Singing makes you happy

In his latest book, Oldenburg musicologist Gunter Kreutz examines the healing effects of singing - and why it is a wasted opportunity if you stop

At some point, we simply stop singing. At some point in childhood. Between kindergarten and primary school. "As babies, we learn to be vocally active by crying and singing. That's how we get a reaction from our parents. They take care of us. We associate our singing with a direct positive experience," says Oldenburg musicologist Prof Dr Gunter Kreutz.

These experiences accompany us throughout childhood. "Over the years, we become more eloquent and realise that we can achieve certain reactions simply by talking." Our passion for singing diminishes until we gradually lose it completely. A development that Kreutz views with suspicion. In his recently published book "Why singing makes you happy", he looks at the positive aspects of singing.

Kreutz's book is the first comprehensive analysis to focus on non-professional singers. "My aim is to think about singing from a human perspective". Current musicology often places a score, a singing technique, at the centre of its research. He is much more interested in what singing does to people and how they feel. To find this out, Kreutz analysed hundreds of scientific publications and essays and reorganised them for his accessible book.

Kreutz refers to the positive effects on health and child development. Early musical education through singing, for example, can be as effective in language acquisition as language training. Singing can also be effective in the prevention and even treatment of chronic lung disease.

Kreutz believes that choral singing, in particular, is of great benefit to our health and has social implications. He was able to demonstrate this to a wide television audience two years ago in an ARD documentary in which he founded the "Choir of the Unfortunate" together with entertainer Anke Engelke. "People who have suffered a stroke of fate often find lasting support in choirs," says Kreutz. Singing in a choir strengthens social contacts and thus also our physical and mental health. "It seems that singing makes us more resilient. Singing can replenish our reserves of positivity."

The question of how to encourage people to sing remains. Kreutz starts at the beginning of musical development. "Over 70 per cent of choir singers have gained their first singing experience at the age of up to 18. After that, they are actually lost to choral singing," summarises the scientist. The exception is Kreutz himself, who came to choral singing as a "late bloomer" - at the age of 28.

If the musicologist has his way, the desire to sing should be sparked much earlier. Already in kindergarten. "Kindergarten teachers often only receive inadequate musical training, let alone vocal training," says the musicologist. As a result, there is less singing in kindergartens. A trend that is also continuing in primary schools and that needs to be stopped. Before we stop singing.