Choral Music and the Brain

Well it's been a minute since I have posted. The Lenten season and Holy Week really make things busy in a musicians life.

Today I want to talk a little about how community singing, by this I mean either in a choir, congregation, or any kind of public group singing, affects the brain. Lots of research is being done in this field and I find it fascinating.

First I want to mention a video I plugged on the LCA Facebook page. This is a clip of John Rutter speaking about the collective experience of choral music singing. I think John encapsulates the feeling and the emotion of group singing.

But what's the science? From a recent Choral Journal article  by Riikka Pietiläinen-Caffrey it states "The science behind the mirror neuron system explains how a conductor's facial expression elicits emotions from the singers and how a singer's expressions are then transferred to the audience, thus determining how the audience will interpret and experience the performance. A number of studies have been conducted on how music elicits emotion."

In a similar article, Gary B,. Seighman notes, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Musicians in ensemble settings have felt this awareness for centuries. However, recent scientific studies are validating this adage by revealing the physiological and psychological processes of cooperative effort, especially musical collaboration. The implications of these ideas are beginning to shape our very definition of 'ensemble,' while providing new understanding of the benefits of group musical expression on the individual."

I don't have the knowledge base or the time in this blog to dive into the heavy science behind these articles, but i find it fascinating that the sense of community, relationship, the whole being stronger than the one, are all experiences I have had as a singer and conductor in choirs.

I am especially intrigued by the mirror neuron ideas that we in a sense "infect" each other with emotions. We can illicit emotions through the music, of course, but also through our presentation of the music. Instinctually I guess this makes sense. Everything from the placement of the choir, the quality of the music, and the environment a performance happens in effects me when i attend a live music event, especially a choral concert.

According to Seighman's article, "Biochemical levels serve as another mechanism that connects facial expressions with emotions in individuals. In all, singing has been linked with several chemical changes in the body; these various correlations with chemical balancing strengthen the argument that individuals who sing together synchronize physiologically."

From my perspective, though I don't want to limit the community singing experience to simply a chemical response in my brain, it is interesting to see that what I am sensing in the rehearsal and performance has deep truths in science. But returning to John Rutter's video it is still the actual experience and the participation that truly matters.