Every theatre has a green room — a place to relax, connect, and be yourself before the show. This is mine. I'll be writing about singing, performance, wellbeing, and life behind the scenes. I hope you'll enjoy it.
What Regular Choir Singing Does for Your Body, Mind, and Soul, Even If You've Never Had a Lesson
You don't need to be a professional to feel the full force of what singing can do for you. In fact, for amateur singers, people who sing simply because they love it, the benefits can be even more profound. Here's what the science says, and what I see every single week in my rehearsal rooms.
Let me tell you about Margaret.
She's been standing outside the door of my rehearsal room, metaphorically speaking, for about three years. She loves music — always has. She sings along to the radio when nobody's listening. She went to a choir concert a while back and sat in the audience feeling something she couldn't quite name: a pull, a longing, a quiet little voice saying 'I wish that were me.' And then, on the drive home, a louder voice drowning it out: 'Don't be ridiculous. You're not a singer.'
Maybe you know Margaret. Maybe you are Margaret.
This post is for her. And for you.
There is a moment, just before a choir begins to sing, when the air in the room seems to hold its breath. Whether the accompaniment comes from a live orchestra in the pit or from a carefully crafted recording played through a speaker system, that moment is the same. The music that follows, however, is shaped enormously by the choice that was made long before the performance began.
The science-backed reasons your voice might be your greatest wellness tool
Let me ask you something. When did you last sing? Not in a concert hall or on a stage — just sing. In the car, maybe, or in the shower, or humming along to something that came on the radio. Did it make you feel, even just for a moment, a little bit better?
