Singing is GOOD for You!

Subject: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: RTim
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 08:49 AM

Have any of you seen this NPR site? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97320958 Enjoy - Tim Radford

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: GUEST,surreysinger
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 09:12 AM

Interesting but not really anything new. The one thing he doesn't mention is that it's been shown that singing promotes the production of endorphins - the feel good factor chemicals - similar sort of response as to exercise .... so yes, singing IS good for you!!

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 09:46 AM

Brian Eno wrote, 'I believe that singing is the key to long life, a good figure, a stable temperament, increased intelligence, new friends, super self-confidence, heightened sexual attractiveness and a better sense of humor.'

Sounds like somebody peddling snake oil! I believe in singing, but that's ridiculous.
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I'm pleased to see that I know almost all the songs on his sing-a-long list. However, I have questions about 2 of them.

'Dream' ? Do you suppose that's the Everly Brothers hit of yore, or is there a recent hit named 'Dream' that I don't know of?

'Love Hurts.' Where can I find the lyrics and tune for that in its original form?

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: TheSnail
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 09:52 AM

GUEST,leeneia

Brian Eno wrote, 'I believe that singing is the key to long life, a good figure, a stable temperament, increased intelligence, new friends, super self-confidence, heightened sexual attractiveness and a better sense of humor.'

Sounds like somebody peddling snake oil! I believe in singing, but that's ridiculous.

Aw, come on!. You only have to look at Pavarotti to know that at least some of that was true.

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 11:38 AM

Um ... "new friends" and "super self-confidence"?

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 01:39 PM

Maybe I should be more trusting, eh? I could hope for a good figure. (Yeah, right!)

Any word on the two songs I asked about?

I should explain that in 1987 a kid totaled my car, the last car I've owned with a radio in it. I'm unfamiliar with popular music produced since 1987.

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: stallion
Date: 26 Nov 08 - 08:43 AM

Hi Tim,
I am only doing the stuff with 2BS&S because the doc gave me strict orders to sing at least twicw a week to de stress my life, oh, and, give up your job, drink less and lose two stone in weight, I have managed three out of the four, but then I don't think I have ever drunk that much anyway!
cheers
Peter

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: PoppaGator
Date: 26 Nov 08 - 08:46 AM

I think Brian Eno is absolutely right, hardly exaggerating at all.

I know all about unfamiliarity with current pop music. Since I moved to New Orleans in the early 70s, I've been tuned into the local scene and pretty completely turned off to "mainstream" pop.

I would simply assume that any unfamiliar song title ~ e.g., "Dream" ~ refers to some "recent" pop hit I never heard of. (In this context, to me, "recent" means anything from the last 35 years or so.) I wouldn't think the reference would have been to the Everlys' hit, which is almost always identified by its complete title "All I Have To Do Is Dream." (A wonderful song for singing harmony, which is especially good for you.)

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 26 Nov 08 - 09:55 AM

Hey, PoppaGator. It's nice to know that there's another person on the planet in the same boat as me.

You are right about the singing of harmony. It makes a person feel so good!

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Nov 08 - 12:24 PM

For most of my 58 years I've spent at least three hours a week doing communal acapella singing of word-rich and vowel-rich music, in the form of Christian hymns, following a tradition that my ancestors have observed at least since the early Byzantine empire. Mr. Eno is to be commended for his recent discovery that there's some value in that. We don't make the same claims as he made about good figure and heightened sexual attractiveness, but we definitely agree with him that the experience is life-enhancing for the individual and the community. However, we prefer the eight modes of the Octoechos over "the basic chords of blues and rock and country music."

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: greg stephens
Date: 27 Nov 08 - 05:31 PM

Well, the Mystery Singers had their first practice in Penkhull on Saturday night, we're getting together our carol repertoire for pub singing pre-Christmas. And the look of unalloyed pleasure that came over everybody's faces, when we got the difficult bit right in the Cranbrook setting of "While Shepherds Watched", was a joy to behold. We may sound a bit rustic and out of tune now and again, but it certainly does us a big power of good.

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: Ythanside
Date: 27 Nov 08 - 09:59 PM

I suspect that the song 'Dream' referred to may be the one penned by Johnny Mercer, the legendary songsmith and founder of Capitol records.

Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra both recorded it, and Roy Orbison made a particularly good job of his version,IMHO.

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 Nov 08 - 11:50 PM

I have been reading the title of this thread, knowing I needed to pay attention. My voice has been so weak since pneumonia last year. I need to strengthen it. The easiest thing for me, right now, is to do this at home, so I found a karoake online with a few trad tunes and started practising with them tonight. Thanks for this thread. I love to sing and hadn't realised how much I miss it, esp. doing harmony!

Subject: RE: Singing is GOOD for You!
From: mauvepink
Date: 28 Nov 08 - 03:24 AM

I enjoyed reading that article and one associated underneath it "Musica makes ne come alive"

Seldom do I get a chance to practice harmonies but when I do it is very rewarding to get it right. Mostly I do it when listening to songs in the car - where any errant notes can do less damage to people's ears! - and it is quite relaxing in many ways. It's great fun too.

Singing - either doing it or listening to it - has so many different emotional effects but I do think the most are acheived by actually participating in the activity rather than just listening. This year I took up singing again after a 15 year abstinence. My life is all the richer for it for many of the reasons mentioned in the articles above, and more.

Brian Evo says... "I believe that singing is the key to long life, a good figure, a stable temperament, increased intelligence, new friends, super self-confidence, heightened sexual attractiveness and a better sense of humor.". Well, okay. Apart from the good figure (I doubt anything could give me THAT good!), a stable temperament, increased intelligence, super self-confidence, heightened sexual attractiveness and a better sense of humor, none of which I would lay a claim to, and some of which I do not want, I agree totally ;-)

I do have more friends through songs and music, without doubt, and that alone is a good enough reason because having friends is good for you too. Sharing an activity cannot be a bad thing either in the main. I learn things every week now I would never had known where it not for music and song. Perhaps it should be prescribed to people (and I know music therapy works as I have used it in the past on various people).

What a postive article. Thanks for pointing to it!

mp