If music be the food of love, play on... (Shakespeare)

He who sings frightens away his ills. (Cervantes)

The only thing better than singing is more singing. (Ella Fitzgerald)

I don't sing because I'm happy; I'm happy because I sing. (William James)

The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils. (Shakespeare)

Cantantes licet usque (minus via laedit) eamus (Virgil)
(Let us go singing as far as we go: the road will be less tedious.)

BENEFITS OF SINGING ACCORDING TO SCIENTISTS

Source: www.heartresearch.org.uk

• aerobic activity takes oxygen into the blood stream
• oxygen increases mental alertness
• increases lung capacity, improves posture
• clears respiratory tubes and sinuses
• keeps you in shape by exercising your lungs and heart
• reduces stress levels
• body produces ‘feel good’ hormones
• singing together creates a sense of shared effort
  

Studies in the USA indicated:

• increased the life expectancy with choral singing
• healthy heart and enhanced mental state
• higher levels of immune system

Professor Graham Welch, Institute of Education, University of London, says that the health benefits of singing are both physical and psychological: physical, because it is an aerobic activity that takes oxygen into the blood stream and exercises the upper body muscles even when sitting; psychological, because it reduces stress levels.  Furthermore, the psychological benefits are evident when people sing together creating a sense of community, belonging and shared effort.

Leading vocal coach and singer Helen Astrid, The Helen Astrid Singing Academy says singing is a great way to keep in shape because you are exercising your lungs and heart. Your body also produces ‘feel good’ hormones called endorphins, which rush around your body when you sing – exactly the same when you eat a bar of chocolate, only with no calories! She also explains that singing increases lung capacity, improves posture, clears respiratory tubes and sinuses, and can increase mental alertness through greater oxygenation.

Singing helps you live longer according to the findings of a joint Harvard and Yale study which showed that choral singing increased the life expectancy of the population of New Haven, Connecticut. The report concluded that this was because singing promoted both a healthy heart and an enhanced mental state.  Another study at the University of California has reported higher levels of immune system proteins in the saliva of choristers after performing a complex Beethoven masterwork.