You may not think you are good at singing, but everyone can sing! Even if you sing on your own, in your room with headphones on and no-one around! There are some surprising health benefits to singing out loud! And just the same as anything, with a little help and training you can improve your singing. So if you ever wanted to enjoy singing even more, we can encourage you to take a singing lesson! If the following reasons don’t make you want to give it a go, at least keep on singing in the shower!
Singing strengthens the immune system
Research conducted at the University of Frankfurt, confirmed that singing boosts the immune system. The study included testing a profesional choir during a rehearsal singing Mozart’s “Requiem”. The researchers observed that the amount of Immunoglobulin A (a protein in the immune system that work as antibodies), were much higher right after the rehearsal. The same increases were not seen in the choir members who passively listened to the music.
Sounds are believed to improve specific aspects of your health and there are at least 5 different sounds you can sing to improve your bodies overall function:
Singing the short “a” sound (as in ahh) for 2-3 minutes will help you to stop feeling sad. It forces oxygen into the blood & brain, which in turn triggers a release of endorphins.
The short “e” sound (as in ‘echo’) makes the thyroid gland produce hormones that help to improve digestion & metabolism.
The long “e” sound (as in ‘see’) stimulates the pineal gland, boosting your alertness & learning. Try this before studying!
The long “o” sound (as in ‘open’) helps the pancreas and can regulate blood sugar after a meal.
The double “o” sound (as in ‘cool’) makes the spleen/immune system to boost infection-fighting white blood cells.
Let’s get singing to help our bodies fight off Corona Virus! We certainly need all the help we can get!
Singing is a workout
Have you ever found yourself tired after a good Karaoke session? Singing can be an excellent form of exercise, especially for those who are unable to like the older generation or those who are physically disabled. If you’re healthy, your lungs will still get a serious workout if you use the correct singing techniques. And you may be working muscles that you don’t generally use in other forms of exercise. Singing stimulates your overall circulation. And we all know that more oxygen benefits your whole body! Singing may even help to increase your aerobic capacity and stamina.
Singing improves your posture
The more you sing, the stronger your lungs become. As you work your chest muscles, your chest cavity expands, your shoulders and back align, and eventually it all works together, lifting and straightening your posture. Standing up straight is part of correct technique for singing. Your singing teacher will agree. And a good posture relieves back and neck strain!
Singing helps with sleep
Do you snore? Does your partner? Who can sleep with all this snoring going on? Well singing may be the answer to sweet dreams! According to a health article in Daily Mail Online, experts believe singing can help strengthen throat and palate muscles, which helps stop snoring and sleep apnea.
Singing combats Anxiety & Depression
As you sing, your brain triggers a release of endorphins. These help to alleviate depression, anxiety, and stress. Studies have even shown that singing can decrease our cortisol levels, which are responsible for stress. Singers often experienced improved mood and increased relaxation.
Gabriela Grabowski was born in Argentina. She is a singing teacher at The Shine School of Music, specializing in the Functional Voice Method (Rabine Method). She has more than 10 years of teaching experience in both Individual and Group Classes, for children, adolescents and adults. We chatted with her and asked her some questions about her interests in music and singing. Here is what she has to say!
What was the first thing that made you interested in music? Music has always been with me, my parents were very young and the radio was always playing in my house.
Who inspired you to make music? My earliest influences were 80s singers like Bonnie Tyler. In my teens grunge appeared and singers like Alanis Morrissette and then metal with singers like Anneke Van Giersbergen whose influence has stayed with me to this day. I have always been inspired by singers who compose their own music and are very personal like Bjork, Tori Amos, Eddie Vedder …
How would you describe the music you normally make? As a performer create and enjoy various styles: Jazz, Tango, Rock. But when composing I am more into indie rock or gothic metal.
What is your creative process like? I usually compose melodies that occur to me when I walk down the street (it happens very often) or when I am playing on the piano, I let myself get carried away by a sensation, an image, or perhaps a color, and then I add harmony and finally the lyrics . When I work with other musicians and the harmony is already composed because they already have one or several instruments, it is the same, I allow myself to be “inspired” by them and compose the melody and then finally the lyrics.
If you could choose to collaborate with any musician, who would it be? Phew there are many but I think if I had to choose only one it would be Bjork.
If you could choose to open any musician’s show, whose would it be? With my Rock project: Radiohead. With my acoustic song project: Fiona Apple.
Do you sing in the shower? What songs? I don’t sing much in the shower, but when I do I usually repeat a phrase that “floated” into my head (many times it’s a song that my students are working on) If I liked it, it gets stuck in my brain and I repeat it like a loop.
Of your concerts, which one have you enjoyed the most and why?
I really enjoy the stage in general, whatever the genre it is, as long as it sounds good to me (you are blessed if you have good sound technicians) But the ones that I enjoy the most are the concerts in which a beautiful silence is generated, the audience is “really listening ”and makes me feel very connected not only with what I am performing but also with them and with the musicians who are with me on stage. There is a concert that I did a few years ago touring singing tangos in the house of a town near Toulouse that fulfilled all that.
Where would you like to do a concert? With my Jazz band at the Duc de Lombards in Paris (I owe it to myself)
What famous musicians do you admire? Bjork, Fiona Apple, Anneke Van Giersbergen, Lisa Hannigan, Eddie Vedder, Amy Lee, Tom Yorke, Tori Amos, Sarah Vaughan, Bach (he’s more than famous haha), Arvo Pärt …
What has been the best advice you have been given? “No one is going to knock on your door looking for a singer, it’s you who has to knock on doors …”
If you could change something in the industry, what would it be? The music industry’s insistence on responding only to certain commercial “fashion of the moment” criteria and its “without money, you don’t exist”… but we are already entering the debate that we live in a world of capitalist consumption and the change should be cultural and blah blah …
How do you think the internet has impacted the music industry? I grew up listening to cassettes and leaving cds in the bars where I wanted to play, putting together an international tour without a manager would not have been possible without the internet. In my case, the Internet generated bridges that crossed oceans, shortened distances. It allows many musicians to spread our music, thus reaching places that would otherwise be impossible.
What would you be doing right now if we weren’t in confinement? Singing Jazz at a Festival !!
It’s the start of a new school year here in Spain, and at the Shine School of Music in Barcelona we are offering a fresh new group courses in music! After a long summer, now’s your chance for a new beginning! If you ever wanted to start singing or playing an instrument, don’t let “later” becomes “never”, start your musical journey now!
Group lessons are beneficial in that they provide a chance to those who may find shelling out for the private music lessons a bit of an economic burden. Besides being a great way to learn music in a fun environment, group lessons are also a super way to make new friends, all the while learning a new skill!
Shine Music School is running group lessons in the following:
All of these lessons are 4 hours a month, in 4 one hour classes, 1 class each week. You can check out our schedule for the time slots. Each of the lessons is facilitated by a professional music teacher. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact the school to find out more!
Besides these fixed group lessons, the Shine Music School also provides the option to arrange your own private group lessons. So if you and bunch of your friends or family would like to get together to learn an instrument or to sing, we can provide a flexible schedule, a talented teacher and great prices!
Let your musical journey begin!
If you don´t have your own instrument, not to worry, we can provide one for your first lesson and we also sell and rent both guitars and ukuleles!
At the Shine School of Music in Barcelona, we enjoy teaching singing and it’s one of our most popular classes. But singing a lot can take it’s toll, have you ever been singing at the top of your voice in the shower or at a rock concert? You may have experienced loosing your voice or a sore throat! These are things that can affect professional singers. Here are some tips and tricks to help you warm up your voice for singing. If you would like to take singing lessons with us, contact us for more info! Anyone can learn to sing!
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