“I believe that singing is the key to long life, a good figure, a stable temperament, increased intelligence, new friends, super self-confidence, heightened sexual attractiveness, and a better sense of humor.” Brian Eno
Here’s a wonderful challenge for anyone who fancies a song – and they really do mean anyone.
Sing for Good is a big, national community choir project that aims to promote joy, wellbeing and a sense of connectedness and belonging. It’s all about doing good and feeling good!
The organisers say singing is one thing that all people can take part in regardless of age or life circumstance and, even better, neuroscience proves singing makes us happier, healthier, smarter and more creative!
Community singing also builds supportive communities better-placed to tackle challenges like mental illness, loneliness and isolation, cultural tension and unemployment. It began last year and it’s growing quickly. Over the next three years, they aim to get people singing in every postcode of Australia (and beyond, if you’re outside these shores, as many of last year’s entries were).
Sing for Good is a great opportunity to build some community or team spirit, spread joy and well being, and show your friends and family what you’re capable of! It’s free and simple to take part. It’s all online. All you need is a group of two or more people and a video camera. Your phone’s video camera is perfect.
Here’s how it works:
- Get a group together
Gather a group of (two or more) people to sing a song. Think about families, clubs, social groups, workplaces, local choirs, villages, aged care homes, schools, sports teams, etc. Everyone is welcome to Sing for Good, whether you’re a shower singer or an opera diva!
- Decide your song
A nursery rhyme, campfire singalong, club song, power ballad, pop song, folk song, crooner song, aria – the sky’s the limit.
- Sing it and record it on video
Record your group singing the song on video (it’s not a talent quest but a fun quest, they say and it’s true – Have a look at last year’s highlights on this two minute compilation)
- Enter your video (entries are open from 1 August to 31 October 2015)
- Vote, share and celebrate
Some of the categories include Best Love Song, Best School Sing, Best Family Sing, Best Blokes’ Sing, Best Workplace Sing, Best Womens’ Sing and Most Inspiring Sing but there are lots more. You could also create a new category of your own!
Entries open from 1 August but you can register your interest now by clicking on this link.
The best videos will screen at Melbourne’s Federation Square, and winners will be celebrated at a big finale concert on 8 November at the Melbourne Town Hall.
Who is running the campaign?
Sing for Good is a project run by Creativity Australia, a charitable organisation dedicated to changing the world for the better through singing. “One voice at a time,” as they say in their motto. Their With One Voice choirs welcome people from all faiths, cultures and backgrounds, aged 9 to 90 (and I am sure beyond). When people come together to sing ‘With One Voice’, they say, any differences in age, race, language, religion, disability and disadvantage fade away.
The ‘With One Voice’ choirs are led by professional conductors and meet weekly, followed by supper and participation is by tax deductible donation.
Need inspiration?
The Creativity Australia website includes a webpage dedicated to inspiration. Here are a few examples:
From Brian Eno: English musician, composer, record producer, singer, and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.
“When you sing with a group of people, you learn how to subsume yourself into a group consciousness because a capella and choir singing is all about the immersion of the self into the community. That’s one of the great feelings – to stop being me for a little while and to become us. That way lies empathy, the great social virtue.”
and:
“I believe that singing is the key to long life, a good figure, a stable temperament, increased intelligence, new friends, super self-confidence, heightened sexual attractiveness, and a better sense of humor.”
From Willie Nelson: American singer-
“When you’re singing, you’re using extra muscles, and it requires a lot of exercise and breathing. You can’t do that if you’re a sissy. If I have any fitness advise for people, I’d tell them to sing more. It’s good therapy, too!”
And from our own cartoonist, poet and cultural commentator, Michael Leunig [from his collection, ‘When I Talk to You’, published by Harper Collins]
“We give thanks for singers.
All types of singers.
Popular, concert singers, and tuneless singers in the bath. Whistlers, hummers, and those who sing while they work.
Singers of lullabies; singers of nonsense and small scraps of melody.
Singers on branches and rooftops.
Morning yodellers and evening warblers.
Singers in seedy nightclubs, singers in the street;
Singers in cathedrals, school halls, grandstands, backyards, paddocks, bedrooms, corridors, stairwells, and places of echo and resonance.
We give praise to all those who give some small voice to the every day joy of the soul.
Amen”
Michael Leunig
That’s enough inspiration for me!
