The same day I read the article, I spoke to a lady who said she’d been in music her whole like and it didn’t help the pain.
Well, helps some people and some not.
What has been your experience?
Send your responses to: beachamj82@yahoo.com
Here’s what the recently departed Lynn Fancher said about it on her SingSnap Karaoke profile:
Lynn Fancher of California
Hi my name is Lynn …..First I will tell you I am in a wheelchair as I have a crippling disease and I can not walk ….they also discovered I have had Multiple Sclerosis since 1991…I am very independent and music is part of my pain therapy ….. When I sing some will tell me I have a great vibrato ..but its not really vibrato ….My disease was discovered first in my left vocal chord and just recently this year 2013 in my right vocal chord …..and it has given me my very own style of singing ….I have been musical since the age of 5 when I did my first solo in a play ……….I played piano , cello and clarinet and organ all by ear ..I can not read notes . My music instructor would play the music to me and I would play it back …it landed me a place in my high school orchestra LOL but ..I have always had an ear for tone ……I started as a listener on another karaoke site called Ksolo ..after they closed down all my favorite singers who I have always admired came here to Sing Snap ….and they all helped to inspire me to sing …….I have some wonderful talented friends here from all over the world and they are all apart of my heart ….Music heals our souls I truly believe that …..Its the best feeling to be a part of so many here that love singing as much as I do
Died August 8,2017
“You Don’t Own Me (Piano)” Her last SingSnap recording.
By SugarBears 52 In the Style Of Grace
113 Views 43 Comments +
Audio Recorded on Jul 9, 2017 at 6:17pm I’m tried …not feeling well but singing helps Thanks for dropping in. Love my SS friends Lynn
Here is a place where a lady teaches, helps, trains, discusses these things.
You should look at her site.
Here is a little:
Unique Vocal Coaching
Vocal Science is a holistic approach that specializes in accelerated vocal development. It allows speakers and singers to improve vocal clarity, projection, and pitch while learning how to sing and or speak in a way that protects their vocal anatomy for life.
Non-Surgical Voice Repair
Do you find your voice feels sore after a performance or a long day at work? Are you worried you might be losing your voice? Already lost it? Considering surgery? STOP!!! WE CAN HELP!
Speech Development Program
The Total Communicator program takes on a revolutionary approach to voice mechanics, significantly improving verbal communication. We specialize in speech therapy, treatment of vocal disorders and speech impediments.
Healthy Voice Workshops
Vocal Science Exploratory Group Sessions (Vocal Interactive Workshops) for all speakers and singers and for those with voice issues.
Founded by Diana Yampolsky: World Renouned Non-Surgical Voice Repair Specialist – Master Voice/Vocal Coach – Vocal Technician – Safe & Professional Vocal Performance Consultant.
Based in Toronto Canada, Ms. Yampolsky’s coaching concentrates not just on the voice, but on the performer as a whole. Her approach can boost stage confidence by improving the voice’s range, pitch and power. She believes that a singer has 25% natural talent, while 75% of a singer’s performance relies on technical training. Her special exercises enable the singer to meet any combinations of pitch and duration of sound. Ms. Yampolsky views the body as an instrument whose quality of well being determines the quality of sound produced and recognizes that the voice is a reflection of the ‘inner self.’ All courses are customized to the unique needs of each individual singer and program the brain using visualization and vocal repetition. The Vocal Science (TM) Method alleviates strain on vocal cords and develops proper use of facial and abdominal muscles while stressing posture.
Meet Ernie Doose
Executive Director at Artistic Resource for Teachers and Student
Greater Salt Lake City AreaNonprofit Organization Management
Current
A.R.T.S., Inc., The DiFiore Center, Sing2Live
President/CEO
Sing2Live
2013 – Present (4 years)St. George, UT Everyone has a story to tell. Like it or not we are not alone in this world. We can make the world a better place when we give of ourselves.
Everyone can sing. Even if someone has told you that you can’t sing, you can sing. Singing is something that you create and literally share with others. You create the sound. It starts in your heart and resonates throughout your body and comes out your mouth. The sound is sent to the listener, taken into their body through their ears and resonates throughout their body and ends in their heart.
We can affect everyone who hears us. We all have a story to tell. That story is of Encouragement, Hope, and You Can Beat This.
www.sing2live.org
(NOTICE: This domain name expired on 1/3/2017 and is pending renewal or deletion.)
He can always be reached at: http://difiorecenter.org/
Last year in July, I started on the karaoke available here on My Space. I did the ten free songs. One I re-did. I’ve gotten some nice compliments and some more critical too. But as I wrote on July 11, 08, this is for fun not to try to impress anyone. I’ll probably pay for a year when I can afford to and try some more. And singing can be fun. The computer I now have actually plays the recordings so I can listen to other great singers and even some not so great. But like I said then if you’ve got the guts to try, that says a lot. I hate auditions. Let me explain. Once I did an audition for a college group. I passed the first one and then for the second one I changed songs. A mistake I’m sure. I didn’t really like the rules of the group. And even though the group represented the university, students were the judges. They were kind but the audience, mostly the girls would have stoned me I’m sure had rocks been available. I didn’t get in but lost no tears over it. Still I dislike auditions as generally the director of, say a play, picks who he or she wants or thinks will fit the part. I know this having been a director myself.. At another college audition, a non-singer got a singing part because the director had promised him a part. The funny thing about that was that at the performance time many of the fine singers had the flu and sounded worse than the non-singer did. But the play’s several showings went well anyway inspite of some less than perfect warbling. Fast forward to 2009, I was very impressed with Susan Boyle and Paul Potts on Britains’s Got Talent. They both proved what I’ve always said: “Many of the best singers, male and female, and actors and actresses will never get the chance to be known by the world.” Its great that they got their chance. Also on that series, a trio of young girls (Soul something or other) started but were stopped by the judges who exclaimed that they were very bad. And they did this in a less than kind fashion. The one girl admitted that they were perhaps bad but that their rude handling by the judges was not right. I agree. I think that it would take a lot of courage to go onto a TV broadcast and before an audience of 4000. This should have at least brought an acknowledgement of their bravery if nothing else. The girl had another good point, Wouldn’t it be great if the judges there or in any such thing, performed something to show that they had a right to judge? I’ve been to karaoke nights where when things are slow or not very good, the DJ will do a song or two to demonstrate how it can be done. They are always very good but of course they do have an advantage having heard the arrangement and practiced before showing up that night, where the audience members have no clue what is even available before that evening. A member of the Master Singers, a male chorus I belong to, and his wife stopped me at the Boy Scout Expo this morning to ask why I was missing practices. I’ve been busy with Lincoln Shows and my own storytelling-singing shows. Sunday we are to sing in a Church service. Not having practiced, I’ll not go. I have been invited to join the Southern Utah Heritage Choir by two of its members. That’s twice in a week. They go to Singapore in October to sing. It would be fun. But what with dues, travel costs and lost wages,etc.(I can sing in the church choir for free).
Some times people praise those who are in the public eye. There are very good if not better vocalists, mostly unknown to the world, out there. Do you know any? Is there a friend or acquaintance whose singing you like?
One friend of mine teaches French in public school. another one works in the computer software industry. One or two are professional singers. Others sound great but will never be know outside of their home environment. I think that is a shame.
Do you like the way you sing. Where do you sound the best?
Some of us sound best in our car or our bath because of the mini echo chamber that exists in those small areas.
I was reading email this morning and came across this:
“Anxiety — that feeling of dread, fear, worry and panic — is certainly nothing new. Hippocrates wrote about it in the fourth century BCE. As did Søren Kierkegaard in the 1860s. And Sigmund Freud addressed the disorder in 1926.
However, jump to the present and we’re seeing a significant uptick — especially with youth. Pharmaceutical drugs tend to be the classic treatment for treating anxiety (as well as the biggest money maker). Cognitive therapy is a common approach as well.
Those with a holistic bent often turn to meditation, yoga, massage and other relaxation techniques. Music therapy has also been used with some success.
But now neuroscientists in the U.K. have zeroed in on a single song that results in a dramatic 65 percent reduction in overall anxiety…”
“Listening to This One Song Reduces Anxiety by 65 Percent, Neuroscientists Discover
Anxiety — that feeling of dread, fear, worry and panic — is certainly nothing new. Hippocrates wrote about it in the fourth century BCE. As did Søren Kierkegaard in the 1860s. And Sigmund Freud addressed the disorder in 1926. However, jump to the present and we’re seeing a significant uptick — especially with youth.
Pharmaceutical drugs tend to be the classic treatment for treating anxiety. Cognitive therapy is a common approach as well. Those with a holistic bent often turn to meditation, yoga, massage and other relaxation techniques. Music therapy has also been used with some success. But now neuroscientists in the U.K. have zeroed in on a single song that results in a dramatic 65 percent reduction in overall anxiety…
Anxiety and Generation Y
A 2013 survey found that 57 percent of American female university students reported episodes of “overwhelming anxiety.” And in the United Kingdom, the charity YouthNet discovered a third of young women — and one in ten young men — suffer from panic attacks.
Marjorie Wallace, CEO of the charity Sane, believes that generation Y (those born in the 1980s and 1990s) is the age of desperation. “Growing up has always been difficult, but this sense of desperation? That’s new,” she says.
Writes Rachael Dove in Anxiety: the epidemic sweeping through Generation Y:
“So, what’s going on? The rise of technology, overly-protective parenting and “exam-factory” schooling are among the reasons psychologists suggest for our generational angst. Another, brought up on multiple occasions by my peers and by psychologists I spoke to, is the luxury (as ungrateful as it sounds) of too much choice.”
Pieter Kruger, a London-based psychologist, says research indicates that people who feel they don’t have a choice are actually more resilient — mainly because they can blame life or others if they make a wrong decision. However, if you have a range of choices, you have no one to blame but yourself. “We become much more obsessive because we want to make the right decision every time,” he says.
“I spend a lot of time worrying about what I am going to do with my life. Previous generations had choice taken out of their hands. If you are told what to do it takes the pressure away.”
In our modern era, decision making can trigger a type of paralysis. Often, we will obsessively research the many different options for, say, a pair of shoes. Eventually, information overload will kick in and shut the whole shopping venture down, leaving us exhausted and guilty for being crippled by such a seemingly simple task.
Technology also contributes to the rise of anxiety. A good number of millennials feel exposed without their smartphones — and are rarely without them. Mobile gadgets tend to be their window to the world and foster a sense of connectedness. But there’s a dark side to feeling the need to keep on top of what everyone is doing on social media — otherwise known as Fomo, or the Fear of Missing Out.
“Fomo is very real and can be a constant addiction that affects anxiety levels and a general sense of wellbeing,” says Kruger.
Social media allows us to compare everything — relationships, diet, figure, beauty, wealth, standard of living — not only with our friends, but with celebrities too. And, as research has shown, time on social media “can cause depression in people who compare themselves with others.”
Besides revamping our lifestyles and limiting exposure to social media — and learning to work with a sometimes overwhelming abundance of choice — neuroscientists have found listening to a specially designed song can have a profound influence over our levels of anxiety.
The Creation of the Ultimate Anti-Stress Music
Researchers at Mindlab International in the U.K. wanted to know what kind of music induces the greatest state of relaxation. The study involved having participants try to solve difficult puzzles — which inherently triggered a certain degree of stress — while connected to sensors. At the same time, participants listened to a range of songs as researchers measured their brain activity, heart rate, blood pressure and rate of breathing.
Interestingly, the song was specifically designed to induce this highly relaxed state. Created by Marconi Union, the musicians teamed up with sound therapists to carefully arrange harmonies, rhythms and bass lines, which in turn slow a listener’s heart rate and blood pressure, while also lowering stress hormones like cortisol.
In fact, the music is so effective, that many of the female participants became drowsy — to the point where lead researcher Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson advises against listening to it while driving.
But don’t take their word for it. Experience it for yourself here:
Carolanne Wright enthusiastically believes if we want to see change in the world, we need to be the change. As a nutritionist, natural foods chef and wellness coach, Carolanne has encouraged others to embrace a healthy lifestyle of organic living, gratefulness and joyful orientation for over 13 years.
Through her website Thrive-Living.net, she looks forward to connecting with other like-minded people from around the world who share a similar vision. You can also follow Carolanne on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.”
I have a grandson who has had anxiety alter his life’s course.
A neighbor man across the street has been at home, disabled for most of his adult life because of this type of anxiety.
Today I was doing a search to see where I ranked and found my post fourth from the top.
The top link was to an article written 10 days earlier than mine on the same basic subject.
It was written by one Stacy Horn about group singing changing the brain for the better,
It was so well written and to the point that I’m going to quote it here.
“Singing Changes Your Brain
Group singing has been scientifically proven to lower stress, relieve anxiety, and elevate endorphins
By Stacy Horn @StacyHornAug. 16, 2013
When you sing, musical vibrations move through you, altering your physical and emotional landscape. Group singing, for those who have done it, is the most exhilarating and transformative of all. It takes something incredibly intimate, a sound that begins inside you, shares it with a roomful of people and it comes back as something even more thrilling: harmony. So it’s not surprising that group singing is on the rise. According to Chorus America, 32.5 million adults sing in choirs, up by almost 10 million over the past six years. Many people think of church music when you bring up group singing, but there are over 270,000 choruses across the country and they include gospel groups to show choirs like the ones depicted in Glee to strictly amateur groups like Choir! Choir! Choir! singing David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World.
As the popularity of group singing grows, science has been hard at work trying to explain why it has such a calming yet energizing effect on people. What researchers are beginning to discover is that singing is like an infusion of the perfect tranquilizer, the kind that both soothes your nerves and elevates your spirits.
The elation may come from endorphins, a hormone released by singing, which is associated with feelings of pleasure. Or it might be from oxytocin, another hormone released during singing, which has been found to alleviate anxiety and stress. Oxytocin also enhances feelings of trust and bonding, which may explain why still more studies have found that singing lessens feelings of depression and loneliness. A very recent study even attempts to make the case that “music evolved as a tool of social living,” and that the pleasure that comes from singing together is our evolutionary reward for coming together cooperatively, instead of hiding alone, every cave-dweller for him or herself.
The benefits of singing regularly seem to be cumulative. In one study, singers were found to have lower levels of cortisol, indicating lower stress. A very preliminary investigation suggesting that our heart rates may sync up during group singing could also explain why singing together sometimes feels like a guided group meditation. Study after study has found that singing relieves anxiety and contributes to quality of life. Dr. Julene K. Johnson, a researcher who has focused on older singers, recently began a five year study to examine group singing as an affordable method to improve the health and well-being of older adults.
It turns out you don’t even have to be a good singer to reap the rewards. According to one 2005 study, group singing “can produce satisfying and therapeutic sensations even when the sound produced by the vocal instrument is of mediocre quality.” Singing groups vary from casual affairs where no audition is necessary to serious, committed professional or avocational choirs like the Los Angeles Master Chorale or my chorus in New York City, which I joined when I was 26 and depressed, all based on a single memory of singing in a choir at Christmas, an experience so euphoric I never forgot it.
If you want to find a singing group to join, ChoirPlace and ChoralNet are good places to begin, or more local sites like the New York Choral Consortium, which has links to the Vocal Area Network and other sites, or the Greater Boston Choral Consortium. But if you can’t find one at any of these sites, you can always google “choir” or “choral society” and your city or town to find more. Group singing is cheaper than therapy, healthier than drinking, and certainly more fun than working out. It is the one thing in life where feeling better is pretty much guaranteed. Even if you walked into rehearsal exhausted and depressed, by the end of the night you’ll walk out high as a kite on endorphins and good will.
Last night I thought I’d share some of my recordings from Sing Snap Karaoke on Facebook which I seldom do. The first two were recorded in 2011.
This one:
“WOW! I just simply LOVE your voice whether you are speaking or singing Jay! Did you used to be a DJ? You have the BEST radio voice. So soothing……..LOVED THIS!
Hi Jay,
You are SO welcome mf!
The first time I heard you talk and sing I was BLOWN away! YOU mf are a PRO and what a voice you have!
I know I’m not on SS as much as I used to be and I don’t get around on here much anymore. Life gets in the way and my life has changed drastically over the years.
Sometimes it’s just hard to get through the day. I’m so glad God gave us music to help us through.
Thank you Jay for sharing your talents with your fans, like me.
Have a goodnight and thanks for the link, mf.
Gina
I liked the “A song a day keeps the doctor away” in her status bar, so I asked to use it.
Her reply:
A SONG A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY!
Lol! You sure can! ! I would be HONORED if you did mf!
Listening to your song right now and what a beautiful vocal you are doing on this!
Goodnight mf!
Gina
So that is how I came upon this little saying: “A Song A Day Keeps The Doctor Away”
I like it and think it’s true.
Even if you get ill or die, you’ll be happy when you sing.
One day shortly before my mother passed away at 96 years of age, she sang songs she’d known her whole life to the nurses and visitors who came to see her.
Learning to sing acapella isn’t that different from learning to sing with instrumental accompaniment.
Just as in acapella singing, you’ll need to have some sort of understanding of the singing voice, getting a beautiful singing tone, how to sing on pitch, etc. In fact, being able to sing on pitch is the biggest challenge that acapella singers and groups face because there’s no music supporting them.
Let’s assume that you know nothing about singing and you’d like to learn how to sing and then eventually move into singing acapella, whether it be for solos, choirs, barbershop groups or whatever.
The first step you’ll need to take is to find a fantastic vocal coach. The best place to look for a singing instructor is at the nearest university or college that has a music program in place.
Simply walk in to the music department and ask the secretary to give you the contact info for head of the vocal department and a couple of the best teachers there. Actually, you won’t know if they’re any good until you’ve tested them.
Here’s the thing: there are a lot of really crappy voice teachers out there. True story. And an incompetent voice teacher can do a lot of damage. Not only will they take your precious time and hard earned money, they will stall your progress, create great frustration in your singing efforts and in a worst case scenario, do irreparable damage to your voice.
But don’t worry. There are some very simple ways you can determine if your potential teacher is the real deal or not. First of all, when you go to meet with this person, you shouldn’t be paying anything. They have yet to prove their worth to you and in the music world, you have to prove yourself before people give you money. Actually, that’s how it works everywhere!
Hopefully, you won’t get any resistance when asking for a free consultation and it doesn’t have to take forever. It’s just for you to find out what the teacher is all about and for the vocal coach to see where your level is.
When you start your session, you should ask the vocal instructor to sing for you. Seriously. If they sound anything but spectacular, you should move on and seek another instructor because how can they teach you when they clearly haven’t figured it out yet? They can’t!
Now here’s the really important part. Healthy, free vocal functioning calls for a low, stationary larynx. Your larynx is your voicebox. So that means that when you sing, your voicebox shouldn’t be shooting up in your throat, but should remain relatively low and not move much. Ask this person what their position is on the larynx during singing. If they say anything but what I just told you, avoid them like the plague! I mean it… This is the first and most fundamental of singing rules and teachers who are ignorant or dismissive about it need to be avoided.
Now let’s say you don’t have hundreds of dollars a month to spend on voice lessons (yes, they cost a LOT). Your next best option, and a generally great option even if you ARE taking voice lessons, is to use some Singing Software so that you can learn how to sing better from the comfort of your own home without paying tons of money for it.
Through a Twitter connection, I came in contact with a fine video by an
Australian soprano who teaches about singing in a video.
Listen to her.
How singing together changes the brain: Tania de Jong AM at TEDxMelbourne
“My life’s passion, joy, and inspiration.”
Tania de Jong AM makes the case that people singing together can change the brain. Pushing the idea that creativity is the strategic tool of the 21st century, she says how our voices have been silenced and that it’s not doing us any good. She explains how singing is a survival mechanism, how it makes our hearts beat together and can help heal strokes and depression.
With singing, and the potential she believes it has, Tania dedicates herself to enhancing and promoting ingenuity and founded Creativity Australia and Creative Universe to do so. As a leading Australian soprano and through ‘With One Voice’, Tania works with disadvantaged communities. In 2008 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the arts and for the establishment and development of arts enrichment programs for schools and communities.
