Singing Together is the Medicine we All Need Right Now.

 Happy holidays.

I wanted to write a short missive in support of singing carols with your fellows this season. I think if there is one societal tradition that our culture is truly missing out on, it’s singing with your loved ones in a room: tuning into each other’s wavelengths through sound, lifting your voices to create a collective shout out into the universe. It is pure magic and we are missing out.

This is a tradition, like ceremonial dance, that cultures have joined in since people could make sound. It’s something that all animals do to communicate, to bond together. It is in our DNA. I would argue that singing together is actually a human need. And yet, in this time of extreme isolation and secular, technological bewilderment, it is a very rare moment that any of us join together in song.

And yet our hearts are yearning for it.

We don’t go to church, let alone sing there. We don’t gather around pianos at night and share songs. We don’t sing grace before our meals. We don’t sing campfire songs around the fire. We don’t sing “My Country Tis of Thee” in school, or any holiday songs in school for that matter. We may sing a pithy “Happy Birthday” a few times a year, and that’s it.

So where are people singing these days? The shower? In their car? Isolated and away from others, for fear that their soul might be heard or critiqued? Are they singing out into a vacuous cavern of loneliness - hoping for an echo or a response?

Where is the singular joy of off-key harmony? Or silly song and laughter?

Maybe it’s happening at concerts and live events. But for those of us who have children or limited funds, it is a very rare occasion that we get to attend one of these cultural events.

Yesterday I had the absolute pleasure of experiencing the joy of singing with a group. I sang secular Christmas songs to my daughter’s 1st grade class for a little party. I thought they would shake the jingle bells and maybe dance a little. I didn’t expect them to sing along or even to know the songs. To my shock and awe, this class of 19 children sang at the TOP of their lungs - pouring song into the hallways of their school. They knew all the words to “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” “Feliz Navidad” “Jingle Bells” “Jingle Bell Rock” and even “Mele Kalikimaka”! These songs were living and breathing in them. They just needed permission to let it rip! And did they ever!

The feeling vibrations in the room lifted 150%. Smiles were brighter, bodies were tingling, the class was bonding together. This is the magic of music. This is the magic of joining in song. It heals us and joins us together in a way we can’t fully understand.

Later that night, a few of our family friends and their kids came over for a holiday gathering. We ate and laughed, did crafts, decorated cookies and played charades. At the end of the night, I got out my uke and started to sing. And AGAIN, these kids, who I have never heard sing before, and their parents (who have beautiful voices, by the way) were all belting out songs together with sheer giddiness. We wailed and laughed and the kids danced and drummed and played and the spirit of the room was again lifted to an ultimate high. It was beautiful and bonding and spiritual.

So I urge you. No matter your tradition, religion, marital status, or music ability. When you gather with your friends and family this season, start to sing. Just make the suggestion and see what happens. Tune into your loved ones, not merely with small talk or gossip, sweets and treats, but through music. Through your singular voice out into the universe and I promise you, you will get a response.

And your hearts and souls will be very glad you did.

xo