Why should you sing?
Singing can be a complicated topic. Some people sing and love to sing and have no qualms or difficulties bursting into song any place or time (🙋guilty!). For others the simple activity of carrying a tune with their voice can be much more complicated; loaded with embarrassment and bad memories. Why? It’s just singing! Somewhere along the line, in mainstream culture, singing became something that had rules surrounding it. Rules that say if you want to sing you should be able to sing in tune, your voice should sound nice, and if you’ve got some musical training to go along with your beautiful, in tune voice; even better. This is a departure from how humans have historically used our voices, and how many cultures around the world continue to use their voices. For many singing and using their voice is as natural as breathing air. They don’t worry about whether they’re in tune, or sound beautiful. They sing because it’s an expression of their joy, their grief, or because it feels good.
If you are one of those people who feel vulnerable using your voice, you’re not alone. This vulnerability is born from generations of gatekeeping around singing particularly in mainstream media and culture. I’m sure many of us can remember seeing clips of any reality show about singing where someone is ridiculed because of how they sing. Or perhaps you were told as a child not to sing along with your peers in school, to mouth the words instead.
How do you come back from these experiences and learn to sing freely, with little or no care to what you sound like? Well, one of the ways you can begin to overcome some of these challenges is by focusing on some of the benefits of singing.
Believe it or not, singing has documented health benefits, supported by research and touching on all the domains of human wellness; physical, cognitive, emotional, spiritual, and social:
On the physical side of things, singing can exercise and strengthen your respiratory system, improve sleep, improve your posture, release endorphins, slow your heart rate and lower your blood pressure.
Cognitively, singing is known to support mental alertness, enhance creativity, and support memory
Emotionally, singing can improve your mood, boost self-confidence, provide an outlet for catharsis, and has the potential to let you feel heard
If you’re looking to support your spirituality, singing can help you make meaning, feel connected to something greater than yourself and express your beliefs
Socially, singing can help with your communication skills, broaden your circle of friends and gives you something to bond with others over.
If you’re someone who would like to explore a better relationship with singing, focusing on these benefits might help you get started. Maybe think about it as “vocalising” or “toning” rather than singing to start off. Maybe you start with humming, or just in safe spaces like your car or shower.
If you’d like to take even more concrete steps with improving your relationship with singing, music therapy can really help! Get in touch with me to find out how, because with all the benefits there are to enjoy…why should you keep from singing?
