Here at our private school in Devon, we pride ourselves on offering a wide range of extra-curricular activities to engage young minds.
We’re true believers in the power of performing arts for schoolchildren. However, with so many exciting options available, the idea of joining a choir can sometimes go under the radar.
While choirs can seem quite simple, you’d be surprised at how much good they can do for young learners. There is a huge range of physical, mental, and emotional benefits that children can gain from joining a choir.
Increased Happiness and Reduced Stress
Studies have shown that the act of singing, particularly as part of a performing group, can trigger a range of well-being benefits for the mind.
Music is proven to release endorphins, a natural painkiller associated with the positive feeling people have after exercise. However, it’s been proven that actively singing, instead of passively listening, boosts this positive sensation.
Some have even suggested that singing can release a comparable amount of endorphins to light exercise activities like yoga.
Singing also affects our chemical balance the other way by reducing the stress hormone cortisol, which makes choirs particularly useful for older schoolchildren who may be preparing for assessments.
Encourages Social Interactions
One of the reasons people believe choirs help generate positive chemicals in the body more than singing alone is because of the shared experience. We are naturally social animals; the collective act, and personal vulnerability, of singing is a proven way to help develop that sense of closeness and community.
Studies have shown that having strong social groups can have massive health benefits. Choirs are a wonderful way to bring together people from different backgrounds and with differing interests, which can help children form new friendship groups they otherwise may never have found.
Physical Benefits
With all this talk about chemicals and communities, it can be easy to forget that choir singing provides genuine physical benefits, too.
As anyone who has taken part in or listened to a choir can attest, it takes some serious lung power! Singing to a controlled pitch for an extended period means managing your breathing, which is why choirs will always warm up before a performance.
Having strong control over your breathing not only has obvious physical benefits, but it’s also a cornerstone of stress management techniques such as meditation, helping children to learn to manage their emotions under pressure.
Increased Self Confidence
While a lot of the benefits of choir revolve around the shared experience, it shouldn’t be underestimated how much it can also help foster the individual.
As mentioned above, there is a vulnerability to singing in a group. However, the shared experience of a choir allows children to practise portraying their emotions in a safe space.
Going through this process naturally leads choir children to develop an excellent sense of self-confidence; many will be encouraged to try singing solo, either through performance or just spontaneously. This also helps develop a range of important transferable skills beyond performing arts, such as public speaking.
With all of these benefits, you can see why we value the performing arts so much here at St Peter’s Prep. We hope that all students will explore the various arts we offer as a way to further understand themselves, develop social relationships and excel as students.
If you would like to learn more about what St Peter’s Prep can offer, why not request a prospectus? Alternatively, you can contact us with any questions you might have.
