 I run a ladies’ mental health choir. That sentence tends to invite assumptions. Some people imagine a therapeutic space with constant emotional disclosure. Others picture a wellbeing add-on bolted onto singing “properly”. And some simply assume that singing is good for you and leave it at that. But when you hold responsibility for a room full of real humans, with real nervous systems, real histories and real lives, “singing is good for you” isn’t enough. As a specialist consultant in choir inclusion and mental health, I am deeply committed to mental-health–informed practice, and to understanding what actually happens when people sing together. Not what we hope happens; not what the research headlines say happens. But what our singers experience in a normal rehearsal. So, we decided to explore it. This blog is a good follow on from what-happens-to-the-brain-and-body-during-group-singing.html why we ran a singing & wellbeing labThe Singing & Wellbeing Lab was embedded into a regular choir rehearsal. No special workshop, no added wellbeing content, no pressure to share feelings. It took place in the same week as Time to Talk Day and also a flash mob we organised for mental health. The rehearsal included:
We wanted to explore two broad pathways through which singing is often said to support wellbeing:
Participants chose which pathway they were curious about (or to not get involved at all), and we kept the measures intentionally simple, ethical and accessible. This wasn’t about proving a theory, it was about listening carefully. two groups, one rehearsalThe green group: social and emotional experience Participants explored:
The blue group: physical and physiological experience Participants explored:
what we noticed: social and emotional shiftsOne of the clearest patterns emerged from the green group’s distance measurements. Before singing, participants stood facing a partner and chose how far apart felt naturally comfortable. After the rehearsal, they repeated the exercise. For most participants, that distance reduced, often dramatically. Several people were happy to stand less than half as far away after singing together. This points to increased, felt social safety, not forced closeness. One pair showed almost no change, which is just as important: boundaries remained intact and respected. Eye contact told a similar story. Many participants described initial awkwardness or avoidance, followed by smiling, laughter, and ease. What’s striking is that discomfort wasn’t avoided, it was moved through. Singing appeared to support co-regulation, allowing people to settle into connection rather than perform it. Mood reflections echoed this:
One word appeared repeatedly: safe. Some people felt safe on arrival and safe afterwards. Others felt safe and lighter. This matters, because safety alone doesn’t automatically lead to wellbeing - growth within safety does. The fact that singers arrived at practice feeling nervous about what was to come (we had told them there was a Lab event but not what they'd have to do) but still felt safe with us in the room? That’s what we aim to create in our rehearsals. what we noticed: physical and physiological shiftsThe blue group data offered a different, complementary picture. Most participants increased the length of their comfortable out-breath after the rehearsal. In several cases, the increase was substantial: five, ten, even fourteen seconds longer, without any warning, explicit direction or breath training. This suggests improved respiratory efficiency and nervous-system regulation through singing alone. I always tell my singers that good singing starts with good breathing. Apparently it works both ways. Posture measurements (height against a wall) was more complex. Some participants measured slightly taller, some slightly shorter, and many stayed the same. I was hoping to show that singers relaxed and unclenched a little throughout practice, but it wasn’t clear if this was the case. At first glance this looked confusing, but on reflection it made more sense. Regulation doesn’t always look like “standing taller”; for some bodies, settling means releasing effort and bracing, which can temporarily register as softness or shrink, rather than lift. So, some singers would have untensed after a day at a desk (appearing taller) and others would have finally relaxed and dropped their shoulders as they sloughed off the day. Also in the blue group, the free-text responses were strikingly consistent:
Several people noticed specific internal changes, such as freer sinuses, easier breathing and reduced chest tightness. These aren’t vague mood words: they’re internal observations. the most-important insight: multiple pathwaysWhat interested me most wasn’t any single measure. It was how the two groups spoke to each other. Those focused on social experience talked about safety, connection and belonging. Those focused on the body talked about breath, ease and lightness. That’s unsurprising – I asked them to. And yet both groups arrived at similar outcomes:
why this matters for mental-health-informed practiceAll of these shifts happened in an ordinary rehearsal. No one was asked to disclose personal struggles, no one was told how they should feel, no one was singled out as vulnerable. And yet meaningful changes occurred: socially, physically and emotionally. This reinforces a core principle of mental-health–informed choir leadership: We don’t need to “therapise” singing for it to be supportive (I did a whole podcast episode on that, here). We do need to pay attention. Running this lab wasn’t about becoming more “scientific”. It was about being more responsible. If we claim singing supports wellbeing, we owe it to our singers, and to funders and communities, to understand how, when and for whom that’s true. Where this leaves us - what happens next?This lab was just the beginning. It showed us:
2 Comments
Sam P
9/2/2026 07:37:03 am
Really interesting to read. Thanks Emma!
Myra
9/2/2026 08:01:07 am
Found all the results really interesting,for my part singing has helped me through a struggle with hat I never envisioned going through ,at times it felt so hard , but singing each week , wonderful friendships has pulled me through ,and now have a future that is getting better all the time ,so I want to Thank you both for your commitment to all the members of this wonderful choir Leave a Reply. |
AUTHORRecognised as one of the UK’s foremost specialists in choral inclusion and mental health, Emma Rowland-Elsen is a veteran choral conductor, sound–voice therapist and consultant, whose work is shaping best practice across the sector. Drawing on her lived experience of PTSD and more than ten years of expertise in trauma-informed leadership and vocal health, she advises choirs, arts organisations and education providers on developing emotionally intelligent, accessible and mentally healthy singing environments for every voice. Emma also works at the Editor: Mental Health and Inclusion at CHORALLY. CATEGORIES
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