Author Archives: jaybeacham

Singing is calming to Animals

 

Singing is calming to Animals

This man puts puppies to sleep singing “Good Night Sweetheart, Good Night”

https://youtu.be/gNxRoJSwWZU

Just like a baby’s lullaby.

These French cows listen attentively to this jazz classic “When the Saints Come Marching in” and to Bill Bailey  https://youtu.be/lXKDu6cdXLI

A friend of mine used to own a dairy in Idaho and he tells that his cows gave more milk when jazz was played during milking time and would sway along in time to the music.

A Mariachi band have an attentive listener bowing when they finish:

https://youtu.be/ZS_6-IwMPjM

From these videos one can link to other videos of animals that like our music.

I discussed this in greater detail at:

http://jaybeacham.com/2010/12/03/the-cows-taste-in-music/

Catch you later,

Jay

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Benefits of singing

In the July 2015 issue of the SingSnap magazine is an article about the benefits of singing as a family or group that you may find of interest.

http://newsletter.singsnap.com/books/hxnj/?utm_source=OCS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=JulyMagEmail#p=30

be sure to click the forward arrow on the right of the page in order to turn to page 2.

Keep singing.

 

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Tips about health on Twitter

Today on Twitter this group had a health tip not specifically about singing but music in general.

Music can serve to reduce stress, which is also known to help with weight control

Stress of mind or body can cause all kinds of ill health.

Like the Judy Garland song said,

“If you’re worried, if you fret, if you’re getting deep in debt, …get yourself a good quartet… and everybody sing…let the sound of your voice turn winter to spring..”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzU3qV0DqNU

So let’s start reducing stress by singing.

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I was tired…

Last Saturday, I was tired all day.
About 6 pm DT, Hank S. called, he had two tickets to a concert and none of his family wanted to go with him.
He asked if I would like to.
Sure. Why not.
He came and I rode with him. We were delayed by a police officer who claimed Hank’s car was going faster than the speed limit.
That could have been because his speed gauge acts eratically. At one stop light, at a dead stop, it read 90mph.
But despite the delay, we got there on time for the concert to start.
It was the Color Country Chorus-the local Barbershop singers group.
It was in a nice new High School auditorium with a sizeable audience.
The Chorus director was Chris Leonard.
The MC was Scott Fewell. He introduced but also told jokes. The jokes he read from cards,
The ones getting laughs he’d put in his coat pocket to use again he said., the ones that got little reponse, he threw into a convenient trash pail.
The whole show was called “The Truth About Men”.
The men were dressed in all sorts of clothes styles, one guy even wore a carpenter’s tool belt with hammer.
Some of the songs were parodies; some of which were very funny.
There were 3 quartets before the intermission interpursed with the chorus’s numbers.
After that one local quartet and then the guest quartet “McPhly”.
This group started in Denver in 2008 and consisted of four men, one now from St. George, 2 from Denver, and one now from North Carolina.
Curtis Terry, Brian Fox, (Travis Tabares was replaced mid March by) Tyler Wigginton , and Ryan Wilson
Their quartet ranks number 20 in the USA.
And they were sensational.
Stories and jokes and great songs.
They kept asking the audience if we were having fun.
They even had a sing along with “18 wheeler”.
To close the night, all former members of the Color Country Chorus or members of Barbershop from anywhere,
were invited to go to the stage and sing with the chorus “Keep the Whole World singing”.
I joined them too.
It was fun.
I saw and spoke to people I knew in the chorus and audience and meet the McPhly members and chorus members I didn’t know before.
I met and spoke with the chorus director and his wife.
Chris Leonard said that Utah State University in Logan, Utah offers a degree in Music Therapy.
He did a college research paper on the subject.
He told me of research about the emotions music evokes in people from different cultures, ie. western music.
He also referred me to a site on the web. “Music Instinct” (Science and Song)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/musicinstinct/
There is information in video about therapy of instruments voice for young and old. Check it out.
It was fun that night and even though I was tired when I got home, I wasn’t dragging as I had been all day.
Music and people are great uppers.
Catch you next time.
Jay

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Does singing help the elderly with health problems?

A friend takes care of an old woman who when she hears a song she likes can only let others know by the sparkle in her eyes and her eyebrows moving up and down to the time of the music.

Does singing help the elderly with health problems?

Today at a funeral viewing, I meet Pamela from the hospice care, who attended the lady who had passed away.  As she and I and a co-worker of hers talked, Pamela shared the following interesting information and send it all outlined in an email to me.                                                                         Here’s what she said:

Hi Jay,
Hopefully this is what you wanted.

1. I haven’t seen this documented but many years ago, I learned that people who sing tend not to die of pneumonia. Probably not 100% but there is a good case for healthier lungs of people who sing!

2. There has been research on the following: When people sing in unison, shortly thereafter,  their breathing  and heart rates begin to match. Thus they are united in voice, spirit and body.

3. When individuals are affected by dementia, they may be confused most of the time, but when they hear familiar music that they enjoy, they often come back to themselves in essence and remember tunes and often the words.
There is an organization called Memory and Music (ck out this website):
The premise is that if people with dementia can just have their own music and listen to it daily, they are calmer, more social, and actually need less medication.
Jay, I worked for a year to “capture” the favorite music of a lady who already had alzheimers and finally decided it was too upsetting for her. It was interesting while I was working with her. The best case scenario is for families to document their loved one’s favorite music, singers, and performers before they lose their memories. They then can put together the music for them to enjoy wherever they spend their final days.
And for that matter, we could easily put together our OWN favorite music to have when we are in that situation, heaven forbid! 😉
Pamela Jensen
Bereavement Coordinator
Dixie Home Rehab and Hospice
2019 E. Riverside Dr. Ste. A102
     St. George UT 84790
     Cell: 435-669-9903
   Office: 435-627-2724

 

Thanks you Pamela.  That is very interesting.

Until next time, so long.

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“Music Heals My Soul”

“Music Heals My Soul”

1/25/2015

Today I listened to Lynn sing a song recording because she had listened and commented on a song recording that Les Thompson had made with me of Waltzing Matilda(Jan 26th is Australia Day commenorating the arrival of the Bristish fleet in Australia in 1788).  Well to pay her back for listening and commenting.

In reading her profile I learned she’s been ill and music, especially singing, has been of benifit to her.   So I asked her the following:

Lynn,
I read your profile and this: “Music heals our souls I truly believe that .”
I am wondering if you would mind explaining that for my readers on
http://singingasong.net/ 
If you agree to help, just message me here with what you’d like to say and I’ll incorporate it into the site.
Recently, a man who stutters wrote that I’d helpped him with a video I’d done about speaking and that was a good feeling.
I think singing does help our souls, our emotional and physical health.
I hope to help people with this site.
I know one SingSnapper who can hardly talk let alone sing and that because of a disability, but when he sings, which he enjoys, one can feel his spirit and to listen is enjoyable even though he’d be booed off of a talent show.
Thanks for considering this,
Jay

She replied:

SugarBears

By SugarBearsGOLD 

Jay
thank you for inviting me to your site …so many are here on sing snap are disabled in one way or another ….I am not good at typing as my hands are crippled but I will explain a little more about my self and why I use singing for pain therapy as I do not take opiates or any addictive drugs these doctors so easily hand out to so many disabled

I have a disease that mimics MS altho the mylon sheath is destroyed around all the nerves this disease cripples the body just like MS does …the disease is fairly new so tthey have no name for it just idiopathic and it mimics MS and there are others I have found that have it

I came down in 2006 with Diabetis II which my nurologist did not catch in time or inform me of so I lost my first leg in 2006 and begged to have my second one removed in 2007 because I had so much infection in my body

I could never use prostetics as everyone one asks me because my hands are to crippled to get them on the two legs I lost …so I live very independently in a power chair and I also drive what is called an enter van as I have a lock box which locks my power chair into the driveres side and my van and my power chair have become my life

I have loved music since I was very young ..I use to play the piano and celllo and the organ …but since my disease has taken that all away from me …I sing even tho my disease was found in my left vocal chord …I still sing

I have been a fighter all my life fighting my way back out of hospitals and rehabs to get back to my indepent life

I am in constant pain which I call horrific inside sensations AS MY BODY is totally numb on the outside and its constant pain on the inside that there is nothing to subside the pain and I refuse to take opiates or addicting pain killers

What I have realized is when I am here singing …I can put that pain out of my head ……I strongly believe that music and singing have a calming way of healing the soul and always making me wanting to come back and sing …….there is a peaceful healing come over me when I sing …not that singing will ever heal what I have but it purifies my soul and spirit …I truly believe that

Just recently I have returned home after fighting a blood infection after being in the hospital and rehab for three months right thru thanksgiving and Christmas …the ifectious blood infection destroyed my kidneys so I am now on dialisis three days a week ..but this has not stopped me from coming back to where I love the people and the music and love to sing

If you can find a way to keep smiling and fighting and stay strong …..Music is a peaceful calm for everyone out there no matter what you have …if you have music in your heart …..you will always have a smile and a good lookout on life ….

This I hope will help everyone out there who is struggling in life …be strong and keep singing …as well as meeting people who know what you deal with in everyday life …..no one knows or understands disability until they become disabled themselves …and that is why I bond so well with people who understand Pain

Hugs and Love to all the sinsnap members and singers
Lynn 

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Over come #pain with #singing?

Can pain be overcome with singing?

Today a man named Drayton L of British Columbia listened to one of my songs recordings on Singsnap, an online Karaoke site. To pay him back for his kindness, I listened to one of his recordings and then two more.  He sings very well.

I learned that he once made his living singing.   Wouldn’t that be fun to do?

He’d been stopped by a serious surgery and said that singing helped him.

Well, I wrote him and asked if he’d like to contribute to this site and tell his experience with singing since the surgery.

Here is his reply:

“Certainly Jay 
Singing is probably one of the most potent and best medicines for whatever ails you. Twice, singing has brought back from the edge of a precipice.

The trouble started with a major operation on my spine. I was becoming a quadriplegic, and required a massive operation to repair my vertebrates C3-C7. There was a major screw up to the operation that took away my ability to eat and drink orally for two and a half years. I was fed through a tube in my stomach. What’s worse though is that it robbed me of my voice. I was a working singer at that time, working my way up that proverbial very long ladder to success. I had to go to a speech therapist to learn how to talk again, and then, to be able to sing. I’m still working at getting my voice back, but I think that ship has sailed, so I am happy with what I was allowed to have back.
Ever since that operation, I have had three subsequent operations and numbers four and five are being scheduled. I live with pain on a constant basis, and use morphine to try to get some relief. But it’s really not that bad, as I do have a secret weapon, and that is singing!

Why, you ask? Because when I sing, I leave my body and immerse myself into the song, and for a few minutes there is no pain. Only music. I have in fact been able to reduce the amount of morphine used when singing. 
Singing improves my spirits, which improves my outlook, and the first step to positive results is a positive mind. All I can tell you is that it has sure helped me.
Cheers,
Drayton”

Now some science advocates will say that this is not evidence.  Well, their science can’t feel what Drayton feels.  To me his witness will hold up  in any honest court.

I thanked him for sharing and hope that his experience will help others.

Well, until next time, keep singing.

Jay

 

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#Singing is #emotionally good for you.

12/12/2014
This site is about singing being fun and healthy.
Well what about #emotional health?
I sing when I’m tired, discouraged, blue, sad, even happy.
Then I always feel better.
Deanna Durbin presented a song in the movie “It Stared With Eve” about how singing helps when down.
And how ones sings when happy in movie “Can’t Help Singing”.
Both movies can be had it a set from Amazon.

Deanna Durbin Sweetheart Pack

I’m deeply involved in an online karaoke site, SingSnap.
I check in daily and record and share and listen to songs.
I feel it is the best social network site on the net.
I explain in a post at http://jaybeacham.com
One of my aquaintainces who also sings on this site is Carlie. She and her husband Larry live in Texas.
One of her dear friends was Marion Borg of Malta.
Marion struggled with cancer and it won.
I’ve included the following from Carlie about her experience with grief and singing.
“I chose “Autumn” because to me when the trees are “dying”, they show their most beautiful colors and the sky is more blue than any other time of year. And so with that thought, I am trying to accept when my dear Snap Sis, Marion (zakky) died on the 24th of October and my dear Mom died on the 25th of October, perhaps when it was their time to leave this earth, they were at their ultimate beauty, inside and out. Singing is helping me find a closure~ Thanks if you L/C. Many hugs,”-Carlie

http://www.singsnap.com/karaoke/watchandlisten/play/ada5f084d 
I wrote:
Remember my song?
http://www.singsnap.com/karaoke/r/be600419c
There are sad ones like Bright Eyes
http://www.singsnap.com/karaoke/r/c2703dc8c
Singing is good for the body and soul and is healthy.
“Hard to stay sad when you are singing” a friend once told me.
my web site?
http://singingasong.net/
The site about singing being fun and healthy.
Would you mind commenting on how singing is helping you emotionally?
Jay
“Oh yes, I remember Go To The Light

I’ve never heard Bright Eyes before, it’s lovely (commented about that) and I started crying and could barely see to type, but it was worth the tears. They are nature’s tranquilizer. I left a comment about Mom and Marion too.

I’ve attempted to go to your site, but the little circle keeps spinning And so, I’ll tell you on here how singing helps me emotionally, especially now.

When I sang Forever Autumn and the other dedication to Mom, I felt every feeling of sadness in my body being pulled to the song and out of me during the time I sang it. It’s like a cleansing while singing. Yes, the sadness came back, but it comes back with a step missing….as if singing it helped me take a step forward, not backward and not just standing in one place. For Marion, I spoke of her and told a story she and I always laughed about, I needed people to know what a wonderful person she was and then I put one of her songs below so the listeners could see her and hear her song.

When I sing a song, be it silly, happy, sad, deep, etc., it pulls me into the invisible world of the sound and words. I respond to that world with different feelings because it depends on the song, of course. I see the words and they become part of me, but, the sound of a song is invisible, therefore, one can make it your own, anyway you choose to sing it. That’s why I have “Sing It Your Way” on my profile.”

And just listening to a good song can help our emotional health.

“Hi Jay,
Can’t hardly see to type with all these tears. Thank you for sending this. You sang it beautifully and informed greatly. I keep asking my Mom and Marion to let me know they are okay, but they are silent or their spirits are…for now. Thanks again.
Hugs,” -Carlie

So when you are happy or sad, discouraged or hopeful, singing can be healthful to you.

That’s it for today.

Talk to you again.

Jay

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Singing for free

I was reading old posts made on another site of mine and found this one that fits here, so I’ll repost it.

From April 25, 2009:

Singing update

Last year in July, I started on the karaoke available here on My Space(Ksolo that doesn’t exit anymore)

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.” It’s 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).

Editor’s note :

And on some Karaoke sites one can sing some songs for free.  

And the bathtubs and cars of the world provide free singing space.

So just sing.  It’s free.

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