Friday JohnKu – AKA- TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News

~ John W. Howell
Flaviu Costin on Unsplash

 

This week’s good news story comes just in time for the holidays from The Good News Network.

Singing with Other People Improves Health More Than Singing Alone

By

Good News Network

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Singing has been linked to numerous benefits for health, well-being, disease resistance, and recovery from injury. Still, when singing in a group, these benefits are greater than those of solo singers.

The research, though not new, still makes for a pretty darn good reason to join a caroling group or church choir for the holidays, or to take New Year’s Eve as an opportunity for some karaoke.

In this era of research into health and wellbeing, with more information available than ever, and expert voices contradicting recommendations at every turn—even those long thought to be made up of ‘settled science,’ it pays to set down some first principles.

Here’s one that serves as an effective guiding light in almost all situations: human health is the most resilient when existing in accord with our species’ evolutionary history.

Homo sapiens is a social animal, with virtually every facet of his lifestyle dependent in nature on his fellow man. Given that social isolation is deadly to our species, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that harmonizing our voices together makes us feel better than belting out a song on our own.

Some scientists believe humans actually sang before we could speak: that we gradually expanded our capacity for vocalizations by mimicking the tones of nature.

Singing activates the vagus nerve, which modulates our body’s ability to calm itself. The activation is done through long and slow expirations and inhalations needed to sing whole verses and long notes, which doubles up with a thorough activation of numerous neural pathways on both sides of the brain, and a release of feel-good endorphins.

David Cox, exploring this topic for the BBC, wrote that singing also produces other measurable physical effects, including regulation of the heart rate and blood pressure. Singing in groups or choirs, Cox says, has even been found to boost \immune function in ways that simply listening to the same music cannot.

Some of this might be explained by the demands singing puts on the pulmonary system, which has been calculated to be as demanding as a brisk intensity walk. With cardiovascular exertion, there is health and greater physiological alignment, including in the immune system.

However, science has also shown that complete strangers can forge unusually close bonds after singing together in a way not seen in team sports, for example. This is called the ice-breaker effect, and very much captures the fact that singing can reveal the interior character of a person more than chit-chat can.

“I can’t speak for all the cultures of the world, but in the West, singing seems very much an extension of speech,” said GNN’s managing editor Andy Corbley, who was trained as a singer and worked as a children’s vocal coach before entering journalism.

“In my work, I found the children who were most eager to tell me about their life outside of classes were also the ones who projected their voice the most in the studio. I had one student who was a selective mute, and who wouldn’t speak with me—couldn’t even say hello—but after 90 minutes of coaching, was able to sing the words she ordinarily wouldn’t speak.”

“To my mind, it shows how singing begins with trust: trust in yourself that your words have value and power, and trust that those around you will listen to those words. That’s a very powerful, sort of, social contract.”

The good news about this story is it is good for the health to sing with others instead of avoiding them. Today’s JohnKu talks about getting together. I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Together by John W. Howell © 2025

The science shows it,

One case of good assembly . . .

Singing with humans

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Published by John W. Howell

I have been working in business for over forty years and now have the time to work in special areas of interest. My passion has always been to create compelling stories of fiction. I have authored six novels and am working on my Seventh. The first novel is still in manuscript form and being utilized as a door stop in the laundry room. The second is a contemporary fiction novel of 89,000 words and is complete and I am currently seeking a publisher. I also write poetry but have not had the guts to share any with anyone. The one time I read a piece to a person their only comment was, “it doesn’t rhyme.” I will continue to write and hopefully my blog, Fiction Favorites at www.johnwhowell.com will provide some entertainment and an interesting thought or two. I live in the Austin area with my wife Molly and an assortment of loving pets.

91 thoughts on “Friday JohnKu – AKA- TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News”

  14. Wonderful story, John, and thank you for sharing it. I’ve long been a proponent (as you know!) of music, and it just stands to reason that making music with others is good for one’s health. Nice that science is confirming that!

    Liked by 1 person

        2. No problem, John, it’s actually what I use for the blog. My first name is really Robbie. Thanks for the kind apology!
          (Autocorrect is a minor bane of my existence-I get all kinds of strange corrections!)

          Liked by 1 person

    1. The doorbell interrupted me a moment ago… and now WP has kicked me out just before posting my clarification… Anyhow, I meant disagreeing specifically about groups vs alone. The Karaoke therapy I created for myself is healing and helpful in ways that singing with a group could never be. Regardless, it’s a great article, John. Good food for thought. Thanks for sharing it.

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Harmony is a wonderful thing whether in a community, a musical group, or even a political group. We don’t all have to sing the same note, but we can blend our voices to create a richer, more vibrant sound. I shared a brief magical moment of harmony when the Ministers of Gospel came to our church to do a petformance. At the end the entire group walked around the congregation singing and shaking hands. I made eye contact with one of the ladies, sang harmony with her as she passed. She paused briefly, grasped my hand and smiled at me. We both shared a moment of perfect harmony despite not knowing each other.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Very welcome, John. It was a special moment to share with a stranger and I am glad that it was one of the times when my voice cooperated and sang harmony beautifully. (It is a skill that I have sporadically rather than reliably.)

        Liked by 1 person

  20. I did not know this about singing but considering our need for socialization and the benefits of singing to the pulmonary and cardiovascular system I guess I should not be surprised. But I wonder if singing is still healthy if the guy next to you in the choir sings really badly off tune. I’ve been in that situation and it makes singing very stressful.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. That is a little bit mean. I was singing next to a guy who was singing extremely off tune but no one asked him to mouth the words. It may make it a bit harder, but you deal with it, unless you are in a professional choir it is supposed to be fun.

        Liked by 1 person

  21. Funny, but every time I’ve tried singing with other people, they all ran off into the distance shrieking and holding their ears … 🤷 Bit seriously, after thinking about it for a bit, this makes a lot of sense. Humans ARE social animals and we thrive on companionship. Music is the thing that can bring more joy than almost anything. So, it only makes sense that sharing music, singing or playing instruments together, would bring joy. Perhaps I’ll give it a try again! Thanks John … good post!

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Pingback: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Weekly Round Up – 8th- 14th December 2025 – Cat Memoirs, Carols, Big Band Era, Abba, Mexican Food, Fantasy, Ireland 1940s, Book Reviews, Christmas Book Fair, Funnies | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

  24. What a beautiful post for this time of year, John (any time of year). When I worked in grief counseling, we said the same of tears. A different context, but the same idea. A sense of community is healing and healthy. Thanks for sharing this.

    Liked by 1 person

  28. I can attest to this! Singing in a group does wonders. I see this with children, and I see this with fellow teachers. Whenever we sing as a group, children or adults, everyone leaves feeling good, different, uplifted.

    Liked by 1 person

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