Music is a workout for mind and body
A lot of research has been carried out into the mental and physical benefits of singing.
It lowers stress and anxiety levels, improves confidence and is a mindfulness activity, allowing the singer to live in the moment. It gives people self-belief, a sense of social inclusion and allows emotions to be expressed.
It can boost the immune system, is an aerobic exercise and can even alleviate pain.
‘It’s fun,’ exclaimed Sheena Dodman at the end of a practice with Oban Community Singers.
The group of 25 to 35 men and women meet every Monday at Glencruitten Church Hall Undercroft and is tutored by conductor Janet Fergusson.
Set up to entertain at Oban Winter Festival one year, the group enjoyed it so much, it asked Janet to continue, with members paying a small monthly fee to fund Janet and hall hire.
Janet chooses songs from all genres and the group sings in harmony and two parts, occasionally performing at events.
Sandra Munro said: ‘You come in on a Monday morning and you go out and you have laughed and you are smiling when you leave the hall. It is not that we are good singers, we just enjoy singing.’
‘We put a smile on their faces,’ jokes Stewart Smith about the men. ‘I get a buzz every Monday morning and a laugh and a carry on. Then we go for coffee.’
‘Who would come into Oban at 10am on a Monday morning unless you enjoyed it?’ added Sheena. ‘Everyone is so friendly and here to enjoy themselves.’
Despite the name, The Rockfield Centre’s Scratch Choir is not a performance choir. Every second Saturday of the month, a song is taught from scratch by Rhona Dougall, in two hours, with the result videoed and posted on a Facebook page.
On a damp Saturday evening in October, the The Kinks’ Waterloo Sunset floats out from a hut. A dozen-or-so people are standing singing, some with a half empty wine glass in their hand. The words are projected on the wall.
‘I just really enjoy it,’ said Lesley Duncan, during an interval. ‘It is just a fun thing to do, to come and learn parts
of songs you probably already know and put it all together. It is a chance to meet people and have a wee glass of wine.’
‘It’s only the second time I’ve been,’ said Andy Crabb. ‘I like singing but it is normally confined to where no one can hear me, like in the shower. I know no one is going to laugh at me. It is not a performance and there is a lot of tolerance to getting it wrong.’
Joyce Henderson, who has been attending for a couple of years, added: ‘I like the fact it is just one song and because you know it is different every time, you are not rehearsing the same thing over and over. You don’t feel obliged to come every time.’
Music means different things to different people, either for listening to, singing to or dancing to.
Dancing has many of the same benefits of singing, with the physical benefit being a full body workout.
Now in their mid-20s, Amie Williams and Rebecca McRitchie have rekindled their love of dancing from their childhood, joining the adult hip hop class on Thursday evenings at Oban Dance Academy, owned and run by Pamela McGinty.
Amie said: ‘I always wanted to get back into it but there was nothing about and then Pamela started this class. It makes you feel really good. You learn a lot of skills but also you make friends here so that makes you feel content and happy when you walk away from it too.’
Rebecca added: ‘You forget about the stresses of the day and feel your mood is so much more lifted.
‘It gives you a chance to pause. You are not just driving home thinking about work. You’ve had a break from work and definitely feel more relaxed when you get home.’
That sense of mindfulness and social inclusion can be found in a different type of performance for those who feel they really cannot sing or dance.
Val Hamilton has been a member of Benderloch and North Connel Drama Club, which has its own premises in Benderloch, since 1978.
‘People have often said ‘oh how can you do that. I couldn’t do that in front of people’,’ she said. ‘I am actually a very shy person, but when you are in a rehearsal or performing, you are not being yourself.’
Husband George, whom Val first dragged along to amateur dramatics in Dumbarton, added: ‘If you have had a hard day at work, you can forget everything except what you are doing there, playing someone totally different.’
‘It is team building on all sorts of levels – emotional, intellectual and you all belong,’ added Val.