Community Singing Research Articles

Addressing the Global Crisis of Social Connection: Singers As Positively Energizing Leaders Who Create Belonging in Our Communities

ABSTRACT Social connection is fundamental to good mental and physical health, yet globally we are experiencing a crisis of connection. Singers exhibit leadership qualities which can be harnessed to rebuild social connections through community group singing activities. Increasingly, music and singing are understood and enacted as a practice of care. Despite this, and partly due to the predominance of performing and teaching within singers’ working lives, community music practices such as group singing for social connection remain on the margins of singers’ career portfolios. This article introduces a range of perspectives not often considered within the singing voice research literature—from leadership theory and social psychology—to position singers as “positively energizing community leaders” who can help address this crisis of connection. Singers’ embodied, aesthetic practice, coupled with their natural desire to connect with others and share human experiences, enables them to build positive, caring relationships and health-enhancing social identities within community singing groups. The article concludes with discussion of the opportunities and challenges for singers in taking up the mantle of positively energizing community leadership, and a call for robust research to establish how singers contribute to addressing the social connection crisis across diverse contexts.

The musical past revives in the present: An investigation into the cultural heritage of a community

This article explores how two specific musical performances, drawing respectively on the rich repertoire of Italian sacred music and a specific sound environment of a region, can promote cultural participation and ingenuity in the Italian countryside amidst uncertainty and demographic change due to depopulation and the loosening of traditional communal ties. The first study focuses on a specific case in the town of Ortona dei Marsi in the Italian province of L’Aquila. A seemingly everyday experience – participation in community singing – is considered and appreciated from a musicological perspective, while its importance for the revitalisation of a community is recognised. The rediscovering of a forgotten musical heritage contributes to an evolving, prosaic sense of rural cultural resources. The particular case of the community of the small rural town of Ortona dei Marsi, overcoming isolation, distance and new circumstances through the revitalisation of a musicologically significant object, sheds light on how a community serendipitously uses the opportunity to make and maintain music together to demonstrate social and cultural resilience. The second study looks at the experiences of middle school students in the Italian city of Biella of a specific sound memory that guides and paves the way to a diverse learning environment.

노래놀이 프로그램 모형 개발 연구

Objectives This study tries to develop a new teaching model of Singing Play in kindergartens and elementary schools based on the community. Methods This Community-based Singing Play Program was developed based on the ADDIE model. The ADDIE model is a stage of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. This Singing Play Program model applied to 13 kindergarten and elementary school students in Busan, and a final Singing Play Program model was developed. Results First, it was confirmed that a community-based Singing Play kindergarten and elementary School linked program could achieve its meaningful goal. Second, a mixed-age community consisting of young and elementary school students is a strong organization that increases feelings of leadership and belonging as a member of the community, which adds meaning and value to communities. Third, the Community Singing Play Program combines traditional and modern background songs with play, thus playing a role in connecting traditional and modern culture for participants. Fourth, not only did the songs used for singing serve as a useful medium for forming communities, but also played the role of ‘play facilitator’ that encouraged the community to engage in the play. Fifth, the activities of singing programs spread to families, aided in the resolving of conflicts between families and distrust and misunderstandings about each other, leading to the restoration of family functions. Conclusions The Development of Community-based Singing Play Program Model for Connected Education of Kindergarten and Elementary School that it have meaning and value as a program that implements children's and play-oriented curriculum, and the subjects have more leadership and sense of belonging than conflict caused by leadership tattoos or competition during play. In addition, this program played a bridging role in continuing traditional and modern games in this era when play was disappearing.

Singing for Wellbeing: Formulating a Model for Community Group Singing Interventions.

Research into the benefits of community-based group singing, pertaining to positive wellbeing and Quality of Life is lacking. Additionally, no preferred theoretical framework exists for community singing-based interventions. For the present study, six members of a UK community choir were interviewed using a semi-structured interview approach. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was employed. Analysis produced superordinate themes of: Social Factors with key elements such as social bonds and group identity; Psychological Factors, highlighting self-efficacy, self-identity and positive emotions and Psychological Motivations for Joining the Group, including autonomy, change of life circumstance and seeking a new challenge. The style/method of the group, teaching, music and group leader, were shown to have an influence on perceived benefits of the singing group. A key product of this study beyond the evidenced benefits of group singing is the development of an intervention model that optimises wellbeing outcomes in community singing groups underpinned by psychological theory, findings from the wider literature and the results of this study.

“It just fills you up”: The culture of monthly community singing events in one American city

This article conveys data collected in an ethnographic case study exploring monthly participatory community singing events in one city in the American Midwest. I analyze these data through the lens of a “traditional” choral conductor who, prior to undertaking this investigation, had little knowledge about participatory singing traditions; I also utilize scholarship about participatory versus presentational music activities as defined by Turino. Themes that arose during data analysis include: the context of folk music culture of Middletown, the inclusivity of community singing events, the role of the song-leader in facilitating these events, and “wounding stories” from participants who were discouraged by music educators. Perhaps in reflecting on the dichotomy between performative and participatory singing events, the choral community may begin to unlearn strictures that make some singers feel unwelcome.

‘Becoming the song’: Alice Parker, community singing and unlearning choral strictures

This article conveys research about participatory community singing that I explore through various lenses. I present thoughts and reflections from my interview with Alice Parker, who has many years of experience leading community singing events as well as ethnographic data collected from a monthly community singing event in the American Midwest. I analyse these data through the lens of a ‘traditional’ choral conductor who, prior to undertaking this investigation, had little knowledge about participatory singing traditions; I also utilize scholarship on the differences between participatory and presentational music activities. In our interview, Ms Parker drew on many years of experience in both areas to provide touchstones for facilitating community singing events and also the differences between these events and more traditional choral settings. Perhaps in reflecting on this dichotomy, facilitators of these two important forms of music making might learn from one another.

Virtual Community Singing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Virtual Community Singing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Evaluating the benefits of inclusive community singing towards well-being: narratives of diverse community members attending an inclusive singing group

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the benefits of an inclusive community singing group towards well-being. Design/methodology/approach This study used an exploratory qualitative study (EQS) approach. Semi-structured questions were devised and used to elicit participants’ experiences on the impact of an inclusive community singing group towards well-being. A thematic approach underpinned by the four phases of The Silences Framework was used to analyse the data. Findings This study found the following benefits of an inclusive community singing group towards well-being Connecting with others, Physical improvement, Learning new skills, Giving to others and Mindfulness. Originality/value This study concluded that inclusive community singing plays a pivotal role in enhancing the health and well-being of communities.

Everybody Sing! Community Singing in the American Picture Palace. By Esther M. Morgan-Ellis. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2018.

Everybody Sing! Community Singing in the American Picture Palace. By Esther M. Morgan-Ellis. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2018.

Pilot Randomised Evaluation of Singing in Dementia (PRESIDE): protocol for a two-arm, parallel-group randomised controlled feasibility study with waiting-list control

BackgroundAs the number of people living with dementia grows, so does the need to provide them with adequate psychosocial support. Many people with dementia live at home with family carers, who also require social and emotional support to cope with their role. Community group singing has received attention for its potential to support people with dementia and their carers. It is postulated that singing can improve cognitive function, strengthen the bonds between care partners and help to establish social support networks. However, there is a lack of rigorous evidence of singing’s benefits for this population. This study aims to test the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial of community singing in dementia, to pave the way for a larger, conclusive study.MethodsThe PRESIDE study is designed as a two-arm, parallel-group randomised trial with a waiting list control. Dyads consisting of a person with dementia (n = 80) and their carer (n = 80) will be recruited. Each dyad will be randomised either to attend 10 weeks of community group singing sessions straight away or to wait for 3 months before attending the sessions. The singing sessions will be led by experienced professional musicians and will last about 90 min, including time for socialising. The primary outcome of this study is the attainment of feasibility criteria around recruitment, retention and the acceptability of the waiting list control. Secondary outcomes include the quality of life, mood, cognition, and musical engagement of the person with dementia, and quality of life, mood, and experiences/challenges of the carer. These data will be collected during home visits at baseline, and 3 and 6 months post-baseline.DiscussionDespite growing public interest in the positive effects of singing, and encouraging findings from qualitative and non-randomised quantitative studies, there is a lack of rigorous evidence. This is the first randomised controlled trial of community group singing for people with dementia in Europe, to our knowledge. If the results favour a full trial, conclusively demonstrating the effectiveness of group singing could positively affect the opportunities available to community-dwelling people with dementia and their carers.Trial registrationUnique identification number in ISRCTN registry: ISRCTN10201482. Date registered: 12 May 2020

Community singing, wellbeing and older people: implementing and evaluating an English singing for health intervention in Rome.

Aim:The aim of this research was to explore the transferability and effectiveness of the English Silver Song Clubs model for older people in a different social and cultural context, that is, in the capital city of Italy, Rome.Methods:A single condition, pretest, post-test design was implemented. Participants completed the following two questionnaires: EuroQoL-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) and York Short Form (SF)-12.Results:After the singing experience, participants showed a decrease in their levels of anxiety and depression. An improvement was also found from baseline to follow-up in reported performance of usual activities. The English study showed a difference between the singing and non-singing groups at 3 and 6 months on mental health, and after 3 months on specific anxiety and depression measures. This study (Rome) shows similar findings with an improvement on specific anxiety and depression items.Conclusion:Policy makers in different national contexts should consider social singing activities to promote the health and wellbeing of older adults as they are inexpensive to run and have been shown to be enjoyable and effective.

Book Review: Everybody Sing! Community Singing in the American Picture Palace, by Esther M. Morgan-Ellis

Book Review: <i>Everybody Sing! Community Singing in the American Picture Palace</i>, by Esther M. Morgan-Ellis

Community as a discursive construct in contemporary Danish singing culture

Community singing—the informal practice of collective singing at social occasions—has traditionally served various societal purposes. Recently, however, new types of community singing events have emerged in Denmark that make the singing act itself the central purpose for gathering rather than an appendage. Such events indicate that community singing is becoming more about participating in a performance and less about consolidating an ideological common ground. On the basis of an analysis of present public discourse, this article pursues the questions of how singing is perceived to construct community, and what kind of community can be formed when the importance of semantic song content fades. In conclusion, it is proposed that modern singing events, rather than merely reinforcing existing communities, now produce self-reliant, musically imagined communities.

Radio, Sound Cinema, and Community Singing: The Making of a New Sonic Culture in Modern China

The rise of choral singing as public performance in Shanghai during the mid-1930s was the result of overlapping historical developments and conditions. This study considers how new sound technologies, the introduction of new singing subjects as well as subject matter, and an acute sense of the nation in crisis converged to turn “community singing” into a fresh musical practice and generate a new sonic culture. Sound cinema in particular made new heroes visible as well as audible. Liu Liangmo, a secretary of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Shanghai, was instrumental in initiating and promoting the community singing movement. His efforts, along with contributions by Lü Ji, a composer and music theorist of the cultural left, propelled the emergence of China as a “singing nation” by the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan in 1937. This process was an integral part of the cultural as well as political history of producing an articulate and audible subject against the soundscape of modernity.

Everybody Sing! Community Singing in the American Picture Palace by Esther M. Morgan-Ellis (review)

Everybody Sing! Community Singing in the American Picture Palace by Esther M. Morgan-Ellis (review)

“Making the many-minded one”: Community Singing at the Peabody Prep in 1915

“Making the many-minded one”: Community Singing at the Peabody Prep in 1915

Wybrane formy uczestnictwa w kulturze muzycznej podstawą kreowania więzi

&lt;p&gt;W artykule podjęłam próbę ukazania istoty uczestnictwa w kulturze muzycznej i jej miejsca w wychowaniu. W teoretycznych rozważaniach odniosłam się do treści zawartych w literaturze pedagogicznej i socjologicznej, traktujących o podstawach społecznego współżycia i współdziałania. na przykładach zaczerpniętych z historii, a także z praktyki pedagogicznej, ukazałam rolę muzykowania zespołowego w wychowaniu w przeszłości oraz zwróciłam uwagę na współczesne możliwości wykorzystania tej formy aktywności w budowaniu więzi społecznych. przedmiotem moich rozważań uczyniłam uczestnictwo w spontanicznym, wspólnotowym śpiewie oraz w zorganizowanych zespołach: instrumentalnym i chóralnym.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;W podsumowaniu odniosłam się do współczesnej sytuacji w tej dziedzinie oraz wskazałam pozytywne inicjatywy wychowawcze godne naśladowania.&lt;/p&gt;

Music participation for older people: Five choirs in Victoria, Australia

In Australia and across the globe music participation by older people active in the community has the potential to enhance quality of life. A recent review of the literature found clear evidence of numerous benefits from participation in active music making that encompass the social, physical and psychological. This article reports on five phenomenological case studies of community singing groups comprised of older people active in the community in Melbourne, Victoria. These studies are part of a research project, Well-being and Ageing: Community, Diversity and the Arts in Victoria that began in 2008. Interview data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis and are reported under three overarching themes: Social connection, A sense of well-being, and Musical engagement. For older people in these studies singing in community choirs offered opportunities for social cohesion, positive ageing, and music learning that provided a sense of personal and group fulfilment, community engagement and resilience.

Community singing groups for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: participant perspectives.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health issue which is irreversible and progressive, but previous research suggests that singing may have beneficial effects. The aim of this study was to establish the views of participants with COPD taking part in a singing for better breathing programme. This was a descriptive qualitative study nested within a single-cohort feasibility study which included measures of lung function and wellbeing. Participants ( n = 37) were interviewed following a community singing programme that ran over 10 months in South East England. Findings support those from previous studies regarding the impact of singing on respiratory wellbeing. These included the teaching on breath control, relaxation and the breathing exercises, singing as a means to deflect attention away from breathing problems, leading to increased activity levels and the mutual support for respiratory problems. Beyond the impact on breathing, the singing was also seen as fun, and provided friendship and a 'feel-good' factor which led to motivation to participate in further activities. For some, it was the highlight of the week, and singing together in a group was felt to be central to the benefits experienced. Findings are compared with the quantitative measures within the same study. The majority of participants reported improvements in respiratory symptoms as well as mental and social wellbeing following the programme. The study contributes to the evidence base in supporting and highlighting the consistently positive experiences of a large sample of participants, despite variable outcomes in clinical measures.

Warren Kimsey and Community Singing at Camp Gordon, 1917–1918

During the Great War, the Commission for Training Camp Activities (CTCA) pioneered a program in which civilian song leaders were assigned to camps throughout the United States. These men (and a few women) were instructed to organize regular community singing, train officers as song leaders, and cultivate musical talent among the soldiers. They also worked as song leaders in nearby towns and cities, an activity that was intended to improve military–civilian relations and promote patriotism. This article examines the career of Warren Kimsey, the first song leader assigned to Camp Gordon, an army training camp located near the city of Atlanta. Kimsey organized community singing both in the camp and in Atlanta, where he led enormous crowds in the newly constructed Auditorium–Armory. This study presents Kimsey’s work as a product of the nationwide community singing movement and its progressive political agenda, while at the same time contextualizing it in Atlanta’s identity as an emerging cultural center. It also identifies Kimsey’s contributions to music education in Georgia and discusses the broader influence of wartime song leaders on community music initiatives throughout the country.