Singing good for health & community

Subject: Singing good for health & community
From: GUEST,Mr Red
Date: 14 Jan 10 - 09:05 AM

heard on the BBC programme "Today" today.

Sidney de Haan was mentioned (and his research centre) along with the Royal Brompton Hospital (Ian Adam award) BBC news sadly I am listening to the "listen again" and the section involved is not included. Professor Stephen Cliff was interviewed.

A lot of us know that Johnny Morris started singing because he suffered asthma and his therapist suggested he started singing. And he has a pretty powerful voice!

The interview basically included the health benefits of singing and the psychological/social benefits of singing in unison, harmonising and although he referred to choirs - we all know how popular chorus songs are. We know why too.

The new Scirntist long since published an article on the cohesive nature of communal "non-functional" pusuits. They ARE actually functional to a herding species like homo sapiens and it's tribal tendencies.

I mean would you sing with the enemy? Would you sing with the guy you go hunting/gathering with? No brainer innit?

Subject: RE: Singing good for health & community
From: Mr Red
Date: 15 Jan 10 - 09:20 AM

well - do we all agree?
cue chorus.

Subject: RE: Singing good for health & community
From: Cuilionn
Date: 15 Jan 10 - 09:31 AM

I recall an interview with a brain researcher on NPR a couple years ago...perhaps one of the people you mention above. He and his team had found, through brain scans and various other tests, that the same part of the brain "lit up" by musical activity also seemed to be responsible for "the modulation of interpersonal space." For me, this explains why angst-ridden teenagers so consistently reach for guitars and/or musical media devices when dealing with relationship highs and lows... and why the rest of us ought to be employing music in all manner of relationships and social justice work.

Music-making is one of the most "functional" pursuits I know!

Subject: RE: Singing good for health & community
From: Ebbie
Date: 15 Jan 10 - 11:46 AM

A friend of mine hails from an asthmatic family; her father literally died from it and other relatives have had their lives severely impacted by it.

My friend started playing harmonica when she was a girl and took it up seriously when she reached age 50 or so. She and two others (guitar and autoharp) formed a band called Young at Heart and play at farmers markets, fairs, nursing homes and churches.

Her doctors have told her that her lungs are better now - 20 years later- than they were when she was young.

Subject: RE: Singing good for health & community
From: Tootler
Date: 15 Jan 10 - 06:07 PM

I'm asthmatic and I play recorders in all sizes, including a very big one, flute and harmonica and I sing.

I also used to cycle a lot, though I stopped some years ago. Maybe I should start again as I had a mild heart attack last autumn.