The Positive Effects Of Singing


by Shane Magee - Date: 2007-01-25 - Word Count: 456 Share This!

No matter who we are, singing is something we all do now and then, whether it be singing along with the radio or in the shower, or performing for others in a choir. It is something that goes hand in hand with our innate love for music. But singing also has tremendous benefits on a physical mental and spiritual level. Singing provides an outlet to release tension and worry, and can reduce the physical effects of daily stress. Trained singers who practice singing develop better posture, and many people have overcome shyness by singing in front of a crowd.

Singing in a group also brings great benefits - discipline and increased concentration for starters. In singing a multi -part piece, there is usually a great deal of teamwork involved, and you really have to listen out for what your co-singers are doing. Even when singing the same melody, oneness between all the singers is paramount, and a piece sung as one voice by all the choir carries with it a tremendous power and beauty that would not be so evident if many conflicting voices are heard. Achieving this level of teamwork is something that is only acquired gradually, but once acquired is of tremendous benefit in your approach to interpersonal relations outside of singing.

Other effects of singing depend on the type of song that is being sung. Stirring patriotic songs have had the effect of helping to bind whole nations together in pursuit of a common cause. In recent history, there songs that have served as a rallying call for movements e.g during the Vietnam War, or for Bob Geldof's Live Aid campaign. Other songs affect emotions in a more personal and introspective way, allowing the listener to relate the happenings in the song to his or her own life.

On the other hand, meditative and spiritual songs serve as a great tool for self-exploration, and have been used in this vein for thousands of years by cultures all over the world. Singing can be a great way to experience the joy of simply being in the heart, and in the present moment. In the Christian traditions, hymns, coupled with the lofty setting in which they are sung, leave the participants with a feeling of upliftment and vastness. Thomas Aquinas wrote of hymns: "A hymn is the praise of God with song; a song is the exultation of the mind dwelling on eternal things, bursting forth in the voice". Eastern traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism more commonly use mantras, which are words or sentences or poems which lend themselves to easy repetition. Repeating these mantras over and over again allow the outer form of the words to dissolve and the inner meaning to be felt within the heart.


Related Tags: health, singing, concentration, exploration

Shane Magee teaches free courses in meditation and balanced living in Dublin, Ireland. A recent PhD graduate in physics, he has been studying meditation for the last four years with teacher Sri Chinmoy

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