Picture the scene. You are sitting, glass in hand, before a cavernous stage, lit here and there from above with spotlights. Now hear the scene. Sound, of constantly evolving pitches and harmonies and dynamics and articulation fills your ears, in a masterfully composed maelstrom of ordered beauty. Now feel the scene. You are moved. You are content. You are simultaneously calmed and excited by what surrounds you. You are experiencing the singular power that live music has over the body and soul.

   Extensive research has proven that music, particularly singing, is even more potent when you are producing it yourself. A 2017 study carried out to measure the quantity of cortisol (a stress-induced hormone that increases the body’s heart rate and blood glucose levels) found that after a group of people had sung together, the cortisol levels in their saliva were lower. In addition, group singing may increase the secretion of endorphins into the bloodstream, hormones which are proven to increase feelings of happiness. 

   To depart from the scientific angle however, why exactly is group singing, and live music in general so beneficial to us as people, whether we are performing ourselves or experiencing it? What is it that so stimulates joy and pleasure in our souls? Well, let us consider the immediacy of live music. Music as a whole is categorically good for us; even just listening to a song or two on a playlist on your phone reduces blood pressure and anxiety. 

   However, live music has a crucial ingredient that digital does not; temporariness. When you deliberately seek and sit down to experience live music, whether it be the opera, a musical, or a school concert, what you hear is immediate, tantalisingly brief and irrefutably unique; you can immerse yourself in the moment, enjoying the show with the knowledge that it is ephemeral. The music will not linger on, nor ever sound exactly the same afterwards.

   Live music forces us to live in the moment, or risk missing it. You cannot press pause, or download, or rewind. In our increasingly alienated and technology-driven world, we could claim that there is nothing more powerful or more beautiful to experience as humans. Singing, playing or experiencing live music in a group brings us together for a sparkling, precious moment in our often hectic, individual lives. Live music is not only power and beauty, but  pure joy and community.