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Giving our culture a new voice - how singing makes life a bit nicer

By Stephen Crabbe - posted Thursday, 22 January 2004


“Why do we have to do music?” some of my more outspoken students have asked over the years, “I’m not going to be a musician.” I can’t always help retorting that perhaps they could be if they really wanted to. I could also ask why many of the same students don’t object to, say, sport or science lessons, since they’re no more likely to be professional sportsmen or scientists. And we could say the same about maths and writing. Still, let’s look at the question. Why should we learn to sing?

Apart from improved vocal skills and understanding of music and sheer enjoyment, newer singers tend to derive several benefits from their involvement. For example, it is often noted that facing an audience and expressing feeling vocally often increases self-confidence. In the act of singing – using kinaesthetic sense to maintain correct posture and direct the internal muscles, using the auditory sense to appraising the sound we emit – we build a complex image of ourselves. While body-image is acknowledged as a foundation for one’s self-concept, in our society the visual aspect of that image has been drastically over-emphasised to the detriment of the kinaesthetic and aural contributions. Thus I believe learning to sing well can modify and enrich the self-concept and so empower the singer for life.

Other benefits flow from the inter-personal aspect of singing, especially in choirs. In contemporary Australia individuals are becoming increasingly alienated by a combination of shrinking households and the prevalence of electronic communications. The human herd instinct looks for gratification in rubbing shoulders and mingling voices with people bound by common interests and commitment. This may be why the issue of “community building” has become much more publicly discussed in the last few years. Choral singing, according to the many choristers I have met, is a powerful tool for building better communities. They often tell stories of how they have formed satisfying, emotionally supportive, even life-changing relationships with fellow singers.

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A living national culture empowers ordinary citizens. The more individuals are actively involved in maintaining and recreating the culture, the more vigorous it becomes. To involve more people we should tap into the enduring preoccupations of our society, and the human body is one of the most basic. Sport is an established expression of the preoccupation, but other activities based upon skilled use of the body can attract a wider range of people. As one such, competent vocalising should be promoted and taught far more than it is in Australia. Singing has huge potential to empower the people, both individually and en masse, thus producing a national culture with such integrity and vigour that it needs no defence.

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About the Author

Stephen Crabbe is a teacher, writer, musician and practising member of the Anglican Church. He has had many years of active involvement in community and political issues.

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