The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has forced choirs to pause or at least to restrict rehearsals and concerts. Nevertheless, an uncertainty about the risks of infection while singing remains, especially with ...regard to distances, duration of singing, number of singers and their positions in the room, size of the room as well as ventilation strategies. Based on the assumption that CO2 is a suitable indicator for the exhaled aerosols in a room, it is the aim of this study to deduce recommendations for a choir rehearsal with a minimum risk of infection.
During two choir rehearsals in a typical, nonventilated classroom, we installed 30 CO2 sensors, which allow spatial and temporal evaluation of the CO2 dispersion during singing. Various singing and ventilation phases were applied and the rates of CO2 increase during singing as well as its decrease during ventilation phases were evaluated and compared for different scenarios.
The measurements reveal a linear relation between the duration of singing, size of the room and number of persons. For our size of the room of 200 m3 the average CO2 increase is 1.83 ppm/min per person. Masks or pure breathing without singing do - in contrast to aerosol dispersion - not influence the rate of CO2 increase. CO2 disperses fast and homogeneously on horizontal planes. However, a vertical layering with a maximum CO2 concentration is observed near the ceiling. Shock ventilation shows the largest CO2 decrease within the first 5 min, after 10 min of ventilation the outside base concentration of 400 ppm is reached again.
The evaluated relations allow to calculate safe singing times for a defined number of singers and size of the room until a critical threshold of 800 ppm is reached. Furthermore, in order to monitor the actual CO2 concentration during choir rehearsal, just one CO2 sensor is representative for the air quality and CO2 concentration of the whole room and thus considered sufficient. For an early warning, it should be installed near the ceiling. Direct singing into a sensor should be avoided. A ventilation time of just 5 min is recommended which represents a compromise between strong CO2 reduction and still sufficient room temperature during winter time.
Choir singing is an activity that engages individuals all over the world with a broad demographic representation. Both qualitative and quantitative studies have examined the benefits of the activity ...but very few have examined the effects when someone loses access to it and stops singing.
Examining the governmental and organisational responses precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, we asked what happens when a choir singer loses all of their routines associated with regular participation in choir singing.
One national choir organization in Sweden (n = 3163) and one in Norway (n = 1881) were approached with a short survey. This comprised questions relating to the issue “what do you as a choir singer misses the most?” Each participant was asked to rate the importance of a number of elements that pertain to the experience of choir singing.
The social aspect of singing emerged as having the strongest weight in terms of perceived loss that is, it was the element that the participants missed the most. Professional singers report that they miss the aesthetic experiences, flow, and all the physical aspects (physical training, voice training, and breathing training) to a greater degree as compared to reports from the amateurs. The importance of aesthetic experiences and physical components appeared to rise with increasing number of years that an individual had engaged with choir singing.
In the Scandinavian setting, the social aspect has a stronger weight than the other components and this seemed to be more significant in Norway compared to Sweden.
This study explored the impact of participation in Voices in Motion (ViM), an intergenerational community choir program that involved persons with dementia, care partners, and high school students in ...Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Data came from interviews with 23 duets, each consisting of a person with dementia and their care partner; additionally, five focus groups with 29 students across two ViM choirs were conducted. Choir rehearsals and concerts were also observed. The analysis revealed that those with dementia have an embodied ability to fully participate in the choir and perform songs despite cognitive decline and memory loss. Involvement in the choirs also facilitated the emergence of strong social relationships among participants while students reported gaining a deeper understanding of the everyday experiences of living with dementia. Through well-attended concerts and performances at public events, ViM also helped re-humanize persons living with dementia by challenging the narrative of decline and its associated stigma.
•Persons with dementia retain the ability to sing in a choir despite cognitive loss•Choir singing encourages social relationships beneficial to persons with dementia•Students in the choir gain a deeper understanding of living with dementia•Well-attended public concert performances help challenge the stigma of dementia•Choir singing serves as an embodied process of creative self-expression in dementia
This anthology deals with co-singing (Norwegian: samsang) in different life stages and various settings in a Scandinavian context. Co-singing forms an essential part of our shared cultural heritage. ...Co-singing involves all forms of singing-activities in which people coexist, and characterizes in various ways human companionship throughout the course of life, from cradle to grave. From a critical analytical perspective, the research in this anthology sheds light on several themes related to the importance and value of co-singing practice in terms of sensemaking and experiencing coherence in life. This involves musical, physical, psychological, emotional, cognitive, ethical, cultural, and social factors. The research project examines for instance the position of singing activities in Norwegian kindergartens and schools, co-singing and health-related topics, co-singing from a gender perspective, co-singing from a multicultural perspective, co-singing activities in light of motivation and coping, and also low-threshold, flexible daily life singing activities for persons with dementia and their relatives. Choir singing in various life stages, from childhood to age of retirement, are also explored in several chapters. With its broadly arranged and pluralistic approach, this anthology provides a multi-faceted contribution to the development of knowledge in the research field of music associated with the power and legitimacy of co-singing at the individual, group, and societal levels. The contributing authors have their practical and scientific experience from higher music education within the fields of music pedagogy, music performance, music therapy, music and health, and also from other types of cultural and musical practices.
Denne antologien omhandler samsang i ulike livsfaser og sammenhenger i en skandinavisk kontekst. Samsang utgjør en vesentlig del av vår felles kulturarv. Samsang, som innebærer alle former for sang der mennesker synger sammen, karakteriserer på ulike måter menneskelig samvær gjennom hele livsløpet, fra vugge til grav. Med et kritisk analytisk blikk belyser forskningsarbeidene i antologien varierte tematikker omkring samsangpraksisens betydning og verdi for meningsskaping og opplevelse av sammenheng i livet knyttet til musikalske, fysiske, psykiske, emosjonelle, kognitive, etiske, kulturelle og sosiale faktorer. Undersøkelsene innbefatter blant annet sangens stilling i norske barnehager og skoler, samsang og helserelaterte temaer, samsang i et kjønnsperspektiv, samsang i et flerkulturelt perspektiv, samsangaktiviteter i lys av mestring og motivasjon, samt hverdagslige samsangaktiviteter for personer med demens og deres pårørende. Korsang i ulike livsfaser, fra oppvekstår til pensjonsalder, tematiseres også i flere kapitler. Med sin bredt anlagte og pluralistiske tilnærming, gir antologien et mangesidig bidrag til kunnskapsutviklingen på det musikkpedagogiske området knyttet til samsangens kraft og legitimitet både på individ-, gruppe- og samfunnsnivå. Forfatterne har erfaring som praktikere og forskere fra høyere utdanning innen musikkpedagogikk, utøvende musikk, musikkterapi, musikk og helse og musikalske praksiser i det frie kunst- og kulturfeltet.
The author presents eight of his own group's studies. They have been published from early 1980s until 2016. Each study will be placed in its scientific context and discussed in relation to possible ...progress in arts and health research. In these examples, statistical methods with longitudinal designs and mostly control groups have been used. Some of them are randomized controlled trials. Physiological and endocrinological variables have been assessed in some of these studies in efforts to increase our understanding of how music experiences and other kinds of arts experiences interact with bodily reactions of relevance for health development. Although some of the studies have suffered from low statistical power and other methodological weaknesses, they show that it is possible to do statistical evaluations of arts interventions aiming at improved health.
Compared with other members of the general population, adults living with a chronic mental illness or disability tend to participate less frequently in occupational and social interactions. This may ...exacerbate problems such as emotional flattening and social isolation. Supported activities like choir singing present an opportunity for meaningful activity and social connectedness for these individuals. The aim of this study was to explore the personal experiences of choir members (89% of whom experienced chronic mental health problems, 28% physical disabilities and 11% intellectual disability) in relation to their wellbeing using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 21 members of the choir at three time points in the choir’s inaugural year: at the inception of the choir, after six months, and after 12 months. Three content themes emerged: (1) personal impact (positive emotions, emotional regulation, spiritual experience, self-perception, finding a voice); (2) social impact (connectedness within the choir, connection with audience, social functioning); and (3) functional outcomes (health benefits, employment capacity, and routine). A fourth theme of time was also apparent in the data. Results of this study were consistent with the social identity theory notion that forming a new and valued group identity (as a choir member) was associated with emotional and health benefits for the participants.
The breathing technique is a determining factor for the sound quality of the singers' vocal production and thus crucial for the choral sound. The aim of this study was to examine choral singers' ...awareness of breathing techniques and habits while singing and to identify potential correlations between the breathing technique and the preparatory gestures of the conductor.
In our prospective, quasi-experimental study, 720 choral singers answered a 25-item anonymous online survey which focused on demographic information, musical and choral experience, information on choir (size, type, repertoire) and conductor (age, gender, level of expertise). As the central issue we examined the subjects' general knowledge of breathing techniques and habits and their own use thereof in choral practice. Finally, subjects were asked to watch videos showing two different preparatory conducting gestures and to assess the meaning of these gestures.
The results of the study show that the majority of choral singers (68.1%) inhale not before and not after, but during the conductor's preparatory gesture. The most well-known (94.7%) and allegedly most frequently (81.8%) used type of inhalation is abdominal breathing. Six times more singers associate abdominal breathing with an outward gesture rather than with the more frequently occurring inward-upward gesture.
The conducting literature does not discriminate between out- and inward preparatory gestures and describe them as equivalent. However, according to our data, a vast majority of singers assign these gestures to different types of inhalation which influences singing technique and sound quality. This might lead to ambiguous action-reaction expectations from singers and conductors in rehearsals and concerts.
Research on choirs and other forms of group singing has been conducted for several decades and there has been a recent focus on the potential health and well-being benefits, particularly in amateur ...singers. Experimental, quantitative, and qualitative studies show evidence of a range of biopsychosocial and well-being benefits to singers; however, there are many challenges to rigor and replicability. To support the advances of research into group singing, the authors met and discussed theoretical and methodological issues to be addressed in future studies. The authors are from five countries and represent the following disciplinary perspectives: music psychology, music therapy, community music, clinical psychology, educational and developmental psychology, evolutionary psychology, health psychology, social psychology, and public health. This article summarizes our collective thoughts in relation to the priority questions for future group singing research, theoretical frameworks, potential solutions for design and ethical challenges, quantitative measures, qualitative methods, and whether there is scope for a benchmarking set of measures across singing projects. With eight key recommendations, the article sets an agenda for best practice research on group singing.
Background
Choir singing is an activity that engages individuals all over the world with a broad
demographic representation. Both qualitative and quantitative studies have examined
the benefits of ...the activity but very few have examined the effects when someone loses
access to it and stops singing.
Objectives
Examining the governmental and organisational responses precipitated by the COVID
19- pandemic, we asked what happens when a choir singer loses all of their
routines associated with regular participation in choir singing.
Materials and Methods
One national choir organization in Sweden (n= 3163) and one in Norway (n=1881)
were approached with a short survey. This comprised questions relating to the issue
“what do you as a choir singer miss the most?” Each participant was asked to rate the
importance of a number of elements that pertain to the experience of choir singing.
Results
The social aspect of singing emerged as having the strongest weight in terms of
perceived loss i.e. it was the element that the participants missed the most.
Professional singers report that they miss the aesthetic experiences, flow, and all the
physical aspects (physical training, voice training and breathing training) to a greater
degree as compared to reports from the amateurs. The importance of aesthetic
experiences and physical components appeared to rise with increasing number of
years that an individual had engaged with choir singing.
Conclusion
In the Scandinavian setting, the social aspect has a stronger weight than the other
components and this seemed to be more significant in Norway compared to Sweden
Aging is accompanied by difficulties in auditory information processing, especially in more complex sound environments. Choir singing requires efficient processing of multiple sound features and ...could, therefore, mitigate the detrimental effects of aging on complex auditory encoding. We recorded auditory event‐related potentials during passive listening of sounds in healthy older adult (≥ 60 years) choir singers and nonsinger controls. We conducted a complex oddball condition involving encoding of regularities in combinations of pitch and location features, as well as in two simple oddball conditions, in which only either the pitch or spatial location of the sounds was varied. We analyzed change‐related mismatch negativity (MMN) and obligatory P1 and N1 responses in each condition. In the complex condition, the choir singers showed a larger MMN than the controls, which also correlated with better performance in a verbal fluency test. In the simple pitch and location conditions, the choir singers had smaller N1 responses compared to the control subjects, whereas the MMN responses did not differ between groups. These results suggest that regular choir singing is associated both with more enhanced encoding of complex auditory regularities and more effective adaptation to simple sound features.
In the present study, we explored the role of regular choir singing on both simple and complex auditory encoding using an ERP experiment with three oddball conditions in healthy older adult (age ≥60 years) choir singers and non‐singer control subjects.
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