Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to create more occasions for singing. One
Speaker 1: of the reasons the holiday season brings so many people
Speaker 1: tidings of comfort and joy is because we are singing
Speaker 1: about tidings of comfort and joy. But there is no
Speaker 1: reason not to enjoy such festivity and more of our
Speaker 1: occasions all year round. I once wrote a story where
Speaker 1: the main characters were lost for an extended period of time.
Speaker 1: One of the ways they kept themselves sane was singing together.
Speaker 1: Since they obviously hadn't planned to learn a ton of
Speaker 1: new songs before the disaster that drove them off into
Speaker 1: the world earness, they had to rely on the songs
Speaker 1: they knew, which were Christmas carols, even if it wasn't
Speaker 1: Christmas time. The reason I wrote that detail is that
Speaker 1: I suspect that would be the case for many of us.
Speaker 1: How many songs do you know by heart? Chances are
Speaker 1: it is Happy Birthday, maybe the Star Spangled banner for
Speaker 1: my American listeners, and Christmas carols obviously, people who sing
Speaker 1: in choirs or singing bands, or perhaps too attend worship
Speaker 1: services quite regularly. Well, no more, but for many people
Speaker 1: that is the sum of the repertoire. We sing in
Speaker 1: groups at birthdays, before live sporting events, and at the holidays,
Speaker 1: and that is basically it. And that is kind of
Speaker 1: too bad, because singing in groups is a really pleasurable experience.
Speaker 1: Most likely our ancient ancestors kept themselves entertained at night
Speaker 1: by singing around their campfires. Few people can easily remember
Speaker 1: poems or even basic information, but set that material to
Speaker 1: music and you can remember just about anything. Perhaps this
Speaker 1: is how we committed important knowledge to heart in the past.
Speaker 1: So no wonder singing feels quite enjoyable now too, and
Speaker 1: not just at karaoke bars, though those are fun. So
Speaker 1: if you'd like to keep some of that Christmas feeling
Speaker 1: year around, figure out if there might be ways to
Speaker 1: introduce new occasions for groups singing into your life. Some
Speaker 1: families say a blessing before a meal. See if there
Speaker 1: is a way you could sing a blessing instead, or
Speaker 1: as well, if you or your kids are part of
Speaker 1: a sports team, maybe you need a team song that
Speaker 1: you can sing together before practices and games. You're running
Speaker 1: or biking group could sing together before taking off. You
Speaker 1: could learn new songs for other holidays. How about a
Speaker 1: patriotic sing along for the Fourth of July or the
Speaker 1: equivalent day in your country. Make a point of spending
Speaker 1: at least twenty minutes on long family car trips singing
Speaker 1: with a sing along album. If you know the singing
Speaker 1: is going to be required, you will start learning new songs,
Speaker 1: which is really not that hard. Songs get stuck in
Speaker 1: our heads for a reason. Now, to answer a common objection,
Speaker 1: you do not have to be good at singing to
Speaker 1: enjoy singing. Singing is probably as natural to humans as talking.
Speaker 1: The reason people think they aren't good at singing, and
Speaker 1: I'm putting good in quote marks here, is because they
Speaker 1: are only singing Happy Birthday at the occasional office party.
Speaker 1: When you start singing more regularly, it's just like anything else.
Speaker 1: You get better with practice. So why not start practicing.
Speaker 1: Figure out when beyond the holiday season you could sing more.
Speaker 1: You will start feeling tidings of comfort and joy all
Speaker 1: year round in the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,
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