Singing and spirituality in a South African male voice group

Abstract

Since the mid 1970s, a group of twelve business and professional members of a male singing group have continued singing together in Pretoria, South Africa. These singers were interviewed as part of a project on Spirituality and Well-being: Music in the community. From the interview data, two overarching themes emerged, membership benefits and spiritual connections; these are discussed in this research project. Members" views of benefits related mainly to fulfilment of personal, including musical, needs, although all were gratified that their singing provided enjoyment to community audiences and benefits to disadvantaged communities, mainly from ticket sale proceeds. Most saw an association between singing and the spiritual, but only a minority identified a religious connotation, the remainder relating to non-religious factors such as the "human spirit". A deep sense of commitment and a love of music impacts positively on social engagement, benefiting and enhancing quality of life for the group members. Keywords community group singing social engagement Veblen 2013). Tsugawa (2009:7) noted in his study of two concert bands that music contributed significantly to the musicians" sense of identity as it formed "a significant part of their lives"; their rehearsals and concerts exemplify a culture of musical communication between members of the ensembles. This interaction and engagement is an essential part of the rehearsals of the group in this case study, where members look forward to seeing their friends as a form of social interaction (Coffman 2002a; Jacob et al. 2009). Membership in singing groups offers social affirmation for both the individual and the group (Davidson et al. 2014; Skingley et al. 2015) many people have experienced music offering a social rather than a merely individual identity (Benzon 2001). The members of the group feel connected as they contribute to the social fabric of their community, which is certainly the situation with the group under discussion in this research project, inter alia as they find themselves communicating with their audiences (Pitts 2005). Some of the benefits of group singing appear to have neuro-chemical origins; participation in music making leads to the secretion of oxytocin (Levitin 2010), "known to be involved in establishing bonds of trust between people" (Kosfeld et al. 2005). Freeman (2000) goes so far as to describe music as the "biotechnology of group formation". Tarr et al. (2014) have also identified an association between the self-other and neuro-hormonal mechanisms in the social bonding arising in music activities. Well-being Several studies have shown how singing is beneficial for well-being (Hays and

Spirituální gramotnost na prvním stupni základní školy

“…Naopak vytváření smyslu je syceno často každodenními jednoduchými činnostmi, propojenými s hodnotami a zakotvenými v sociálních vztazích (Spännäri & Laceulle, 2021), přichází v úžasu z vystavení se majestátní kráse přírody, z úcty, pokory a z okamžiků osobního přesahu (Preston & Shin, 2017) aj. Protože se vyskytují bez ohledu na religiózní zakotvení či kontext, mohou být tyto způsoby existence kultivovány, a to už u dětí na prvním stupni základní školy, všímavostí, tedy vědomým vnímáním reality , meditací uvádějící do hlubokých stavů vědomí , ale také prožíváním vděčnosti a úcty (Büssing, 2021), aktivní uměleckou tvorbou, zejména tou hudební (Joseph et al, 2018).…”

Conductorless singing group: a particular kind of self-managed team?

“…In the authors’ previous overall study (Joseph et al , 2018), the respondents identified reasons for joining and remaining in the group, which included a love of singing, especially in a group, and the fellowship of like-minded individuals with similar origins and backgrounds. Their shared activity includes learning new pieces, rehearsing for performances and the performances themselves.…”