Over 600 choral singers drawn from English choirs completed the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire to measure physical, psychological, social and environmental wellbeing, and a twelve-item 'wellbeing and choral singing scale'. They also provided accounts of the effects of choral singing on quality of life,

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/ authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This paper aims to describe the development and evaluation of an innovative community singing initiative with mental health services users and supporters in East Kent, UK. Design/methodology/approach -A network of seven singing groups was established between September 2009 and June 2010. The choirs met weekly in three terms with breaks for Christmas and Easter, and joined together for two public performances in February and June 2010. In total, 137 participants were involved in the evaluation processes over this period. Of these, 42 provided complete data on the CORE questionnaire, a widely used clinical measure of mental distress, at baseline and eight months later.Findings -Clinically significant improvements were observed in response to the CORE. These changes, together with qualitative feedback from participants, demonstrate that group singing can have substantial benefits in aiding the recovery of people with a history of serious and enduring mental health problems. A limited body of research has also shown that singing can be helpful for people with existing mental and physical health problems.Originality/value -The research finds marked improvements in mental wellbeing on a clinically validated measure for people with a range of enduring mental health issues participating in a network of small choirs. Qualitative evidence indicates that group singing can offer a wide range of emotional and social benefits for mental health service users.

PurposeThe aim of this study is to explore the benefits of choral singing for mental wellbeing and health as perceived by a cross‐national sample of amateur choral singers.Design/methodology/approachData consisted of written responses to open‐ended questions. These were derived from 169 participants selected from a larger dataset reporting high and low levels of emotional wellbeing on the WHOQOL‐BREF questionnaire. A majority of participants were female and aged over 50. A thematic analysis was followed by a content analysis and Pearson chi square analyses. Comparisons were made between different ages, genders and nationalities and participants with high and low reported emotional wellbeing.FindingsThe analysis revealed multiple themes covering perceived benefits in social, emotional, physical, and cognitive domains. There were no significant differences in frequency of themes across any of the participant sociodemographic and wellbeing categories. The results indicate that benefits of singing may be experienced similarly irrespective of age, gender, nationality or wellbeing status.Research limitations/implicationsImplications for further research include future use of validated instruments to measure outcomes and research into the benefits of singing in other cultures. The results of this study suggest that choral singing could be used to promote mental health and treat mental illness.Originality/valueThis study examines a cross‐national sample which is larger than previous studies in this area. These findings contribute to understanding of the complex and interacting factors which might contribute to wellbeing and health, as well as specific benefits of singing.

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To examine the perceived feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of regular singing for people with COPD. DesignQualitative element within a pre-test, post-test feasibility study. MethodsWritten comments collected at baseline, mid-point and end-point from participants engaged in a 36 week singing programme. FindingsParticipants noted limitations due to their respiratory condition but a large number expressed beliefs that singing had led to improvement and this appeared to be incremental over the time of the project.Other comments related to positive effects on physical health more broadly, on psychological wellbeing and on the social support gained through meeting others with COPD. Comments relating to the overall programme and the research itself were overwhelmingly positive. ConclusionsFindings suggest that singing is perceived as both acceptable and beneficial to people with COPD.Evidence from participants served as a useful supplement to the quantitative findings.