
Singing is the most accessible stress reliever - laurex
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200518-why-singing-can-make-you-feel-better-in-lockdown
======
ipnon
Terrence McKenna believed stress relief is the reason that so many shamanic
rituals include singing and steady drum beats. The anxiety surrounding
communication with the dead or the gods is released through the music. He also
pointed out rightly that singing requires deep, slow breathing, which prevents
hyperventilation and its attendant stress. More practically, his
recommendation for bad drug trips is to sing or hum a low and slow tune. I can
unfortunately attest to the effectiveness of this technique.

~~~
hutzlibu
"He also pointed out rightly that singing requires deep, slow breathing"

I would generalize that "breathing is the most accessible stress reliever".

Breathing consciously is the single thing you can do always to relieve stress
and get your hormons in balance again.

Singing and chanting and drumming can be even more powerful obviously, but you
cannot always do that, but you can (and should) always breathe the right way.

~~~
ipnon
Agreed, I believe in the absence of a scientific explanation in terms of
increased blood flow or nitric oxide breaching the blood brain barrier, the
solution had simply been codified in pre-scientific cultures as "one weird
trick" for combating anxiety.

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bonniemuffin
I wish there was a good way to sing together over videochat. The lag makes it
impossible--if you've tried singing Happy birthday to someone over Zoom,
you've probably noticed that it's the worst! Everyone tries to adjust to
everyone else's lag and it just makes everyone even more and more out of time
with each other.

~~~
raxxorrax
It is incredible how even minuscule delays can be heard. I first laughed about
calibrating sound systems with microphones to compensate for different cable
lengths until a sound engineer let me listen to the differences.

He could hear if a box had a delay about 2-3ms. Quite hard requirements.

~~~
amelius
Note that delays can also be an issue when singing in real life. In a large
church choir, people in the back have to start singing a tiny bit earlier than
people in the front because of the speed of sound in air. And then there is
the pipe organist too, often at an ever greater distance.

[https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/30454/how-does-
a-p...](https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/30454/how-does-a-pipe-
organist-deal-with-latency-or-delay)

~~~
bobbiechen
You also see this in marching band, where playing in time with the conductor's
hands results in messy sound for the audience, because of how far apart
different band members might be. The conductor also can't listen to the sound
and hear if the band is in time - so you have to watch their feet instead.
There's some good videos about these effects on the Drum Major Academy
website: [https://drummajor.org/marching-band-sound-
delay](https://drummajor.org/marching-band-sound-delay)

------
gfxgirl
> Singing is the most accessible stress reliever

Not where I live in an apartment in a crowded city where the culture is to not
bother others. Neighbors would not be happy to hear me sing no matter how good
am, any more then they are happy to hear my stereo.

When I commuted to work in a car I had 30 to 60 minutes of singing time each
way. Now I have karaoke box 3 - 4 times a year.

~~~
balfirevic
I don't consider it reasonable to expect such level of silence from neighbors
that normal singing volume levels would exceed it.

~~~
kansface
Singing is _loud_ \- about the same as a trumpet (80 db).

~~~
balfirevic
_Some_ singing is loud. Do you consider this too loud for apartment?
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKGJyVWRdJM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKGJyVWRdJM)

~~~
gfxgirl
yes, that is too loud for all but one of the 20 or so apartments I've lived
in.

I once lived in an apartment where the manager told me don't worry about sound
including running the washing machine late at night because the walls are
double concrete with a gap between to be sound dampening. That's the only
apartment that's been quiet. All others it was easy to hear conversations from
neighboring apartments including the one I'm in now (T_T)

~~~
balfirevic
Yes, but having poor sound isolation comes with reduced expectation of
quietness (during daytime), not expectation of neighbors being whisper quiet.

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cachestash
It's not for those who have to listen to me.

~~~
techer
Then sing alone wearing earplugs.

~~~
onion2k
I don't know the song "alone wearing earplugs". Who's it by?

~~~
karatestomp
The In the Showers. Most know them for their hit “Along with the Radio (Alone
in a Car)”

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iovrthoughtthis
Shame poorer inner city dwellers all live in close proximity with thin walls
or shared accommodation. Singing is almost impossible in those circumstances
without annoying a neighbor.

My last tenancy agreement had specific references to playing any music
instruments / singing practice.

~~~
asdfasgasdgasdg
Singing at a normal indoor volume is fine even in apartments. Maybe you can't
belt music out at the top of your lungs but despite the lease agreement no
city will allow the enforcement of a rule that no singing at all is allowed in
apartments.

~~~
jedimastert
> Singing at a normal indoor volume is fine even in apartments

That really depends on what kind of music you like to sing

~~~
asdfasgasdgasdg
It doesn't depend on the type of music. It depends on the volume.

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qnsi
Ask HN: any hackerlike ways to train your singing when alone with no feedback?

I will try to search algolia and come back to you with my research

~~~
mrspeaker
Or even not alone - is it possible to get better at singing, or is it mostly
just natural? I can kind of "hold a note", but only about 8 of them! Can you
meaningfully extend your range, or is your range your range?

~~~
qnsi
IIRC you can improve your singing

~~~
EVdotIO
You absolutely can. Practice, lots of practice. Get an ear training app, and
practice intervals. When I took music theory courses, you spent about half
your time ear training, and most of it was just intervals.

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globular-toast
Singing is really good. I learnt guitar and to sing a few years ago now. I
taught myself to play guitar using online videos (mainly JustinGuitar). I took
singing lessons for about a year which helped me to sing properly. I also sung
in a choir (SATB) or a little while but I didn't really get on with that. I
prefer singing pop songs. I'm good at singing them but I don't have a good
singing voice. I could be a backing vocalist in a band, but not a lead singer.
But still, it's fun to sing with friends and family!

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1e-9
There's evidence it may also reduce snoring and sleep apnea by strengthening
the pharyngeal muscles[1].

[1]
[https://file.scirp.org/Html/5-2460085_31850.htm](https://file.scirp.org/Html/5-2460085_31850.htm)

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jmiskovic
There is a VR application called SoundSelf, which makes interesting
visualizations derived from your voice and singing to put you into meditative
state. It seems like intriguing take on using biofeedback to achieve specific
mind states.

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irrational
Heh, nothing stresses me out more than singing. Mainly because I'm a really
bad singer. But, I also have an issue where music does nothing for me - I have
no emotional response to songs, music, etc. So I don't really have an
incentive to improve my singing. It is sort of a catch-22.

------
dagav
Singing to reduce stress is a great exercise because it feels like your voice
comes straight from your heart. Find a song that speaks to you, sing it, and
see what emotions come up. It can help to uncover some unconscious emotions
you've been holding on to.

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joslin01
Big time.. I started singing 4 years ago after going through some heartbreak.
It soon became an obsession to sing everyday and I can always count on it to
lift me up if I'm feeling down.

~~~
brootstrap
I sing so much randomly around the house my wife has to tell me "GET A NEW
SONG". Just about once a day. Songs are usually some weird mix of jams that
daddy likes, and the theme songs from my 1.5yr old daughters disney junior
cartoons. Fuck those little songs get stuck in your head. Currently on one
from 'mira royal detective'.

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afaejiajiwj
I have a terrible voice and a very limited range, so I whistle

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gowld
Camelot did it.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiJvAcbxKlU#t=3m10s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiJvAcbxKlU#t=3m10s)

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amelius
I sing best in the morning. After work, stress has usually built up so much
that it's difficult to get my voice back into a relaxed state.

~~~
Disposition
Try a different genre, or just something with more presence and power. At a
time in my life when I had daily intense emotional stress, I sang stuff by
Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave) and channeling that raw unbridled
energy in his music felt immensely cathartic.

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vick89
I absolutely hate singing and listening to music that I don't like is like
torture.

