Singing and Wellbeing Ancient Wisdom, Modern Proof

Singing and Wellbeing provides evidence that the benefits of a melodious voice go far beyond pleasure, and confirms the importance of singing in optimum health. A largely untapped resource in the health care professions, the singing voice offers rewards that are closer than ever to being fully quantified by advances in neuroscience and psychology. For music, pre-med, bioethics, and medical humanities students, this book introduces the types of ongoing research that connect behaviour and brain function with the musical voice.

Part I. Singing in History, Cognition, and Parenting 1. The First Musical Instrument 2. Neural Mapping and Brain Chemistry: How Singing is Good for You 3. "Womb to Tomb": Singing, Science, and the Mother's Voice Part II. Singing for the Group, the Self, and the Soul 4. Singing Our Songs: Damon of Athens, the Blues, and Group Psychology 5. The Loss of Brain Function: How Singing Helps 6. Singing and Religion Timeline: Selected Timeline of Vocal Healing Milestones from Mythology and History

Kay Norton is Associate Professor of Musicology at Arizona State University.