Enjoy these helpful resources curated by the BCCF Advocacy Committee. We will be updating this page periodically with new additions. To suggest an article or correction, please email us.
Advocacy Portfolio Terms of Reference
#BenefitsOfSinging
A project by the Choral Canada Advocacy Committee
The Advocacy Committee of Choral Canada recently released a campaign called #BenefitsOfSinging. Focusing on why singing can and should matter to all who live in Canada, the campaign highlights some of the scientific evidence for the many and varied ways that singing together contributes to our psychological, physical, spiritual, social and emotional health. Learn more here.
Is your Child Getting Enough Music?
A UNICEF for every child video featuring Dr. Ibrahm Baltagi. June, 2019. This is mini-parenting master class on how music affects a baby’s brain.
Just As I Am
A documentary about how singing together builds community and promotes inclusion for people living with a disability.
Reverend Hazan Daniel Benlolo, cantor and rabbi, is the founder of the Montreal Shira Choir for special needs adults. He and his choir have been featured in a CBC documentary that recently premiered called Just as I am. The documentary is available for free viewing on the CBC Gem app. Here is a short trailer. You can view the entire documentary here. Here is an article about the documentary.
Speak Up for Singing!
Our national choral organization, Choral Canada, recently released the results of the Singing in Canadian Schools COVID-19 Impact Survey conducted last fall. They have prepared materials in both English and French to support provincial advocacy efforts around singing and music education. As well, they have sent a national letter and recommendations for action to all provincial Chief Medical Officers, Ministers of Education and Misters of Health.
You Can Help! You can assist with advocacy efforts in this area by sharing them with people/organizations that should see this information. They can also be found on the Choral Canada website (www.choralcanada.org). PDF documents can be shared by email. PNG documents are suitable for social media posts.
Check Out These Documents:
- National Letter and Recommendations
- Infographic: Pandemic Impact on Singing in Schools
- Infographic: How Can I Help?
- Two Graphic packs: (1). Sing Safely (2.) Student Well-being
- Safe Singing Backgrounder – published July, 2021
Share Choral Canada’s posts straight from their Facebook page:
Choral Canada has posted these graphic packs and infographics on Facebook. The “How Can I Help” infographic (English and French) went up on Sept. 1, 2021.
Eric Whitaker: The Inside Voice
Grammy award winning conductor, composer, Eric Whitacre grew up in a small town in Northern Nevada. As a young person, he loved music — played by ear but did not read it. When he entered the University of Nevada, he joined the choir – to meet girls…. but he got hooked when he sang the Kyrie from Mozart’s Requiem. It was a transformative experience for him. This is a video in which he talks about learning to read music in his 20s and the “inside voice” that guides his work.
John Rutter: The Importance of Choir
Choral music is not one of life’s frills. It’s something that goes to the very heart of our humanity, our sense of community, and our souls. You express, when you sing, your soul in song. And when you get together with a group of other singers, it becomes more than the sum of the parts. [In a choir], all of those people are pouring out their hearts and souls in perfect harmony, which is kind of an emblem for what we need in this world, when so much of the world is at odds with itself. And when you’re sitting there, making music for a couple hours… you walk away refreshed. You walk away renewed. And that’s a value that goes just beyond the music itself.
Deke Sharon: The Value of Vocal Music in Education
With school music programs being threatened (or cut) and increasing emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in education, Deke Sharon speaks out about the value of vocal music in education. He makes a compelling case.
War divides. Music Connects.
This article and related links comes from a Musicians Without Borders blog posted on June 15, 2021 by Laura Hessler, musician and founder. MWB is an umbrella organization working with local organizations and musicians to bring social change and livable conditions to their own communities. Read the full blog at www.musicianswithoutborders.org.
Music has always been the voice of change. Check these links for examples:
- The Freedom Songs of the US (https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=cEXhA8PwM-Y)
- South African Freedom Movements (https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=dMSwlBGcSRs)
- The protest songs against war and oppression, from Vietnam to Palestine (https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=duboETGVvYU)
- Estonia’s Singing Revolution (https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=Pgks-CcNI80)
- Activist rappers in Senegal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=TuINAkCHEpY)
Music gives voice to our collective longing for just and peaceful societies and unites us in working toward them.
Change happens always and continuously but which changes? What direction? Pushing social change in the direction of justice, equality, inclusion and peace asks for the steady, patient, long-term work of change makers.
Voices in Motion Spotlight
Alzheimer’s Disease cannot be swept under the carpet. It will not be hidden and it will progress. Debra Sheets, a nursing professor at the University of Victoria is conducting a research project delving into the impact of the disease on people with memory loss and their caregivers. Among others, it features Isabel and Michael Phillips, a couple participating in the study.
Thirty ‘duets’ (pairs consisting of a person with memory loss and their caregiver) are assessed monthly to measure depression and caregiver burden. Neuro-psychological assessments measure oxygen levels in the brain during different activities. The research also looks at understanding the reactions of people to their own memory loss, the societal stigma they often face and ways of overcoming it.
All participants in this research are part of the Voices in Motion choir, a multi-generational choir for people with memory loss, their caregivers, friends and students. The research is confirming that participation in this choir has a profound effect on the well-being of people with memory loss as well as others in their lives.
This video is 12:20 long. It outlines the research and shows the Voices in Motion choir at work. Check it out at this link. https://youtu.be/zozyz_EwRqY
The “You Are My Sunshine” Project
Choral singing as a catalyst for language revitalization… Check out this amazing project led by BCCF Past President, Paul Cummings, at the 2022 Townsite Jazz Festival in Powell River.
Over 200 K-12 students and staff from School District 47 came together for the “You Are My Sunshine Project,” which saw this popular song being sung in both English and ʔayʔajuθəm (Ayajuthem), the language of the Tla’amin First Nation. Watch the video here.
Archive of BCCF Newsletter Articles
February, 2021:
Five academic studies looking at group singing benefits. Professor Graham Welch, Chair of Music Education at IoE
“Singing has physical benefits because it is an aerobic activity that increases oxygenation in the blood stream and exercises major muscle group in the upper body, even when sitting.”
March, 2021:
Short-Term Singing Supports Speech-in-Noise Perception and Neural Pitch Strength in Older Adults with Age-Related Hearing Loss. Ella Dubinsky, Emma A. Wood, Gabriel Nespoli and Frank A. Russo (2019). Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13, 1153.
“…choir singing can be used as an effective intervention to mitigate age-related losses in auditory perceptual abilities, in as short a time as 10 weeks.” Ella Dubinsky et al.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6892838/
May, 2021:
Want to develop pathways for increased memory, creativity, emotional health, motor skills, and intellectual development? Sing in a choir! This article by Dr. Andrew E. Budson, cognitive and behavioural neurology expert, outlines how music develops these neurological pathways.
See article entitled “Why Is Music Good for the Brain?” posted in Harvard Health Blog Oct 7, 2020
July, 2021:
“One of my choir students told me that when she moved to Canada, she wasn’t nervous. She explained that although she did not speak English at the time, she spoke music and she knew that it was a language everyone understood.” Music Educator from Ottawa, ON. From Music is Key in Learning and in Life: a publication of the Coalition for Music Education in Canada
This is an excellent article advocating for music education in schools. It contains important information for all singers, parents, music leaders, music organizations, decision and policy makers as well as the community-at-large. It is important that many voices from all walks of life proactively advocate for adequate funding and support for school music programs.
https://coalitioncanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/COALITION_MusicisKey.pdf
August, 2021:
To SING or not to SING… That is the question!
From Ten Ways that Singing Benefits Your Health https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-singing
“Those who sang showed higher levels of immunoglobulin A, an antibody your body secretes to help you fend off infections. Listening to music (without singing along) reduced stress hormones but didn’t stimulate the body’s immune system.”
September, 2021
Quote:
“…singing in a choir was associated with better mental (anxiety) and physical (TDM[temporomandibular disorders]) outcomes.”
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0305735617739967
Reference:
de Souza Caetano, K.A., Ferreira, I. M. F., et al.,(2019). Choir singing as an activity to manage anxiety and temporomandibular disorders: Reports from a Brazilian sample. Psychology of Music 2019, Vol. 47(1) 96–108
October, 2021
Check out this site:
https://www.singireland.ie/participation/benefits-of-singing
An easy and inspiring read! Scroll to the bottom for a song and some posters from the European Choral Association – Europa Cantat . Click on visual resources from their Summer 2021 campaign showcasing the benefits of singing.
November, 2021:
An opera singing program helps patients recover from long-haul Covid symptoms.
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi9xY-euIL0AhXmIzQIHRY5AhIQFnoECAwQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smithsonianmag.com%2Finnovation%2Fhow-opera-singing-is-helping-long-haul-covid-19-patients-recover-180977497%2F&usg=AOvVaw3Ez3I7dDfbKmXSti-QhAPo
This article from the Smithsonian magazine details a program from England that encourages opera singing to really engage those breathing techniques to sustain long notes and wide ranges. 90% of participants from a wide range of backgrounds felt an improvement in symptoms.
Written by Jennifer Nalewicki, April 2021
December, 2021:
Post-Pandemic Performances Are Business As Usual – Or Are They? Oct. 27, 2021
In this article, author Joanna Mitchell talks about choirs returning to live performances. She says that, “the trepidation of live performances goes hand in hand with great joy.” She also reminds us that it’s important to remember that “while things may look and feel as though they are ‘back to normal’, that couldn’t be further from the truth.” She says that “ this season will take much thought, flexibility and adaptation from both choirs and their audiences” and maintains that the resourcefulness and dedication that got us to this point in the pandemic will, no doubt, get us back to business as usual in due course. Check it out at: https://blog.chorusconnection.com/post-pandemic-performances-are-business-as-usual-or-are-they.
January, 2022:
10 Ways that Singing Benefits Your Health (Nov., 2020) In this article, Rebecca Stanborough, MFA, tells us that “there’s solid scientific evidence to prove that singing is, in fact, good for your body and your mind” Check out the full article at https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-singing
February, 2022:
Voices in Motion: Research Reveals the Magic of Choral Music for People Living with Dementia; Anna Moore, Island Health Magazine (Fall 2020)
Read how BC’s Voices in Motion choirs bring joy, connection and support to persons living with dementia and their caregivers. Dr. Debra Sheets, VIM co-founder and researcher at the University of Victoria shares an article outlining the many benefits to all who participate. Their research is ongoing, with more studies to be released later this year. See the link in the article for more information on VIM and their research.
Island Health – IHM_Fall_links_2020 (uberflip.com)
March, 2022:
Choral Impact Study: Singing for a Lifetime
This study addresses topics such as optimism, resilience, diversity, tolerance, and quality of life. It is a comprehensive 31 page study but don’t get put off by the length since it is well laid out visually and is easy to read.
Excerpts from this study were featured in the Spring 2022 BCCF Lifelong Singers newsletter, a copy of which is attached to this newsletter.
April, 2022:
Choir singing can improve cognitive functioning among the elderly
“…choir singing provides a good opportunity to support the well being of the elderly, as it requires flexible executive function and the regulation of attention.”
May, 2022:
The Health Benefits of Singing in a Choir
Singing can in itself be quite exhausting. You often stand for long periods of time and you need to be extremely focused on the task in hand. You may need to sing in a different language, and you need to concentrate on things like rhythm, dynamics and tone colour. In spite of that, we know that singing in a choir is good for us, but do we know exactly why? Here’s one reason.
Professor of psychosocial medicine and researcher into stress levels, Töres Theorell, has done a great deal of research examining the link between singing and health. The research showed that the levels of the hormone oxytocin increased in singers which helped to relieve pain. The singers became calmer and more relaxed because the body had released oxytocin, also known as the “love hormone”! Who knew?
This information was taken from the article “The Health Benefits of Singing in a Choir” in the International Choral Bulletin, a publication of the International Federation for Choral Music
June, 2022:
Music is truly a universal language and choral singing is one of the most powerful ways to communicate with it. On May 11, 2022, the Vancouver Island Choir, under the direction of Patricia Plumley, embarked on an 11-day tour of Spain that took them from Barcelona to Madrid, stopping in Tarragona, Montserrat, Valencia, Albufera National Park, Granada, Alhambra, Costa del Sol, Fuengirola, and Gibraltar. They had an amazing time of singing and sight-seeing. Read this account of their adventure written by Ted Pierre, BCCF Director for Central Vancouver Island and member of the BCCF Advocacy Portfolio group.
Did You Know that music increases our ability to connect with one another by impacting brains circuits involving empathy, trust and cooperation? This perhaps explains why music has survived in every culture of the world.
Sing Together! the BC Choral Federation’s Sing Together! campaign was officially launched at Chorfest on May 28. Check here to view the videos, scores, posters – plus a myriad of learning supports and ideas for how to use them with children, choirs and the community at large.
August, 2022:
1 Voice – 17 Styles of Singing: a Spectrogram Analysis.
The voice is an incredibly versatile instrument because of our ability to bring out different overtones in our sound. A spectrogram analysis gives a visual for which overtones are present and strongest. Check out this video to see the effect of different styles of singing such as Opera (Bel Canto, Baroque), Musical Theatre (character voice, 20th and 21st century), Country, Pop, Indie Rock, New Age and many more. The voice is such an interesting instrument!
September, 2022:
“A Common Obsession”: Children’s and Young People’s Perceptions of Learning in an Intensive Summer Choral Program
This article presents the findings of an investigation of children’s and young people’s perceptions of learning and life outcomes, environmental supports and teaching and learning strategies encountered in an intensive summer choral program. Among the issues highlighted are: the importance of belonging to a special choral community, the acceptance of difference, and feeling of inclusion offered by that community.”
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ., 22 February 2022
Sec. Language, Culture and Diversity
https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.827496
REFECTIONS ON THE POWER OF MUSIC:
“If we are to hope for a society of culturally literate people, music must be a vital part of our children’s education.” – Yo-Yo Ma
“My Mum was the one who pushed me into joining a choir all those years ago when I was 12. I remember she told me to start with the choir and just see where it took me.” – Susan Boyle
“Use what talent you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sing best.” – Unknown
January, 2023:
The Science of Singing in Tune, Dec. 14, 2021. Published by Dr. Sean Hutchins, neuroscientist and Director of Research at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Did You Know that singing is a motor skill? It is a physical act involving precise movements of the lungs, vocal folds, throat, tongue, and mouth: singing even a single note in tune requires coordinating all of these together. So why is it that some people, despite their best efforts, do not seem to be able to sing in tune? Turns out that most of those people have a problem with motor coordination…. they have a problem getting their voice to do what they want it to. Read the full article here.
Check out the rcmusic.com site for information about many studies in neuroscience pertaining to the benefits of music education.
Something to think about:
“Ah, music,” (Dumbledore) said, wiping his eyes. “A magic beyond all we do here!”
― A quote from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
February, 2023:
Can you decolonize the world through choral music? That’s exactly what Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan, a Hawaiian professor from Arizona State University visiting St. Catharines, Ontario aims to do. Follow this link to read the full article: How a professor from Hawaii is trying to decolonize the world through music.
Did you know
that Dr. Saplan is known as a national thought leader and consultant in enacting social change and equity-driven practice through the choral arts? Click here for more information about Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan.
March, 2023:
A Glimpse into Speech Impediment and Singing
How is it that some individuals, who stutter while speaking, do not stutter when singing? The answer is inconclusive and this subject continues to be the object of deep study.
A 2018 blog on ‘How Singing Reverses Neurological Problems with Speech’ by Zoe McDonald provides some insight into Melodic Intonation Therapy, or, music therapy for speech impediment individuals.
Amanda Mammana, a then 19-year-old singer from Connecticut, appeared on the TV program America’s Got Talent in 2022 and showed the world the beauty of her voice. Her stutter was not a factor as she so wonderfully proved.
Mel Tillis was a country music singer who had a long list of top 10 hits in the latter part of the 20th century. Here he is being interviewed, in 1976, on the Johnny Carson Show with guest host Roy Clark – – and here he is singing.
As Zoe McDonald wrote, “With an increase in research in this field, the answers to these questions will hopefully eventually become clear. Until then, singing may be the path to fluency for many victims of neurologically-based speech impairments.” Speech impediment continues as a well researched subject with, as yet, no conclusions. However, singing is proven to be therapy for the soul.
POINT TO PONDER:
“The music department is an alternate universe where pupils are often unrecognizable from who they are outside of it. The shy become confident. The agitated become calm. The lonely become included and the lost become found. Music reveals the real child.” – Vaughan Fleischfresser, music educator, University of Edinburgh