Picture this: you’ve just started university and a new friend asks you what you do in your spare time. To you, choral singing is interesting and fun – you’re good at it. So why does it make you so ashamed to admit this?
It shouldn’t! It’s your life and you should do whatever it is that you enjoy. Still sceptical? There are a lot of rewards to choral singing.
Friendship Networking – This is not as posh as the title would lead you to believe. The bottom line is, when choral singing, there is generally a tight knit community. Trust me, there will be people there just like you, with the same interests. There are many friends to be made when singing as part of a group, even if you bond over laughing at the conductor waving his arms around as no one pays any attention.
Improve Your Singing – It’s always nice to have your singing skills honed and fine-tuned when your part of a group, especially where no one will point fingers if you hit a sour note. There are many choirs that are free to join and the musical director is going to be invested in enabling every person there to sing at the best of their ability. It’s never a bad idea to keep your ears out to those around you either; chances are somebody is going to be singing it right!
It’s Relaxing! – Ever felt absolutely rushed off your feet? Choral singing helps! Everyone needs a break once in a while and although it may be difficult getting there, you should always find the time to do something for yourself. Once you’ve started singing, it’s a good way to take your mind off everything else you’ve got to get done, giving you the time to take the deep breath you’ve been dying to take for hours.
It Improves Your Health! – Not only does singing improve your emotional well-being, making you feel more confident, studies from the University of Frankfurt, Germany (1) show that it also improves the production of antibodies in a person’s immune system. This, in turn, leads to a higher defence against foreign bodies and could mean the difference between whether or not you catch that cold you’ve been trying to avoid!
All in all, it appears that there really isn’t anything to be embarrassed about for choral singers. If friends have anything to be concerned about, just tell them you are exercising the lungs and keeping fit with a good workout! Besides, some well-known singers have roots in choral singing. Just point people in the direction of Aled Jones, Ashton Kutcher and Barbra Streisand and see how good you feel at their surprise!
(1) http://www.seniorlivingmag.com/articles/singing-for-health-and-happiness
