Singing is such an uplifting and spiritual experience for me which I why I was curious to try out Mill Hill community choir. I already go to Rock Choir locally, and though I love it there, I was interested in singing different types of songs and see where it took me without any expectations.

I love to sing so it was a no-brainer that I wanted to do more of it, feel all the feels and expand my musical capacity and my capacity for joy too. Especially as I have some spare capacity, this has been a great way to meet new like-minded people and has made the “networking” process fun. Isn’t this what life is all about, enjoying our time on this planet whilst we are alive? There is so much in life that can get us down and cause us lots of anxiety – we can’t take our life for granted anymore. Each and every one of our lives are so precious – so it’s so important to grab those opportunities for joy when we can and make the best of life as it is with what we have right now in this present moment and look after our mental well-being.

The warm-up exercises Ryan, our choir leader, normally starts with are lots of fun – we all let our hair loose and have a good laugh. I sometimes wonder in class what others might think when looking at us from the outside – however, in the moment, we are so focused on the joy and fun we are having that it really doesn’t matter!! Ryan isn’t ever fussed if we make a wrong move, sing a wrong note or in the wrong tune or harmony though most of the time, we manage to get the vocals right in the end and it always sounds great by the end. I always get lost in the joy that singing brings to me. The most important thing Ryan says is to get it out of your system! The more we do it, the easier it gets.

It really is very empowering just to let it all out, to let our voice loose. We all have our own voice and the right to express ourselves as we truly are. Singing is a great way of connecting with our authentic selves – it really helps us to access our own heart and sense of compassion, even if it is only for ourselves. Self-care and looking after our own well-being is so important, and singing plays an important part in this.

It’s so lovely to see everyone from all walks of life coming together in unity and joy to sing lots of new, insightful, empowering, uplifting, peaceful songs with various different harmonies – and also in different languages sometimes – which we all experiment with to see which frequency harmony resonates with us the best. We can all explore as we choose when we get to class – we aren’t ever stuck in any particular harmony though I often like to sing the alto parts and sometimes those higher frequencies if I can manage it.

Music is a great tool to communicate our experience of life in a way we wouldn’t normally express ourselves with words. It also makes a big difference to our well-being and the communities around us and really helps to connect us all like no other medium can.