Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Singing from the Heart

Having sung in a couple choirs before, the article Choir singers 'synchronise their heartbeats' from BBC News captured my interest immediately.

First off, before I go on to discuss content and such, can I just say that I adore British spellings?

The article can basically be summarized in one quote, "Choir singers not only harmonise their voices, they also synchronise their hearbeats, a study suggests." The article has scientific theories on how coordinating breathing synchronizes heartbeats, overall slowing down the heart rate. I thought this was fascinating because our choir director is always telling us how singing in a choir binds us, but I always wondered how true that could be, especially since our school choir is rather big. It's amazing to think that I am somehow linked to people simply because I have sung with them, even if I don't interact with them in any other way. (Of course, that's assuming that we're a choir that can actually harmonize well. Which, um, is debatable?)

The article also mentions at the end on how research is being done to see how singing could be beneficial to the health. Similar to yoga breathing, guided breathing has long term effects on blood pressure. In my personal opinion, I definitely believe this is true. After a good rehearsal, I’m always in better spirits. Choir is a way to relieve stress. Also, as I don't exercise nearly as much as I should, it's nice to think that something as simple as singing in a choir helps my health.

2 comments:

  1. I thought this was a very interesting article, too because I have a strong interest in music. Your commentary is very well written because it is not primarily a summary, unlike some of the other commentaries I have read. You clearly stated your opinions on the topic and recalled some of your own experiences, which I think was very well done.

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  2. It was a good article on an interesting topic. You had great commentary and gave good examples through personal experiences. I could easily tell what the article was about and the main topic. Everything was clear. Good job :)

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