How online choirs like The Sofa Singers are raising spirits with uninhibited remote sing-a-longs
In living rooms across the globe, throats are cleared and feet start tapping. An indeterminate number of voices belt out Ben E King’s closing-time classic Stand by Me, like nobody’s listening. Actually, nobody is: though participants can wave at each other on the screen.
This is the sound of The Sofa Singers: a 45-minute online singalong that founder, vocal leader James Sills, describes as part-house party, part-sing-along, part-choir.
“Everyone is singing and grooving simultaneously, and can see each other. Because of the limitations of technology, they can’t all hear each other at the same time – but that means they’re uninhibited, and really go for it,” he says of the novel idea, made possible thanks to video conferencing app Zoom.
Even if you’d balk at the prospect of performing an online cover of Mr Brightside in front of your friends, hear me out: in response to the coronavirus, choirs, concerts, book readings and live shows such as this are quickly moving online, allowing audiences and performers to retain a sense of a shared experience in real time.
Sills teaches each song bit by bit, giving those joining in with friends and family optional backing harmonies to try remotely from their sofas (glass of wine optional). Many participants are on their own at home – but, crucially, they feel that there are other people there with them.
“I’m able to cut in directly to say hello and have a chat for 30 seconds with participants amid the communal experience,” says Sills. “The first one was on St Patrick’s Day, so someone in Belfast sang an individual song for us, and a boy singing in Copenhagen with his toy rabbit introduced him. It really gets me when people join in with their kids.”
Before social distancing became a necessity, Sills’s mission was to communicate the benefits of singing for both mental and physical health, mobilising people to join choirs and empowering them via music. “The beautiful thing about group singing is the human connection, working together to create something. I would never have thought an online choir would work if we hadn’t been in this situation. Initially, I thought of it as a necessary way to continue connecting with my choirs.”
But necessity is the mother of invention, and for Sills, experimental initiatives offering solidarity are needed more than ever. “If everyone thinks back, they can probably remember a time when they were singing in a crowd at a festival, or with friends around the fire – it’s about recreating that feeling. Singing with other people in this way isn’t about judgment or getting it right, it’s about having fun and taking your mind off things.”
In his book, Do Sing: Reclaim Your Voice. Find Your Singing Tribe (£8.99, The Do Book Company), Sills shares anecdotal and scientific evidence for the benefits of singing. “Physically, singing relaxes the shoulders and improves posture, regulates breathing, improves lung function, and can even help with recovery from illness. It’s cathartic and stress-relieving, bringing us into the moment and into a flow state, releasing mood-boosting endorphins.”
“What I’ve seen happening in Italy – accordions being played across the balconies – was right up my street. I want to bring singing into people’s lives: something that keeps you well, just like healthy eating or exercise. I’d advocate the social prescribing of singing and arts activities, if done properly, and I think we’ll see more of it.”
For Sills, group singing ticks all the boxes of the NHS’s five recommended steps to well-being: social connection, being active, learning new skills, giving to others and mindfulness. “This crisis has been a wake-up call, a reminder of what’s important – and one of those things is connection and coming together, and doing more for yourself, whether that’s singing or baking.”
The Sofa Singers is hosting around 500 people live each Tuesday, but Sills would encourage anyone, no matter how mad it seems, to get on their devices and sing with friends and family, or to seek out many other online choir initiatives (for example, Toronto-based Choir! Choir! Choir!, which is now hosting live virtual singalongs on Facebook Live and YouTube).
All together now, no matter where you are…
Visit thesofasingers.net for more information
More online experiences
Sign up for these other new initiatives, designed to help you feel connected…
The Show Must Go Online
Actors read the plays of William Shakespeare in the order written, live-streamed on YouTube (Thursdays at 7pm). robmyles.co.uk/theshowmustgoonline
Daily children’s story times
Author Nicola J Rowley is streaming twice-a-day story times, reading a books at 11am for under-sevens, and at 2pm for seven- to 11-year-olds.
facebook.com/authornicolajrowley
Dance parties
As nightclubs and fitness studios have been forced to close, dance instructor Claudia Colvin, founder of silent disco Nobody’s Watching, has replaced classes with free online dance parties.
Virtual pub quiz
Weekly pub quizzes have also gone online, including The Free Trade Inn in Newcastle. Last week, The Big Drop Brewing Co held its first, with quizmasters asking questions on YouTube every Tuesday at 7:30pm.
The Chelsea Flower Show online
The RHS will be holding the flower show online, with web shows, tutorials and other content for self-isolated gardeners.
Baking tutorials
Bread Ahead’s founder Matthew Jones is offering free baking tutorials everyday at 2pm, via Instagram Live.
Live workouts
Top studios and trainers are streaming free and paid-for fitness workouts via Instagram and YouTube, including Barry’s Boot camp and Digme fitness (and Joe Wicks, who is running daily kids PE workouts every day at 9am).
