Article

MusicPerformanceResearch
Copyright2010
RoyalNorthernCollegeofMusic
Vol3(1)SpecialIssueMusicandHealth:7996
ISSN17559219

Thesignificanceofchoralsingingforsustaining
psychologicalwellbeing:findingsfromasurveyof
choristersinEngland,AustraliaandGermany
StephenClift
GrenvilleHancox
SidneyDeHaanResearchCentreforArtsandHealth

ABSTRACT:Previousresearchhashighlightedthepossiblebenefitsofactivepar
ticipationinsingingforwellbeingandhealth.Shortcomingsintheliteratureare
thelackofacommonunderstandingofwellbeingandhealth,andtheabsenceof
atheoreticalmodelofthecausalmechanismslinkingsingingwithwellbeing.The
presentstudyaimstoaddresstheseshortcomingsthroughalargecrossnational
survey of choral singers based on the World Health Organization definition of
health and utilizing measures developed by the WHO Quality of Life project. A
totalof1124choralsingersdrawnfromchoirsinAustralia,EnglandandGermany
completedtheWHOQOLBREFquestionnairetomeasurephysical,psychological,
social and environmental wellbeing, and a 12item effects of choral singing
scale.Writtenaccountsoftheeffectsofchoralsingingonwellbeingandhealth
weregiveninresponsetoopenquestions.Ahighdegreeofconsensusemerged
onthepositivebenefitsofchoralsinging,withwomensignificantlymorelikelyto
endorsethevalueofsingingforwellbeingandhealthcomparedwithmen.Asig
nificant but small correlation between psychological wellbeing and positive ef
fectsofchoralsingingalsoemergedforwomen,butnotformen.Particularat
tentionisgiventoqualitativeaccountsoftheeffectsofchoralsingingonwellbe
ing from 85 participants with relatively low psychological wellbeing as assessed
bytheWHOQOLBREF,andhighscoresonthesingingscale.Fourcategoriesof
significant personal and health challenges were disclosed by members of this

79


Article
group: enduring mental health problems; family/relationship problems; physical
health challenges and recent bereavement. Their accounts also suggested six
generative mechanisms by which singing may impact on wellbeing and health:
positive affect; focused attention; deep breathing; social support; cognitive
stimulationandregularcommitment.

KEYWORDS: Choral singing, psychological wellbeing, WHOQOLBREF, survey,

crossnational,health

Arecentsystematicmappingoftheempiricalliteratureonsingingandwellbeingidentified
35papersforreview(Clift,Hancox,Staricoff&Whitmore,2008).Thestudiesvariedconsid
erablyintermsoffocus,method,samplecharacteristics,samplesize,natureofthesinging
investigated,datagatheredandapproachtoanalysis.Thestudiesaresodiversethataco
herent synthesis of the evidence on the value of singing for wellbeing was not possible.
Rather,studieswerecategorisedaccordingtotheirdesignandthenatureofdatagathered
andtheevidencetheyprovidedcriticallyevaluated.

Qualitativestudiesofsingingandhealth
Anumberofqualitativestudiesonthebenefitsofcommunitysinginghavebeenundertaken
with diverse samples of singers, and these provide evidence from subjective reports on a
rangeofsocial,psychological,andhealthbenefitsassociatedwithsinging.BaileyandDavid
son(2002,2005)forexample,interviewedchoirsingersfromarangeofsocialbackgrounds
in Canada; Silber (2005) explored the impact of a singing group established in a womens
prison in Israel, and Watanabe (2005) explored the experience of individual engagement
withKaraokelessonsandperformanceinJapan.
TheworkofBaileyandDavidsonisofparticularrelevancetothestudyreportedhere.
Intheirfirststudy(2002)theyinterviewedmembersofasmallchoirsetupinMontrealfor
homelessmenandfourthemesemergedrepeatedlyinthemensaccounts:

Group singing alleviated depression and enhanced emotional and physical well be
ing.

Performing to an audience encouraged a sense of personal worth and provided a

meansofreengagingwithwidersocialnetworks.

The choir provided a supportive context for the men in which they could develop
theirsocialskillsandachievecollectivegoals.

Singingismentallydemanding,andrequiredthementoconcentrateandlearnnew
materialinordertoperform.Suchconcentrationalsodirectedtheirattentionaway
frominternalpreoccupationwiththeirproblems.

Infurtherwork,BaileyandDavidson(2005)interviewedmembersofasinginggroupin
an economically disadvantaged area, togetherwith more socially advantaged andaffluent
choralsingers.Thethemesidentifiedinthe2002paperareconsideredtobebroadlyappli
cabletosingersirrespectiveofsocialcontextandthecharacteroftherepertoirebeingsung,

80


Article
but some differences of emphasis did emerge. Both disadvantaged and more privileged
singers,forexample,highlightedthebroadlytherapeuticvalueofparticipationinsinging,
particularlyinrelationtocreatingenergy,positiveemotionalexperienceandrelaxation.For
otherthemes,someimportantdifferencesemerged,particularlyinrelationtocognitivedi
mensionsandtheimpactofsinginginagroup.Forthemoremarginalisedparticipants,sing
ingprovidedastimulatingactivitywhichhelpedtopromoteconcentrationandanordering
oftheirinnermentalspace.Forthemiddleclasssingers,incontrast,agreaterstresswas
placed on developing musical knowledge and skill which enabled them to meet the chal
lengesofclassicalrepertoireandgainasenseofachievement.

Questionnairesurveysofsingingandhealth
Theideathatsingingcanbebeneficialforwellbeingandhealthisalsosupportedbysurveys
inwhichchoralsingershavebeenaskedtorespondtoarangeofstatementsabouttheef
fectsofsinging.Beck,Cesario,YousefiandEnamoto(2000)reportthat67percentofsemi
professionalchoralsingersintheirsurveyagreedorstronglyagreedthatSinginghascon
tributedtomypersonalwellbeing,andCliftandHancox(2001)reportthat71percentof
singers in auniversity choral society agreed or strongly agreed that singing was beneficial
for their mental wellbeing. Clift and Hancox identified six dimensions of benefits associ
atedwithchoralsingingfromaPrincipalComponentsAnalysisoftheirquestionnairedata.
These were labelled (in order) as: benefits for wellbeing and relaxation, benefits for
breathingandposture,socialbenefits,spiritualbenefits,emotionalbenefitsandbene
fitsfortheheartandimmunesystem.Thereisalsoaclearlinkbetweenthesetofcompo
nents emerging from this analysis and the model of positive benefits of group singing
emergingfromtheworkofBaileyandDavidson(2002,2005).Forthefirstandmostimpor
tant factor of wellbeing and relaxation, Clift and Hancox found that women had higher
scoresthanmen,suggestingthatwomenexperienceorperceivegreaterwellbeingbenefits
fromsinging.
BaileyandDavidson(2003)alsoconductedaquestionnairestudytocomparetheper
ceived benefits of active participation in music (singing in a choir), passive listening to
musicwithothers,andpassivelisteningtomusicalone.Choristersfromthreechoirs(N=
121)participatedinthesurveyandwereinvitedtocompletea100itemquestionnairede
scribedasmeasuringattitudesrelatedtomusic.Includedinthequestionnairewerethree
setsof22itemsconcernedwiththeholistichealtheffectsofmusicinthethreeparticipa
tion categories. Additional items relating to choir practices, performances, voice quality
andconductingtechniqueswereincludedtocamouflagethepurposeofthequestionnaire.
Bailey and Davidson report that a number of the group singing items received higher
ratings than equivalent listening items, and indicated that singing promotes heightened
arousalonavarietyofbehaviouraldimensions.Theseitemswere:improvesmood,isan
exhilaratingactivity,givesmeasenseofachievement,isacreativeexperienceandgives
meakindofhigh.Bycontrast,thelisteningaloneitemswhichreceivedhigherratingswere
indicative of processes which promote stress reduction and restoration of a homeostatic
state.Theseitemswere:reducesstress,releasessuppressedemotions,isphysicallyre
laxingandreleasestension.BaileyandDavidsonconcludefromtheirfindingsthatdiffer
entlevelsofmusicparticipationcanhavedifferentialyetbeneficialeffects.(p.223).

81


Article
Experimentalstudiesofsingingandhealth
In addition to qualitative studies and questionnaire surveys, more objective, experimental
researchhasalsoassessedtheimpactofsingingonphysiologicalvariablesassumedtohave
wellbeingandhealthimplications.Severalstudies,forexample,haveassayedlevelsofim
munoglobulinAinsalivatakenfromparticipantsbeforeandaftersinging,andreportedsig
nificant increases, pointing to enhanced immune system activity (e.g. Beck et al., 2000;
Kuhn,2002;Kreutz,Bongard,Rohrmann,Grebe,Bastian,&Hodapp,2004).
Twoquasiexperimentalstudieshavealsoreportedpositivehealthbenefitsfromgroup
singingforelderlypeopleusingstandardisedmeasuresandobjectiveindicatorsofwellbeing
and health. Houston, McKee, Carroll and Marsh (1998) report improvements in levels of
anxietyanddepressioninnursinghomeresidentsfollowingafourweekprogrammeofsing
ing,andCohen,Perlstein,Chapline,Kelly,FirthandSimmens(2006)foundimprovementsin
bothmentalandphysicalhealthinagroupofelderlypeopleparticipatinginacommunity
choirforoneyear.

Limitationsofexistingresearchandthepresentstudy
Theexistingresearchliteraturehassubstantiallimitations(seeClift,Hancox,Staricoff,etal.
2008).Manyofthestudiesaresmallscaleandessentiallyexploratoryandonlyonestudy
hasindependentlyreplicatedandimproveduponapreviousstudy(Kreutzetal.,2004repli
catingBecketal.,2000).Themainshortcomingsofthiscorpusofresearcharethelackofa
common conceptual understanding of wellbeing and health, and the absence of a fully
elaboratedtheoreticalmodelofthecausalmechanismslinkingsingingwithwellbeingand
health.
Afurtherlimitationofparticularinterestandrelevancetothestudyreportedbelowis
thelackofattentiontothepotentialsignificanceofsexinrelationtochoralsingingandits
effects.Thesystematicreviewrevealedthat19ofthe35 papersconsideredreportedre
searchongroupsinging.Threestudieswereconcernedwithsinglesexsinginggroups,and
the rest included both sexes. However, four studies failedto report the numbersof men
andwomenintheirsamples.Inthe13studiesgivingdetailsofsexcompositionatotalof
763singerswereinvestigatedwith72percentwomenand28percentmen.Theonlystudy
to examine sex as a factor in relation to their findings is the survey reported by Clift and
Hancox(2001).Asnotedabove,theyfoundevidencethatwomenreportedstrongerwell
beingbenefitsassociatedwithsingingthandidmen.
Thepresentstudyaimstoaddresstheselimitationsinthepreviousliteraturethrougha
largescalecrossnationalsurveyassessingtheviewsofchoralsingersinEngland,Germany
andAustraliaonthepossibleeffectsofsingingonwellbeingandhealth.Whiletheproject
was initiated by the Sidney De Haan Research Centre in England, research colleagues in
Germany and Australia expressed an interest in using the same instruments in a cross
national collaboration. All three countries are affluent democracies, and marked differ
encesbetweenthemwerenotexpected.Rather,thecrossnationaldimensiontothestudy
wasseenasprovidingabasisoftestingthegeneralityoffindingsacrossthreeindependent
nationalsamplesofsingers.

82


Article
ThestudyisbasedontheWorldHealthOrganizationsdefinitionofhealth(WHO,1946)
asastateofcompletephysical,mentalandsocialwellbeingandnotmerelyanabsenceof
illnessorinfirmity(p.100)(andusesacrossnationallyvalidatedqualityoflifeinstrument
theWHOQOLBREFdevelopedbytheWHOQualityofLifeproject(Power,Harper,Bullin
gerandtheWorldHealthOrganizationQualityofLifeGroup,1999).Foradetaileddescrip
tion of the study, methods and findings see Clift, Hancox, Morrison, Hess, Stewart and
Kreutz(2008).
More specifically, the present paper presents findings from a newly constructed scale
assessingtheperceivedwellbeingeffectsofparticipatinginchoralsinging,andexploresthe
relationships between this scale and the WHOQOLBREFmeasure ofpsychological wellbe
ing.Intheconstructionandanalysisofthisscale,carefulattentionisgiventothequestion
ofdifferencesattributabletosex.Itwasexpected,onthebasisofthefindingsreportedby
Clift and Hancox (2001) that women would endorse the wellbeing effects of singing more
stronglythanmen.
In order toexplore further the value of choralsinging for health, some illustrative ex
amplesaregivenofwrittencommentsaboutsinginganditseffectsfromchoristerswhore
portstrongwellbeingbenefitsfromsingingbutwhosegeneralpsychologicalwellbeingap
pears relatively low. Attention is given to thechallenges some of these choristers face in
theirliveswhichmayaccountfortheirrelativelylowerpsychologicalwellbeing.Theircom
ments also serve to highlight a range of mechanisms, some of which have already been
identifiedinpreviousresearch,throughwhichsingingcanacttopromotepersonalwellbe
ing.

METHOD
Participatingchoralsocietiesandchoirs
The sample consisted of 1124 choral singers drawn from 21 choral societies and choirs in
England(N=633),Germany(N=325)andAustralia(N=166).InEngland,asampleofcho
risters involved in an ongoing community singing project for elderly people also partici
pated.Theoverallresponseratewas61percent.
MostofthechoirsinthesurveysingmajorchoralworksfromtheWesternclassicalrep
ertoirefromthefifteenthtotwentiethcentury.Somechoirssingamoreeclecticrepertoire
includingwellknownsongsfrommusicalshowsandfilms.Onlysixofthe21choirsareaudi
tionedandtheremainderareopentoallcomers.
Severalofthechoirshavebeenestablishedalongtime.TheStuttgarterLiederkranzin
Germanyistheoldestchoirinthesurvey,foundedin1824,followedbytheEnglishAshford
ChoralSocietyfoundedin1857,andTheQueenslandChoirinAustraliasetupin1872.So
cietiesthathavecontinuedinexistenceforthislengthoftimeindicatetheappealofchoral
singingfromthenineteenthtothetwentyfirstcenturies.Therearealsosomerecentlyes
tablishedchoralsocietiesandchoirsinthestudy:theGermanEnsembleadlibitumStuttgart
wasformedin2002,andTheSilverSingers,Gateshead,EnglandandTheEsplanados,Bris
bane,Australiaweresetupin2005.

83


Article
TheQuestionnaire
Thequestionnairewasstructuredinthreeparts.Thefirstpartaskedforpersonalinforma
tionanddetailsoftherespondentsinvolvementwithmusicandsinging.Thesecondsec
tionfocusedspecificallyontheeffectsofchoralsingingandstartedwiththreeopenques
tionsontheeffectsofsingingonqualityoflife,wellbeingandhealth:

1. Whateffects,ifany,doessinginginachoirhaveonyourqualityoflife?
2. What effects, if any, does singing in a choir have on your psychological and social
wellbeing?
3. Whateffects,ifany,doessinginginachoirhaveonyourphysicalhealth?

Thesequestionswerewordedcarefullytoavoidbeingleading,andtoindicatethatef
fects might be positive or negative or that there may be no effects at all. The questions
were also focused on the respondents own health, rather than asking about possible ef
fectsofsingingonotherpeopleshealth.
Theseopenquestionswerethenfollowedby24statementsaboutchoralsingingusing
items defining the first major wellbeing and relaxation component reported by Clift and
Hancox(2001)anditemsfromtheSingersEmotionalExperiencesScaledevisedbyBecket
al.(2000).TheinstrumentsdevisedbyCliftandHancox,andBecketal.couldbecriticised
forincludingonlypositivelywordeditems,whichcouldhelptoreinforceapositiveresponse
bias. In the present questionnaire, therefore, twelve items were positively worded and
twelve negatively worded, and participants responded on a fivepoint Likert scale from
stronglydisagreetostronglyagree.FollowingaPrincipalComponentsAnalysis(seebe
low)scoreson12oftheseitemsweresummedtoformasinglesingingandwellbeingscale
withahighdegreeofinternalconsistency.Scoresonthescalerangefrom1260(seebelow
fordetails).
ThethirdsectionofthequestionnairecontainedtheWHOQOLBREF.Thiswasdesigned
to assess four major life quality domains: physical (e.g. How much do you need medical
treatmenttofunctioninyourdailylife?),psychological(e.g.Howmuchdoyouenjoylife?),
social(e.g.Howsatisfiedareyouwiththesupportyougetfromyourfriends?)andenviron
mental(e.g.Howsatisfiedareyouwiththeconditionsofyourlivingplace?).Thequestion
nairehasbeenwidelyusedinternationallyandhashighlevelsofreliabilityandvalidity(e.g.
Skevington,Lofty,&OConnell,2004;Hawthorne,Herrman,&Murphy,2006).Itwascon
sideredespeciallysuitableforacrossnationalsurveyasofficialWHOversionsoftheques
tionnaireareavailableforuseinAustralia,GermanyandtheUK.Attentioninthispaperis
confinedtothepsychologicalwellbeingscale.Thisconsistsofsixstatementstowhichpar
ticipantsrespondusingfivepointLikertscales(thewordingvariesbyitem).Theitemscores
were summed to provide raw scores on a scale ranging from 630, and these were trans
formedfollowingWHOQOLBREFguidelinestoascalerangingfrom420.
Questionnaires were distributed to members of participating choirs during May 2007
forcompletionathomeandreturninasealedenvelope.

84


Article
Ethics
Thestudyreceivedethicalapprovalthroughethicscommitteesinthecollaboratinguniversi
ties in each country. Participation was entirely voluntary and questionnaires were com
pletedanonymously.Itwasassumedthatsingerswouldfindthesurveyofinterestandthis
wasreflectedinthecaretakentoprovideanswerstotheopenquestions.Areportbased
onapreliminaryanalysisofthedatagatheredwasmadeavailabletoallrespondentsafter
completionofthesurvey.

Analysis
NumericaldatafromthequestionnairewereanalysedusingSPSS16.PrincipalComponents
Analysis was applied to the 24 singing items, for the total sample and for six country/sex
groups.Theresultsforthefirstunrotatedcomponentprovidedjustificationforconstructing
a summed scale using 12 items to assess perceived wellbeing effects of choral singing.
Comparisonsbetweenmenandwomenineachcountryandwithinthetotalsampleswere
made using independent ttests. Product moment correlations were computed between
thesingingscaleandtheWHOQOLBREFpsychologicalwellbeingscale.Toexploretheis
suesaddressedbythissurveymoreconcretely,attentionisgiventothecommentswritten
onthequestionnairebyrespondentswithrelativelylowscoresonthepsychologicalwellbe
ingscale,buthighscoresonthesingingscale.Asimplethematicapproachwasadoptedto
identifyexamplesoflifechallengeswhichmayexplaintherelativelylowwellbeingscores,
togetherwithcommentsidentifyingpossiblemechanismswhichlinksingingwithbeneficial
outcomesforwellbeing.

Findings
Theaverageageofchoristerswasrelativelyhigh(M=57years(SD=15)withathirdaged
6069andafifthaged70andabove).Womensubstantiallyoutnumberedmen(72vs.28
percent).Choristersreportedengagementwithchoralsingingforameanof27years(SD=
11years);42percentreportedhavinghadsinginglessons;62percentplayedamusicalin
strumentandonly6percentweretoldaschildrenthattheycouldnotsing.
Withrespecttohealth,79percentweresatisfiedorverysatisfiedwiththeirhealth
(with21percentlessthansatisfied)and87percentdescribedtheirhealthasgood,very
goodorexcellent(with13percentdescribingtheirhealthaslessthangood).Justunder
halfofthesample(N=536,49%)reportedlongtermhealthproblems,themostcommonly
expressed issues being problems with pain, emotional and mental health problems and
problemswithbreathing.
Principal Components Analysis applied to the choral singing items identified a strong
first component with substantial loadings from 12 items (e.g. improved mood, enhanced
qualityoflife,greaterhappiness,stressreduction,andemotionalwellbeing).Table1gives
theloadingsoftheseitemsinseparateanalysesofdatafromsixcountryxsexsubgroups
anddemonstratestherobustness ofthispattern.Itisstrikingthatasenseofhappiness
producedbysingingistheitemwhichachievesthehighestloadingforthetotalsample,and
isalsothehighestloadingitemforfouroutofthesixsubgroups.

85


Article
Table1:Effectsofsingingquestionnaire:firstprincipalcomponentforsixcountryxsexgroups(12items)
GermanMen

.73

.66

.83

.72

.78

Singinggivesapositiveattitudetolife

.74

.74

.74

.68

.78

.72

.74

Singinghasimprovedwellbeing/health

.74

.68

.77

.76

.81

.71

.69

Singingreleasesnegativefeelings

.73

.74

.75

.69

.82

.71

.73

Singinghelpsmakemeahappierperson

.73

.72

.78

.78

.74

.69

.68

.70

.71

.71

.74

.61

.73

.67

Choirpositivelyaffectsqualityoflife

.70

.66

.75

.64

.66

.74

.60

Relaxingandhelpsdealwithstress

.69

.61

.70

.67

.70

.66

.74

.69

.72

.68

.65

.74

.67

.65

.69

.68

.71

.71

.71

.71

.60

Doesn'thelpgeneralemotionalwellbeing

.67

.69

.68

.44

.75

.73

.62

Singinggivesnodeepsignificance

.65

.65

.65

.68

.63

.66

.69

49.5

46.7

0.91

0.90

Singingdoesn'tgivemea'high'

Doesn'treleasenegativefeelingsinmylife
Singingmakesmoodmorepositive

Varianceaccountedfor

50.1

48.4

51.9

46.2

53.8

Cronbachalpha

0.91

0.91

0.92

0.89

0.92

German
Women

.74

Australian
Women

EnglishMen

.75

Australian
Men

Totalsample

Makesmefeelalothappierafterwards

English
Women

Theseitemswereusedtoconstructasinglesummedmeasureoftheperceivedeffects
ofsingingonwellbeing(Cronbachalpha=0.9forbothsexes).Ahighmeanscoreconfirmed
that a large majority of choristers, in each country, and among men and women, agreed
thatsinginghasapositiveimpactonpersonalwellbeing(seeTable2).Differencesbetween
thesexeswereapparent,however,andasexpectedwomengavehigherscoresthanmenin
eachcountryandinthetotalsample.FortheEnglishandGermansamplesandforthetotal
sample,thisdifferenceisstatisticallysignificant.

Table2:Singingscalestatisticsforcountryxsexsubgroups
England

Australia

Germany

Total

Men

Women

Men

Women

Men

Women

Men

Women

N=134

N=449

N=51

N=103

N=100

N=192

N=285

N=744

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

48.1

6.8

50.2

6.7

49.5

5.6

50.7

6.9

47.0

7.0

49.5

6.6

48.0

6.7

50.1

6.7

t(584)=3.19,p=<0.001

t(154)=1.10,pns

t(291)=2.99,p<0.005

Rangeis1260

86

t(1033)=4.58,p<0.001


Article
OntheWHOpsychologicalscale,amajorityofrespondentsscoredwellabovethescale
midpointindicatinggoodtoexcellentselfassessedpsychologicalwellbeing(seeTable3).
A small proportion of choristers, however, gave low scores, which could indicate mental
health difficulties. For the frequency of negative feelings item for example, just over six
per cent ofparticipants gave ratings which indicated that they very often or always ex
periencednegativefeelingssuchasbluemood,despair,anxiety,depression.

Table3:WHOQOLBREFPsychologicalwellbeingpercentageresponsestoindividualitems(totalsample)

Low

High

Enjoylife

1112

0.2

1.3

15.1

67.2

16.3

Lifeismeaningful

1097

0.7

2.8

17.5

54.3

24.6

Abletoconcentrate

1111

0.1

1.9

31.6

56.9

9.5

Acceptbodilyappearance

1113

1.1

4.5

18.3

51.8

24.3

Satisfactionwithself

1108

0.9

4.7

21.1

60.3

13.0

Frequencyofnegativefeelings

1112

0.7

5.4

27.7

54.9

11.2

Itemsarescaledsuchthathighscoresreflecthighwellbeing.Forthefrequencyofnegativefeelingsitem,for
example,ahighscoremeansthatthefrequencyofnegativefeelingswaslow(1=always,2=veryoften,3=
quiteoften,4=seldom,5=never).

AsTable4indicates,womenintheEnglishandGermansamplesandthesampleoverall
scoredslightlyloweronthepsychologicalwellbeingscale.ThesedifferencesintheEnglish
andtotalsampleswerestatisticallysignificant.

Table4:WHOQOLBREFPsychologicalwellbeingscores
England

Australia

Germany

Total

Men

Women

Men

Women

Men

Women

Men

Women

N=139

N=463

N=54

N=106

N=101

N=201

N=294

N=770

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD

15.7

1.8

15.3

2.0

15.5

2.2

15.1

1.8

15.6

2.1

15.7

2.1

15.7

2.0

15.4

2.0

t(603)=2.17,p=<0.05

t(160)=1.42,pns

t(301)=.35,pns

t(1065)=1.99,p<0.05

Rangeis1260.

As statistically significant sex differences were found in the total sample for both the
singing scale and the WHOQOLBREF psychological wellbeing scale, relationships between
these two measures were examined within sex. A significant correlation was found be
tweenthemforwomen(totalsample)(r=0.23,p<0.001),butnotformen(r=0.06,pns).
This pattern was also replicated independentlyin each national sample (seeClift,Hancox,
Morrisonetal.,2008fordetails).Thecorrelationsforwomenareverylow,however,with
nomorethanfivepercentsharedvariancebetweenthetwoscales.Effectively,therefore,
thereislittleornorelationshipoverallbetweenthetwoscalesforeithersex,andthissug

87


Article
geststhatallpossiblecombinationsofhighandlowscoresonbothscalesarerelativelysimi
larinfrequency.
To explore this finding further, data from the WHOQOLBREF psychological scale and
theeffectsofsingingscaleweredividedasneartothe33rdand67thpercentilesaspossible
andthetworecodedscaleswerecrosstabulated.Respondentsinthelowestthirdonthe
psychologicalwellbeingscale,andthehighestthirdontheeffectsofsingingscalewerecon
sideredofparticularinterestforunderstandingthepotentialimpactofsingingonwellbeing.
These are people who report that their general psychological wellbeing over the previous
twoweekshadbeenrelativelylowcomparedwiththesampleoverall,butwhoalsoreporta
relativelyhighimpactonwellbeingfromsinging.Eightyfivepeopleinthetotalsamplefell
into this category: 15 men and 69 women (one respondent did not disclose their sex); 51
English,19Germanand14Australian.
Just under twothirds of this group (N = 55, 65%) reported longterm problems with
theirhealth,comparedwith49percentinthetotalsample.Withrespecttopsychological
wellbeing, over threequarters of the group (N = 66, 78%) gave answers of quite often,
veryoftenoralwaysinresponsetothequestionHowoftendoyouhavenegativefeel
ingssuchasbluemood,despair,anxiety,depression?Thiscompareswith34percentof
thetotalsamplegivingthisrangeofanswers(seeTable3).

Writtencommentsfromchoristersrelativelylowinpsychologicalwellbeingbutstrongly
endorsingthewellbeingeffectsofsinging
Inanswerstotheopenquestionsdetailedabove,approximatelyonefifthofthisgroupgave
concreteinformationonsignificantchallengesintheirlivesimpactingontheirsenseofper
sonalwellbeing.Respondentscommentsaboutthesechallengescouldbereadilycatego
rised under the following headings: mental health problems, significant family problems,
physicalhealthdifficultiesandbereavement.Thefollowingexamplesareindicativeofthe
issues identified and also clearly express the benefits which the respondents felt they
gainedfromsinginginachoir.

EnduringmentalhealthproblemsThiswasthemostcommonlyexpressedchallenge,with
sixrespondentsdisclosingproblemswithclinicaldepressionoranxietyandafurthersixal
ludingtodifficultieswithdepression.Inthefollowingexamplessingingisdescribedasbeing
helpfulintheprocessofrecoveryorinthemanagementoftheseproblems:
I have had to stop working due to an ongoing medical condition (bipolar disorder). I
havehadseveralepisodesofthis.Requiringvaryinglengthsoftimespentinhospital,fol
lowedbymonthsoftimeneedingsupportfordepressionandlackofselfconfidence.Be
ing a member of this particular choir has lifted my selfesteem again and restored self
belief.[Englishfemale54.]
Ihadafulltimepanicattacklastweek.Triedsomeswimmingexerciseswhichmadeit
worsethensanginthecarforhalfanhour.Bytheendmyheartrateandbreathinghad
returned to normal, neck and shoulders relaxed, stomach unknotted. Generally find it
unwindsandrelaxesme.Alwaysfeellooserafterrehearsals.[Australianmale,38.]

88


Article
Significantfamily/relationshipproblemsProblemswithinthefamilyorclosepersonalre
lationships were also a source of significant stress for the following two participants, and
singinghelpedthemtocopewiththesecontinuingchallenges:
Asacareroftworelativesstrickenwithschizophrenia,Ihavesufferedfromreactivede
pression.()HavingapleasantstarttothedayknowingIshallmeetlikemindedpeople
andenjoymusicmaking,hopefullyhavingalaughalongtheway.Hearingtheharmonies
helpsmeforgetfamilyworries.[Englishfemale,70.]
AbletoenjoycompanionshipandmakesmefeelIamabletodosomething.Myhusband
isdepressedandthishelpsmetokeepgoing.Liftsmoodandhelpstoforgetproblems
inlife.[Englishfemale,65.]

Significant physical health issues/disability Physical health problems can also result in
significantemotionalchallengesthatcanincreaserisksofmentalhealthdifficulties.Thefol
lowingparticipantsdescribetheconsequencesofstrokeandinsomnia,withthefirstindicat
inghowsinginghelpedhim:
It plays a significant part in my emotional health and wellbeing. I find music uplifting.
Whenrecoveringfromamajorstroke,singingwasoneofthewaysofliftingmyspiritsout
ofdepression.[Englishmale,65.]
Severeinsomnia.Iwakeupbetween3and4am.MostofthetimeIcantgobacktosleep
oronlyshortlybeforeIgetupagain.Consequently,Iamextremelytiredintheevenings
andsuffermoodswings.[Germanfemale,67.]

RecentbereavementFinally,tworespondentsdisclosedrecentlossofclosefamilymem
bers. Bereavement substantially increases risks to emotional and mental health, and for
thesechoristerssingingclearlyhelpedthemtocopewithsignificantpersonalloss:
Myhusbanddiedthreemonthsagosoallthequestionsaboutnegativefeelingsetc.are
distortedbythisfact.Oneofthegreatestsupportsinmylifeatthisdifficulttimeisthe
[choir I belong to]. I think choral singing is fantastic for emotional health. [English fe
male,64.]
Intodaysworld,choralsingingofferspeopleoneoutletfromstressandworry.Itisan
experiencenottobemissed,andhashelpedmethroughtherecentlossofmydaughter.
[Englishfemale,59.]

Theaccountsgivenabovealsosuggestsomeofthewaysinwhichsingingcanhelpad
dresschallengestopsychologicalwellbeing,andthisissuewasexploredfurtherbycodingall
examples in which respondents themselves offered some explanation of how singing pro
videdpsychologicalandemotionalbenefits.Thisanalysisidentifieddescriptionsofatleast
sixgenerativemechanismslinkingchoralsingingwithwellbeingandhealth,mostofwhich
have been previously identified in the research literature (e.g. Bailey and Davidson, 2003,
2005,refertoimprovementsinmoodandtheroleofdistraction).Thepurposehereisnot
to present a thoroughgoing documentation of the incidence of comments indicative of
thesemechanisms,butsimplytoprovideillustrationsoftheintuitivehypothesesemployed
bysingerstoexplainhowsingingcanbebeneficial.

89


Article
Agivenmechanismmayhavemorethanoneoutcomeforwellbeing,andtwoormore
mechanismsmayhaveasimilarimpact.Themechanismsareasfollows:positiveaffect,fo
cused concentration, controlled deep breathing, social support, cognitive stimulation, and
regular commitment. Each of these mechanisms serves to counter factors and processes
thatarepotentiallydetrimentaltowellbeingandhealth.Thegeneralprincipleatworkhere
appearstobeoneofrebalancingorcounteraction.

PositiveaffectRespondentsinthisgroupcommentedthatsingingmadethemfeelhappier
andimprovedtheirmood.Inthefollowingcomments,thecapacityofsingingtogenerate
positivefeelingsislinkedtoaprocessofcounteractingfeelingsofsadness,anxietyandde
pressioninotherareasoftheirlives:
When you sing, you cannot be sad for long. It really lifts your spirits. Being in a choir
meansyouareinateamyouallhelpeachotherwhichgivestremendoussatisfaction.
[Englishfemale,52.]
Singingimprovesmymoodandmyhealth.Ihavetobeonguardconstantlyagainstmy
medicalcondition(anxietyanddepression).[Australianfemale,49.]

Focused attention In addition to generating positive feelings, singing can be a very de

mandingactivityinvolvingfocusedconcentration.Thefollowingrespondentsexplicitlylink
this feature of singing as an activity to blocking personal preoccupations with sources of
worry,andpromotingrelaxationandthereliefofstress:
Singinginachoirputstroublesonhold,asconcentratingonthemusicrequiresallones
attention.[Englishfemale,65.]
Ithasgreateffects.Ithelpsmetoswitchoffeverydayconcernsandalsotoconcentrate.
Result:Icanrelax.[Germanfemale,56.]

Controlled deep breathing Controlled breathing is of course, intrinsic to the activity of

singing,andwaswidelyidentifiedasaphysicalbenefitassociatedwithbeingamemberofa
choir. In addition, the following respondents were more explicit in suggesting that deep
controlledbreathingcancounteractanxietyandstress,andalsogiveasenseoffitness:
Deepbreathing,essentialforsinging,isonemethodofhelpingwithsignsofanxietyand
stress.[Englishfemale,70.]
Ithinkthatyouarekeptfitbychoralsingingbecauseyoubreathecorrectlyandyouen
gage your whole body in the activity, like you do when practising yoga or when doing
sports(walkingforfitness).[Germanfemale,50.]

Social support Choral singing is also an intrinsically social activity, involving processes of
social cooperation and coordination. The value of group membership and friendly rela
tionships within the group were widelycommented on. In addition the followingrespon
dents are explicit in suggesting that singing in a choir offers them social support, which
serves to ameliorate feelings of isolation and loneliness, and provides a sense of wider

90


Article
communityandsocialinclusion:
Theeffectofsingingwithagrouphelpstomakefriends,sothishaswidenedmyhorizons
quiteabit,andgetsmeoutandaboutmore.Thesupportyoureceivefromotherpeople
helpsingeneralwellbeing.[Englishfemale,78.]
Thecommunityaspectofchoralsingingisparticularlysignificant.Achoirisacommu
nity of singers drawn from all walks of life, coming together to make a unified impact.
Thatteamworkanddisciplinedfocusonathinggreaterthanourselves(namelyachoral
work)isanexampleofhowtheworldmight/couldbe![Australianfemale,66.]

Cognitive stimulation Choral singing involves education and learning, which keeps the
mindactive,andgivesasenseofachievement.Thefollowingrespondentshighlightwaysin
which choral singing can offer a challenging and worthwhile activity and possibly serve to
counteractagerelateddeclineofcognitivefunction:
[Choralsingingis]Averysatisfyingactivitytobeinvolvedinatanyage,butIthinkespe
ciallyvaluabletopeopleintheirlateryearswhentheyhavetimeontheirhands.Ithink
choral singing is a particularly valuable and worthwhile activity to fill some of this time
andgivearealsenseofachievementatatimewhenonemightbefeelingonesuseful
nessisdeclining.[Australianfemale,60.]
Apartfromtherelaxationbenefits,Ibelievethatforme,aged57,keepingthebrainactive
andhavingtoconcentrateforlongperiodswilldelayifnotcompletelypreventsenilede
mentia![Englishfemale,57.]

RegularcommitmentFinally,likeallworthwhileactivities,choralsingingrequiresregular
practiceandsoinvolvesaregularcommitmenttoattendrehearsal,whichmotivatespeople
toavoidbeingphysicallyinactive:
Itmakesmegetupinthemorning[rehearsalsareduringtheday]andputsmeinagood
moodfortherestofthedayandmakesmemorealert.[Englishfemale,65.]
Makingtheefforttoattendchoirpracticeonwet,coldeveningsinsteadofwatchingTV
mustbebetterforhealth.[Englishfemale,69.]

DISCUSSIONANDIMPLICATIONS
Thisstudycontributestoaprocessofaddressingtheshortcomingsofpreviousresearchby
undertakingalargescalecrossnationalsurveyofsingersinchoirsinEngland,Germanyand
Australia.ThestudyisbasedontheWHOdefinitionofhealth,andusesarigorouslydevel
oped crossnational instrument for assessing health related quality of life, the WHOQOL
BREF.Inaddition,thestudyallowedfortheconstructionofanewscaleforassessingthe
wellbeing effects of choral singing, which demonstrates substantial construct validity and
internalconsistency.
TheresultsconfirmpreviousfindingsfromCliftandHancox(2001)andBecketal.(2000)
that a majority of choristers experience singing as beneficial for wellbeing. Nevertheless,
thereisvariationintheextenttowhichsingersendorsetheideathatsinginghasbenefits

91


Article
for their wellbeing, and an important finding is that women are more likely to report
strongerbenefitscomparedwithmen.Thisconfirmstheearlierfindingofsuchasexdiffer
encereportedbyCliftandHancoxinasmallscalestudyofasinglechoir.Thecurrentfind
ingisparticularlystrong,giventhatthedifferencebetweenwomenandmenappearsinde
pendently in each national sample of choristers studied. Inspection of individual items in
thescaleshowsthatwomenweremorelikelythanmentostronglyagreethatsingingmade
themfeelhappier,madetheirmoodmorepositive,helpedimprovewellbeingandhealth,
andhelpedthemrelaxanddealwithstress.Similarly,theyweremorelikelytostronglydis
agreethatsingingdoesnthelptoreleasenegativefeelings.
Suchsexdifferencesareintriguing,andmeritfurtherstudy.Theymayreflectabroader
sexdifferenceinemotionalsensitivityandexpressiveness,withwomenandmenexperienc
ing similar benefits, butwith women expressing themselves more strongly in this respect.
Thesedifferencesmayalsohelptowardsexplainingwhychoralsingingshouldbeanactivity
whichtendstoattractmorewomenthanmen.Certainly,inthepresentsampleofchoirs,
women were in the majority. On the other hand, the men in the sample are actively in
volvedinchoralsinging,andwhiletheyendorsethewellbeingbenefitsoftheactivity,itmay
bethatotherfactors,suchasthevalueplacedonmusicortheopportunitytosocialise,are
strongermotivatorsfortheirinvolvement.
ThefindingsfromtheWHOQOLBREFalsodemonstratethatalargemajorityofsingers
ratetheirqualityoflifeandtheirhealthasgoodorbetter.Thisisanimpressivefinding,es
pecially given the high average age of the sample, and the fact that a large proportion of
peoplewereinretirement.Thismaypartlypointtothehealthpromotingbenefitsofchoral
singing,butitshouldalsoberecognisedthatastheparticipantsgetolder,thesamplemay
increasinglyrepresentthemoreactiveandhealthymembersoftheiragegroup,asindivid
ual choristers retire due to health and mobility problems or a fading voice. It is notable,
however, that a minority of participants do give low scores on the WHOQOLBREF scales,
whichindicatethattheyarenotsatisfiedwiththeirqualityoflifeandhealth.FortheWHO
psychological wellbeing scale, approximately 10 per cent of the sample scored below the
scales midpoint suggesting that they may be coping with significant mental health chal
lenges.Asmallsexdifferencealsoemergesonthisscalewithwomenreportingloweraver
agelevelsofwellbeing.
Afurtherfindingfromthissurveywhichhasnotbeenreportedsofarintheliteratureis
thesexdifferenceinthecorrelationbetweenperceptionsofthewellbeingbenefitsofsing
ing and selfassessed general psychological wellbeing. In the total sample and for each
country independently, a significant positive correlation was observed between the two
scalesforwomen,butnotformen.Higherscoresonthesingingwellbeingscalewereasso
ciatedwithhighergeneralwellbeingscores.Correlationsareofcoursedifficulttointerpret
fromacausalperspective.Thisfindingmayindicatethatwomenwithhighergeneralwell
beingaremorelikelytoexperiencewellbeingbenefitsfromsinging,oritmaysuggestthat
theexperienceofwellbeingbenefitsfromsingingcontributestoabroadersenseofpsycho
logicalwellbeing.Itisimportantnottomaketoomuchofthecorrelationfound,however,
as it represents no more than five per cent of shared variance. What the finding more
stronglyindicatesisthatforwomenperceptionsofthebenefitsofsingingaresubstantially
independent of general psychological wellbeing as measured by the WHOQOLBREF. The
factthatnosignificantcorrelationemergedforthemenfurtherunderlinesthispoint.For

92


Article
thisreason,attentionwasgiveninthispapertoasubgroupconsideredtobeofparticular
interest in exploring the value of choral singing for wellbeing and health namely those
choristerswithlowgeneralwellbeingwhohighlyendorsedthebenefitsofsinging.
Withinthissubgroup,manyparticipantsdisclosedpersonalchallengesintheirlivesthat
havecompromisedtheirsenseofpersonalwellbeing.Nevertheless,itisclearthatparticipa
tioninsinginghasbeenofconsiderablebenefittothem.Moreimportantly,fromatheo
retical point of view, the choristers accounts provide valuable insights into a number of
possiblecausalmechanismslinkingsingingwithimprovedwellbeingandhealth.Thesefind
ingsareconsistentwithinsightscomingfrompreviousqualitativeresearchonsingingand
wellbeing(seeClift,Hancox,Staricoffetal.,2008),andreflectsomeoftheprocesseshigh
lightedintheworkofBaileyandDavidson(2005),Becketal.(2000)andKreutzetal.(2004).
Thisstudybuildsonpreviousresearch,however,inhighlightingthefactthatinanymain
stream choir or choral society, there will be members with existing health challenges and
thatsingingisactivelyemployedinanumberofwaystohelpincopingwithoraddressing
thesechallenges.Thespecificmechanismsidentifiedshouldalsobethefocusofmorede
tailedresearchtoexploretheirsignificanceandinterconnectednesswithinarangeofsing
inggroups.Howforexample,dothemechanismsofcontrolleddeepbreathingandfocused
attention relate to one another and impact upon experiences of wellbeing? If singing is
widely perceived to have benefitsfor breathing, would singing as an activity be useful for
peoplewithcompromisedlungfunction(e.g.asthmaorchronicobstructivepulmonarydis
ease)? Research by Engen (2005) and a recent study reported by Bonilha, Onofre, Vieira,
Prado,andMartinez(2008)providesomeevidenceinsupportofthispossibility.
Theanalysisofthemesinthequalitativedatareportedhereispreliminaryandconsiders
onlyafractionoftheavailableaccountsprovidedbythetotalsampleofchoristers.Afuller,
more sophisticated analysis is currently in progress using the MAXQDA2007 qualitative
analysis software programme (http://www.maxqda.com), (see Clift, Hancox, Morrison,
Hess,Kreutz,&Stewart,2009forfindingsfromchoristersaccountsoftheeffectsofchoral
singingonphysicalhealth).Oncecompleted,thisanalysiswillallowforemergentthemesto
beorganisedintoamoredetailedmodelofmechanismsandbeneficialimpacts,andrelate
the information provided in response to open questions, to the structured data available
fromtherestofthequestionnaire.
In addition to this study helping to highlight the wellbeing and health benefits associ
atedwithchoralsinging,italsohasanumberofimplicationsforthewiderissueofencour
agingmorepeopletoparticipateinchoralsingingforthepotentialbenefitsitcanbringfor
wellbeing.
Itisclearthatmanyparticipantsinthestudyhavehadlongexperienceofinvolvement
inchoralsinging,andmanyhavehadsinginglessonsandcanplayaninstrument.Inaddi
tion,veryfewoftherespondentsweretoldaschildrenthattheycouldnotsing.Itisnot
difficulttoimagine,therefore,thattheabilityofpeopleintheirlateryearstobenefitfrom
groupsingingderivesinconsiderablepartfromtheskillandconfidencethatcomesfroma
lifetimeinvolvementwithmusicandsinging.Thissuggeststhatifsingingistobeapoten
tialresourceinlaterlifethattheearlyfoundationsarecrucial,asareopportunitiesthrough
outearlyandmidadulthoodtoengageincommunitysinging.Itisofinterestinthisrespect
thatinboththeBaileyandDavidson(2005)andSilber(2005)studies, inwhichspecialef
fortsweremadetorecruitdisadvantagedadultsintosingingprojects,thosemostreadyto

93


Article
engagedidhavesomebackgroundinmusic.Theissueofhavingagoodfoundationinmusic
andpositiveencouragementtosingappearstobeparticularlyrelevantforboys,asthere
sultsofthisstudyunderlinethewellknownpatternthatmenarelesslikelytobeinvolvedin
choralsingingthanwomen.
Although this study strongly indicates the importance of a history of engagement in
singing,thisisnottosaythatadultswithlittleornopreviousexperienceofsingingmight
notfinditenjoyableandbeneficialiftheyweretohavetheopportunityandencouragement
to participate in their local communities. And indeed, there were members in the choirs
studied with relatively little previous experience of choral singing. A further implication,
therefore,isthatmoreeffortsareneededtoexpandcommunityopportunitiesforinvolve
mentinsinging,andtoeducateadultsaboutthevalueofsuchengagementonamusical,
personalandsociallevel,andalsoforthebenefitsitcanpotentiallybringforwellbeingand
health.
Thestudycontributestobuildinganevidencebasetosupportgreaterpublicinvestment
bylocalgovernmentandhealthauthoritiesincommunitymusicandsingingprovisioninthe
interests of promoting wellbeing and health, especially from midlife onwards. Given that
throughout theworld,increasedlifeexpectancyhasresultedinacontinuingdemographic
shifttowardslargerproportionsofelderlypeopleinnationalpopulations,thereisaneedto
look afresh at the opportunities available to help encourage people to remain physically,
sociallyandmentallyactivepostretirement.Itisarguedthatsingingisavaluableactivityin
alloftheserespectsanddeservestobemorewidelyrecognisedassuch.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:OurthanksareduetotheRogerDeHaanFamilyTrustforfunding
thatmadethisworkpossible;CanterburyChristChurchUniversityforsupportingthework
oftheSidneyDeHaanResearchCentreforArtsandHealth;ourcolleaguesandcollabora
tors:Dr.IanMorrison,Ms.BrbelHess,Dr.GunterKreutz,Prof.DonaldStewart,Mrs.Isobel
Salisbury,andnotleast,thechoralsingersinEngland,GermanyandAustraliawhoshared
theirexperiencesofchoralsingingwithus.

REFERENCES
Bailey,B.A.,&Davidson,J.W.(2002).Adaptivecharacteristicsofgroupsinging:Perceptions
frommembersofachoirforhomelessmen.MusicaeScientiae,6(2),221256.
Bailey,B.A.,&Davidson,J.W.(2003).Perceivedholistichealtheffectsofthreelevelsofmu
sicparticipation.InR.Kopiez,A.C.Lehmann,I.Wolther,&C.Wolf(Eds.),Proceedings
ofthe5thTriennialESCOMConference(pp.22023).HanoverUniversityofMusicand
Drama,Germany.
Bailey,B.A.,&Davidson,J.W.(2005).Effectsofgroupsingingandperformanceformarginal
izedandmiddleclasssingers.PsychologyofMusic,33(3),269303.
Beck,R.J.,Cesario,T.C.,Yousefi,A.,&Enamoto,H.(2000).Choralsinging,performanceper
ception,andimmunesystemchangesinsalivaryimmunoglobulinAandcortisol.Music
Perception,18(1),87106.

94


Article
Bonilha, A.G., Onofre, F., Vieira, L.M., Prado, M.Y.A., & Martinez, J.A.B. (2008). Effects of
singing classes on pulmonary function and quality of life of COPD patients. Interna
tionalJournalofCOPD,4(1),18.
Clift, S., &Hancox, G. (2001). The perceived benefits of singing: Findings from preliminary
surveysofauniversitycollegechoralsociety.JournaloftheRoyalSocietyforthePro
motionofHealth,121(4),248256.
Clift,S.,Hancox,G.,Morrison,I.,Hess,B.,Stewart,D.,&Kreutz,G.(2008).Choralsinging,
wellbeing and health: Findings from a crossnational survey. Canterbury: Canterbury
ChristChurchUniversity.Retrieved23June2009fromhttp://www.canterbury.ac.uk/
centres/sidneydehaanresearch.
Clift,S.,Hancox,G.,Morrison,I.,Hess,B.,Stewart,D.,&Kreutz,G.(August2009).Whatdo
singerssayabouttheeffectsonchoralsingingonphysicalhealth?Paperpresentedat
the7thTriennialConferenceofEuropeanSocietyfortheCognitiveSciencesofMusic,
UniversityofJyvskyl,Finland, August1216.
Clift, S., Hancox, G., Staricoff, R., & Whitmore, C. (2008). Singing and health: Asystematic
mapping and review of nonclinical research. Canterbury: Canterbury Christ Church
University.Retrieved23June2009fromhttp://www.canterbury.ac.uk/centres/sidney
dehaanresearch.
Cohen,G.D.,Perlstein,S.,Chapline,J.,Kelly,J.,Firth,K.M.,&Simmens,S.(2006).Theimpact
ofprofessionallyconductedculturalprogramsonthephysicalhealth,mentalhealth,
andsocialfunctioningofolderadults.TheGerontologist,46(6),726734.
Engen R.L. (2005). The singer's breath: Implications for treatment of persons with emphy
sema.JournalofMusicTherapy,42(1),2048.
Hawthorne,G.,Herrman,H.,&Murphy,B.(2006).InterpretingtheWHOQOLBref:Prelimi
narypopulationnormsandeffectsizes.SocialIndicatorsResearch,77(1),3759.
Houston,D.M.,McKee,K.J.,Carroll,L.,&Marsh,H.(1998).Usinghumourtopromotepsy
chologicalwellbeinginresidentialhomesforolderpeople.AgingandMentalHealth,2
(4),328332.
Kreutz,G.,Bongard,S.,Rohrmann,S.,Grebe,D.,Bastian,H.G.,&Hodapp,V.(2004).Effects
of choir singing or listening on secretory immunoglobulin A, cortisol and emotional
state.JournalofBehavioralMedicine,27(6),623635.
Kuhn, D. (2002). The effects of active and passive participation in musical activity on the
immune system as measured by salivary immunoglobulin A (SigA). Journal of Music
Therapy,39(1),3039.
Power,M.,Harper,A.,Bullinger,M.,&TheWorldHealthOrganizationQualityofLifeGroup
(1999).TheWorldHealthOrganizationWHOQOL100:Testsoftheuniversalityofqual
ity of life in 15 different cultural groups worldwide. Health Psychology, 18 (5), 495
505.
Silber,L.(2005).Barsbehindbars:Theimpactofawomensprisonchoironsocialharmony,
MusicEducationResearch,7(2),251271.
Skevington, S., Lofty, M., & OConnell, K.A. (2004). The World Health Organizations
WHOQOLBREFqualityoflifeassessment:Psychometricpropertiesandresultsofthe
internationalfieldtrial.AReportfromtheWHOQOLGroup.QualityofLifeResearch,
13,299310.

95


Article
Watanabe,H.(2005).ChangingadultlearninginJapan:Theshiftfromtraditionalsingingto
karaoke.InternationalJournalofLifelongEducation,24(3),257267.
WHO(1946).TheWHOdefinitionofhealthistobefoundinthePreambletotheConstitu
tionoftheWorldHealthOrganizationasadoptedbytheInternationalHealthConfer
ence,NewYork,1922June,1946;signedon22July1946bytherepresentativesof61
States(OfficialRecordsoftheWorldHealthOrganization,no.2,p.100)andentered
intoforceon7April1948.

ForfurtherinformationabouttheworkoftheSidneyDeHaanResearchCentreforArtsand
Health,see:http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/centres/sidneydehaanresearch/index.asp

STEPHENCLIFT,FRSPH,isProfessorofHealthEducationintheFacultyofHealthandSocial
Care,CanterburyChristChurchUniversity,coDirectoroftheSidneyDeHaanResearchCen
treforArtsandHealthandDirectorofacharitablecompanySingForYourLifeLtdwhich
promotesopportunitiesforcommunitymusicandsingingamongelderlypeople.Contact:
SidneyDeHaanResearchCentreforArtsandHealth,UniversityCentreFolkestone,Folke
stone,KentCT201JG,UK.[Email:Stephen.clift@canterbury.ac.uk]
GRENVILLEHANCOX,MBE,FRSA,isProfessorofMusicintheFacultyofArtsandHumani
ties,CanterburyChristChurchUniversity,UniversityDirectorofMusicandcoDirectorofthe
SidneyDeHaanResearchCentreforArtsandHealth.Heisachoralconductorandclarinet
player. Contact: Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health, University Centre
Folkestone,Folkestone,KentCT201JG,UK.[Email:Grenville.hancox@canterbury.ac.uk]

96