breathing rates become coordinated and regulated when one sings in a chorus, not to mention the healthy mental workout one gets in a chorus!
Music therapy is a fast-growing field, proving especially effective in a variety of neurological conditions (stroke, dementia, brain trauma/injury, etc.).
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• Because it makes you happier.
Of all forms of music, singing - once again, especially in a group - can lift spirits and create community bonds on a sustained level. The release of feel-good endorphins, the increased levels of oxygen in the blood, and the production of oxytocin, the all-important bonding chemical, all happen when we sing.
Do we become more loving and bonded when we sing together? Absolutely!
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• Because you can.
My father grew up thinking he couldn't sing because he seemed to have trouble matching pitch. He loved music and was a great dancer, but he was convinced that he was tone-deaf.
He developed Alzheimer's disease in his mid 80s, and suddenly began singing along with Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole beautifully, and bang-on pitch. I'll never forget the day he said, “I am a good singer!”
Many people confuse the concept of being able to sing with being musically educated or trained. Yet babies sing before they can even walk!
Reading musical notation is a great and extremely useful skill. But it isn't how we hear or produce pitch; rather, it is how we see the pitches arranged in relation to one another.
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• Because it helps connect you to God.
There is a reason why we are enjoined repeatedly in almost every spiritual tradition to sing. As in prayer, when we allow ourselves to let go of our specific points of view and simply breathe, hum, and pulse our being, we open ourselves to hearing God's song to us.
Let go of your worries about how your voice sounds, about what you know or don't know. Reach for the note that speaks to you.
Sing, and savor the song, sung deeply in your soul.