Is Singing Good For You?

Is singing good for you - yes.  I've just come back from a fascinating talk at Cheltenham Music Festival entitled 'Is Singing Good For You'.  Proven research by Oxford University and Imperial College confirms that it does.  In brief, singing with others on a regular basis improves peoples long term mood, commitment and social interaction. Playing an instrument and listening to music at home or in a concert situation gets the same results.  Interestingly, some NHS trusts are now piloting prescribing cultural activities, music, the arts instead of medication for Dementia etc.

It is now thought that mankind may have sang or made music of some sort before we were able to communicate through language - was it a way of collectively engaging?  Is that why we instinctively sing or hum to a new born baby and see them react with pleasure? At that stage babies have no language.