Music in the Community and for the Community with Annie Griffith

Music in the Community and for the Community with Annie Griffith

Category: Health Benefits

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Back on the Horse…

By annieLeave a comment

I’ve been effectively laid off since March. No furlough for me, as I had taken a part-time job when I moved house, to try and fund some house renovations. This meant that I didn’t have the three years’ uninterrupted accounts that I needed to apply. So, it’s been a little thin on the ground here, although I’m incredibly grateful to my partner and his company for keeping working and enabling us to get by.

What it has meant is that I’ve spiralled into a bit of a dark place – I love what I do as a choir leader, and it has broken my heart that I haven’t been able to do it for so long. I’ve not felt like singing or playing music for a while now.

However, my daughter is back to school this week, and I realise that I need to pull up my socks and just get on with life. So here I am, sat at my computer, my audio set-up connected and looking at a pile of sheet music in front of me. I’m getting back on the horse. So here’s what I’ve discovered about singing after a long break:

  • My voice is so scratchy! I have done very little singing for 6 months. Normally I sing for at least an hour every day, and more on choir days. My voice and range have suffered from lack of use – much like your legs feeling wobbly after sitting in one position in the cinema to watch a very long film. The vocal cords are a muscle like any other in your body. It gets out of practice and weak. The only way to get back to where I was 6 months is by starting to move. I’m doing gentle humming and singing along with the radio, and singing to myself in the car. Be very careful – you don’t want to run the equivalent of a marathon after sitting down for six months. Take it very gently! Humming and quiet singing. don’t push anything.
  • My range (how high and low I can sing) depends on how I use my voice. Everyone’s tessitura (think of it as a ‘comfort zone’) is different. A good friend of mine once said, “Just because you CAN make a noise, doesn’t mean you SHOULD”. I find this very often with younger women who think they should be a soprano because they find singing non-tune parts difficult. They force their voices higher and higher and lose clarity and tone. A lot of men also want to sing lower than they should. Find a comfortable zone where you can sing a few notes without stress and strain. Concentrate on singing those. Extend it slowly, very slowly. If your throat gets tight, STOP! You probably have a favourite song or two which you think you sound good on. Play with those! Your range will extend the more you play and push it very gently.
  • Tiredness. Vocal tiredness is different from any other kind. Learn to recognise it. Your throat gets tight, it can even be painful. You are holding way too much tension in your jaw, face and throat when this happens. Learn to relax everything – move your head on your neck, let your jaw drop, let your face go slack, turn your vocal volume down by at least half and try again. Feel better? Take a rest, drink a warm drink and do something else. Come back to it later.
  • Really listen to your voice. If you have the ability to record yourself, do so. (Phones are excellent for this, and don’t have to be heard by anyone else). Are you on pitch? Singing the notes you are meant to? Sound like you did before? Be critical with yourself and have another go. Be honest, too. I’ll bet that you actually sound quite good! Enjoy it!
  • Find some warmups! I’m going to do some Youtube warm up videos, try using them as a gentle way back to singing.

I’m easing myself back into this for the sake of my happiness as well as for my business, but singing is such a vital way to connect with others, I don’t want to hold off any longer than I absolutely have to.

Let’s start singing together!

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Lifting Your Spirits!

By annieLeave a comment

It has seemed in the last couple of years as though the medical profession were finally understanding the importance of singing. Studies were being done about the effect that singing had on depression and cognitive function in people with degenerative brain conditions. All the studies were showing the hugely positive impact of music on people’s lives. Doctors were starting to prescribe group singing as a method of dealing with depressive disorders. It felt like we were turning a big corner in terms of the understanding of the part of music in holistic health.

And then we got Covid-19 and everything has gone a bit pants. There seems to have been an understanding that some social interactivity needs to take place for people’s mental health and the economy, but so far, the risks that are perceived as being part of group singing practice have meant that nothing can resume yet. We’re all making noises about “any day soon”, but we’re also very aware that we might be looking at a Christmas with no carols.

In the meantime we are all stuck in limbo with no music.

But there are things we can do to help ourselves when we feel low and sad and disconnected from our fellow singers. Here are some of the things I’ve found helpful:

  • Car singing. If you drive, and have access to a car, I cannot recommend this enough. Drive out into the nearest “middle of nowhere” place you can find, and crank up the stereo with feel-good tunes from a happy point in your life. Sing loudly where no-one can hear you. If you have countryside nearby, wind down the windows, stick your elbow out and move some real air through your vocal cords. It doesn’t matter if it isn’t in tune, or you don’t remember the words! Just sing!
  • Background music whilst doing other tasks. If you are working from home still, put on music whilst you work. Or whilst you cook dinner, or hoover (hoovering is good, put it on headphones and nobody will hear you singing along over the sound of the hoover!).
  • Compile a “Feel Good Playlist” which only has things that make you out and out happy on it. Online streaming services are excellent for this. Play it all the time. On headphones as you walk around the supermarket, on your daily walk to work, or making breakfast in the morning. Sing along whenever you feel you can.
  • Watch some silly music films. My recommendation of the moment is “Eurovision: The Legend of Fire Saga” which is cheesy, romantic, silly and uplifting. The soundtrack is on our “Feel Good Playlist” in this house. But there are equally good ones out there – I love “Pitch Perfect” and anything MGM with Howard Keel!
  • Basically, surround yourself with music and sing along whenever you feel you can. Living in close proximity to other people can make that feel really awkward, but sometimes scheduling “Silly Singalong” with other family/house members can help. If you are all feeling silly, then it makes it much more possible to sing in company.

Music can help us all, and right now, we all need help. The path out of the pandemic is not going to be straight. It is looking increasingly likely that there will be ups and downs, and wiggles left and right as we go in and out of lockdown, rules change every week, and life changes to accommodate all of it. But through all of this, let music be your guide and remember:

WE WILL ALL SING TOGETHER AGAIN.

Health Benefits

Depression and Singing.

By annieLeave a comment

Well, this is going to be a cheery post, isn’t it?

I’m not going to back away from it though – it needs addressing.  There are many things which stop you singing – and not just singing, but being creative in any form at all.  The one that I hate most is depression.  It’s not fashionable, and it’s definitely not the sort of thing that one often talks about in company, but if you catch people quietly, and in a confidential mood, you may discover that depression is a thing that happens to far more people than you realise.

I’ll put my hands up and say that I suffer from depression.  There you go.  I’ve said it.  Over the years I’ve figured out how to hide it pretty well, and most people who aren’t close to me even realise that it is a thing.  But it most definitely is.  And when I’m depressed I find it incredibly hard to create anything of any merit.  Or maybe it’s just that I think it has no merit because I’m depressed.  In actuality, I don’t much care about the “why”, I just can’t do anything.  It’s horrible and tends to lead to a downward spiral of negativity which never ends in a particularly good place.

I’m luckier than most because I run choirs.  I am forced to sing multiple times every week because otherwise I am letting people down.  And if there’s one thing that makes me feel worse than having to go out and do things whilst depressed, it’s letting other people down.  So…  I sing.  I have to sing.

And no matter how bad I feel before I go out, I can *guarantee* that I’ll feel better after I’ve sung for an hour and a half.  I can feel the depression ‘fog’ lifting, and for a not-inconsiderable amount of time, I do feel a whole lot better.  This works whether the depression is situational or just out-of-the-blue chemical.

But why?  Well, there’s significant evidence to show that when we sing or make music of any kind, our brains release dopamine.  Dopamine is the “pleasure” chemical that is released in our brains when we do something that feels good – eating chocolate, taking a hot bubble bath or falling in love.  It is the same neurotransmitter that some of the more addictive drugs can stimulate.  Singing really does make you feel high in the same way that a tiny dose of an illegal drug might do.  Added to this, the action of opening your lungs and breathing intensively will aerate your blood and make your heart pump a little faster, which will make you feel more alert and combat the tiredness which depression often triggers.  If you are singing with a group of other people in a communal setting such as a choir, then it becomes even better.  It’s been proven in scientific studies that singing in groups makes our heartbeats synchronise and gives us a feeling of belonging and self-worth that is difficult to mimic in any other way.  Singing with other people bonds you into a social group, literally, and helps to battle the isolation of depression.

The important thing to remember is that singing is only going to help if you ACTUALLY DO IT.  The cruel irony of life with depression is that it tries very hard to isolate you and stop you from doing anything at all, when going out and doing something is exactly what you need.  The urge to just stay at home in bed or on the sofa is very, very strong.  But if you can force yourself to go out and sing, it *will* help, I promise.

It’s well worth talking to your choir leader as well.  Let them know how you’re feeling, and they’ll keep an eye on you.  If there are certain songs that trigger feelings of sadness or depression, tell your choir leader, so that they can work on other things if at all possible.  Remember that this is a partnership, and it is only by working together that you’ll get all the benefits.  Let your choir leader know what’s happening with you, and let them help.

So there we go.  I get depression.  I sing.  It helps.  I hope it helps you, too…

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Singing vs. Cancer?

By annieLeave a comment

blog-sing-for-your-health-memd-300x300I was recently passed a clipping about a fascinating study being undertaken by Tenovus Cancer Care.  They are a charity providing support to cancer patients and funding lots of different research.

One of their most recent studies involves the effects of choral singing on cancer patients.  You will be unsurprised to find out that the results are extremely positive.
We certainly expect to see lowered levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) after singing, and this is an effect that has been seen and studied in choirs all over the world, along with improved moods and lessening of depression.

What wasn’t expected, but is very welcome indeed is the elevated levels in a range of biomarkers related to immune function and inflammatory response in the body, both of which may be linked to the body’s ability to fight serious illnesses including cancer.

It is early days yet, and more research is planned, but right now, it looks like the evidence is pointing towards singing being an effective way for cancer patients to improve their mood, bond socially with other people in the same situation and actively fight the disease.  What’s not to like?

Anyone who sings with a choir will have noticed the effect on mood.  I see it week after week, particularly in the choirs that I run immediately after a work day – people come in, tired and low after a long, hard day, but as soon as we start singing – and particularly when we nail a hard bit! – the mood lifts and lifts.  By the end of 75 minutes of singing and laughing together, people leave with a smile on their faces, often singing as they go.  I swear that the best sound in the world is the sound of people singing as they leave.  They don’t *have* to be singing at this point, but are just enjoying it so much that they don’t want to stop.  It’s a sign that the choir leader has done their job well, and that the singer is carrying that joy and music forward into the rest of their week.  It’s the best thing in the world to know that 🙂

Singing is also a positive anti-depressant – so much so that many doctors are recommending patients start singing instead of increasing their reliance on drug-based solutions.  The combination of lowered cortisol, and increased endorphin and oxytocin levels means that singers feel less stressed, and happier about their general situations.

With all of these health benefits – how can you resist joining a choir?  Nobody is going to judge your voice, and you’ll make new friends as well as helping to keep your health in tip-top condition!

Oh, and you’ll sing some great songs, too – how great is that?