Why We Sing

 Why We Sing

Reviewed By  Grasshopper2       March 3, 2023

 

Author  Julia Hollander

Distributor:      Allen & Unwin
ISBN:                 9781760879686
Publisher:         Allen & Unwin
Release Date:   February 2023  

Website:    https://www.allenandunwin.com 

FaceBook:   

YouTube:   

Instagram:   

X formally Twitter:   

Why We Sing poses the question, why do we sing and also establishes why we should continue on singing over the duration of our lives. Beginning with the foetus, Julia Hollander traces the development of the larynx in the unborn child. Scientific discoveries have revealed that the tongue moves in the mouth, lungs begin to expand and the diaphragm practices its movements by hiccupping.

Following this we learn about the listening skills developing and the mother’s voice becoming recognisable. This is a fascinating way to introduce the topic of singing, along with many interesting facts about cultural differences, birds and history.

Julia Hollander is a community music teacher and has seen the great benefits that singing can bring. She has done Scientific Research to explore how our bodies create song and how it enables children to access language. We use singing as a show of faith, to pass on political messages and to experience a sense of freedom.

We then follow the author’s journey as she travels to discover exactly how song is used in other cultures and the many ways it can help all people. From despair, aging, loneliness and death, to celebrations and warrior songs, the scope of these explanations is immense. Julia has also found plenty of evidence to show that singing in schools promotes children’s’ learning.

In recent times the author joined a protest group to attract attention to the issue of Climate Change. She has found a form of singing that calms the situation while raising awareness of the dire straits of the world. Long may she sing!

Lifestyle, Non Fiction