It might be that the tradition of teaching through choirs influenced the early beginnings of the Sunday School movement in the late 18th Century. In choirs of larger churches and cathedrals, choristers would also be paid and sometimes offered board and lodgings. There are arguments that church youth ministry may have started through choirs.
Singing is an ancient art form, and is a part of almost every culture around the world. For many cultures, singing still remains a central way of being together. Often there are no distinctions between audience and performers, no-one sits on the side lines – you watch everyone participate. A Zimbabwean prover says, ‘if you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing’. Even though in Western culture singing has separated into performer and audience, group singing still marks assets of community life. We sing ‘Happy birthday’ to mark births, we sing together to mark deaths. Singing still connects us to each other. Andy Skinner works for the Sidewalk Project in Scarborough. He says:
‘I’ve always had an interest in African- American work songs, protest songs and the blues. In the back of my mind I’d always thought that it would be interesting to do a project with young people and have them sing about their situations and troubles. Scarborough has a deep connection to the sea and sea shanties were the work songs of those who worked on the merchant and fish boats. At a charity fund raising night for Sidewalk, I met a local choir leader who I batted the idea around with. We applied for funding through the Arts Council to get young people singing together and writing and recording their own song. We also funded an artist to provide visuals to the created song.’
PRIVATE MEMBERS SINGING
Our increasingly consumerist world, we are pushed to believe that only the best singers should sing. The number of singing competitions and commercialisation of the music industry have turned us into passive, individual listeners rather than participants. Churches, football matches and the occasional trip to the karaoke bar might be the only places left where group singing without the pressure of perfection still exists. This deeply communal act seems to be turning into a private members’ club where only the elite – through ability or auto-tune – may enter.
With the popularity of choirs growing through Gareth Malone’s various programmes and the Glee TV series, choirs are becoming less linked to churches. With the growing interest in choirs, academics have looked into the benefits of singing in a choir. Some studies have shown that during group singing the hormone ‘oxytocin’ is released into the body, which alleviates anxiety and stress. Oxytocin also enhances feelings of bonding and trust which supports studies that those who sing in groups have less feelings of depression and loneliness. Another study reports that groups who sing together may also sync their heart rates, again lowering stress but also intensifying the group experience. The singing doesn’t even have to be of good quality, a further study suggests that the therapeutic qualities of singing together were still present even if the quality was mediocre. Singing in a group moves people from being alone towards a sense of community with music making as a process. It is interesting that no conversation is required to bring about this community; you don’t have to be a good communicator, just join in.
Andy: We really wanted to challenge the X-Factor perception that singing is about a performance and wining. Instead we wanted young people to see that singing is an expression of the soul and being part of a group. It was important that young people were able to express their own feelings rather than singing someone else’s. Young people explored the headlines, comments and lyrics of songs and used them, along with creative writing techniques, to produce their own song. The project went well and you can watch the song at premieryouthwork.com/links. One of the highlights of the project was hearing one of our more reserved young people get up and sing a solo. All the young people grew in confidence in themselves and in expressing their thoughts and feelings. One of the challenges that the project threw up was working with people outside the youth work sphere. Doing it again, we’d take the time to explain the values and processes we use when working with young people. As youth workers we are interested in the journey the young people take over the course of the experience, but with a finite amount of funding for a short project and the need to produce something before the end of the project, sometimes our focus slipped. It’s important to try things even when you’re not sure how they’ll turn out. I believe that this project is the start of something for this group and we’re really looking forward to where it goes next.
THE FIRST CHURCH CHOIR
King David, some 3,000 years ago, may have appointed the first ‘church choir’: ‘Now these are the singers, heads of fathers’ households of the Levites, who lived in the chambers of the temple free from other service; for they were engaged in their work day and night’ (1 Chronicles 9:33). These particular Levites were to minister with song. Their use of music and song was to raise joyful sounds to God. The Psalms and Lamentations are songs that orientate their focus on God. But just as importantly as who they focus on is where they come from. These words are poured out from places deep within.
He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;
he has broken my bones;
he has besieged and enveloped me
with bitterness and tribulation;
he has made me dwell in darkness
like the dead of long ago.
He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;
he has made my chains heavy;
though I call and cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer;
he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones;
he has made my paths crooked
Lamentations 3: 4-9.
With the rise of technology has also come an increasing separation of head and heart. When we encourage young people to sing and worship, we allow for space and time for them to plumb the depth of their feelings and experiences, drag them up and give them an opportunity to express them to God. Lamentations teaches us that being honest to God about our situation is a starting point and it does turn to hope as we bring God in.
Singing together, expressing both our praises and lamentations, is a uniqueness of the Church that is often underestimated. The power of joining together to sing has benefits – physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually – and, as youth workers, we should take advantage of this tool to help young people develop in these areas. So altogether now, after three...
Experiment Yourself
Young people often really love music and will be keen to show you what they’re listening to. A really easy way to start some group singing is to fire up YouTube and find some karaoke versions of their favourite songs. It won’t take long before they’re all singing, or at least arguing about which song to put on next. No microphones or extra equipment needed.
You could take young people on a trip to a local Cathedral and sit and listen to the choir. It might not be part of their normal tradition of worship but it will be an experience that they might connect with. Or alternatively have the group sit and listen to some choral music. For me, ‘Spem in alium’ (Thomas Tallis) is pretty special. Local choirs are springing up all over the place. You might find one who are happy to give you a performance and / or let you join in. It could be a great bit of intergenerational work.
Dylan Barker is the resources manager for StreetSpace and Frontier Youth Trust.
