SingWell Project

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SingWell Project

Singing together for joy, belonging and wellbeing 🎶

The SingWell Project is an international research project exploring group singing as one potential strategy to address psychosocial wellbeing, communication, and health issues in older adulthood. SingWell is a SSHRC funded project that unites over 50 researchers, practitioners, community organizations, and choirs in Canada and around the world.

09/18/2026

🎈 Meet our research keynote speaker for SingWell’s 2026 Symposium!

What happens to our social relationships when we move and make music in sync with other people?

Dr. Laurel Trainor has spent decades investigating the neuroscience of rhythm and musical synchrony, including how synchrony can shape social interaction and connection.

🧸 In studies with Laurel Trainor and her colleagues, 14-month-old infants who moved in sync with an adult subsequently showed more prosocial behaviour toward that person (like helping them pick up a dropped toy).

Her broader research explores how rhythm, movement and synchrony shape the ways we connect with one another, with more than 160 published research articles, including work in Science and Nature.

At the Symposium, Dr. Trainor will explore the social power of musical synchrony, from infancy to healthy aging, offering a scientific look at how making music together can bring people into social connection.

🗓️ Friday, October 16
🕙 9:30am-5pm
📍 Toronto Metropolitan University

All are welcome!

Learn more and register at the link in bio ➡️

09/09/2026

🎈 Announcing our community keynote for SingWell’s 2026 Symposium!

Dr. Lee Willingham is Professor Emeritus at Laurier Faculty of Music and the editor of “Community Music at the Boundaries,” an exploration of how music can create opportunities for participation, connection, and wellbeing in communities and settings often left at the margins of traditional music-making.

Dr. Willingham has been involved with choirs in school, university, and community settings throughout his career, while his research addresses areas of music education reform, community music practices, and equity/inclusion in academic contexts.

Dr. Willingham’s keynote will dig into research and community perspectives on how group singing promotes social engagement — kicking off our full day of learning, celebrating, and experiencing the science of music and connection.

🗓️ Friday, October 16
🕙 9:30am-5pm
📍Toronto Metropolitan University

All are welcome!

Learn more and register at the link in bio ➡️

Singing

09/02/2026

Talking to people can be hard when you don’t feel steady in your breath.

For people living with COPD or other lung health challenges, breathlessness can affect more than your physical activity. Some people start avoiding situations where they worry their breathing will draw attention.

A lung health singing group offers something different: a room full of people who get it. You don’t have to sing at all. But when you do, singing engages the respiratory system and gives you a chance to practise using your breath in a different way.

And importantly: it’s FUN. 🎶

08/17/2026

You’re invited! 🎶

Join us for SingWell’s 2026 Symposium on Friday, October 16 at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Our 5th annual symposium brings together researchers, professionals, group singing participants, and curious minds to explore what SingWell’s network is uncovering about the science of music and connection.

Join us as we unpack the latest in how singing with others can support wellbeing, healthy aging, social connection and more.

This year is also an opportunity to experience these findings firsthand. We’re bringing the science to life with:

🎤 Keynotes on building community through music and the scientific basis of how group singing supports social connection

🎶 Opportunities to sing together

🤝 Practical perspectives on bringing group singing into care and community settings

🧠 Deep dives on the latest findings from SingWell’s international research network

💬 Interactive workshops designed to go beyond networking and build genuine social connection

🥗 Lunch and refreshments

Friday, October 16
9:30am–5pm
📍Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University

Come spend the day learning, connecting and experiencing the joy of shared music making. All are welcome!

Learn more and register at the link in bio.

08/14/2026

ANYONE 👏 CAN 👏 SING 👏

You don’t have to think of yourself as a singer to experience the power of singing with others.

Our bodies were built to sing, and they reward us when we take part in this ancient human activity — especially when we do it together.

Research from our network and beyond has found:
🫂Group singing boosts (a key hormone in social bonding)
🙂 Group singing has an immediate mood-boosting effect
🌅 Over time it can lead to greater self-confidence and a brighter outlook on life.

Just a few reasons why SingWell is working to spread opportunities for group singing and build recognition of what it can do for our health and wellbeing. 💞

08/04/2026

SingWell is growing. 💛

For more than 15 years, we’ve been studying what happens when people sing together.

We’ve made serious strides in the science behind group singing — studying its effects on areas from stress, mood, and self-esteem to brain health, immune support, speech and hearing abilities and more.

And we’ve heard countless stories from participants about what it means to have a place where you can show up as you are and feel part of something.

Now, we want to bring those opportunities to more people.

We’re excited to announce that SingWell is expanding to include community programming — offering group singing opportunities designed to support wellbeing, healthy aging, and social connectedness 🎉

We want singing together to be as accessible as going to a yoga or aquafit class.

We want to see singing in more community spaces across Canada.
We want to see singing on prescription.
And we want everyone to know: you do not have to be a “singer” to belong.

At a SingWell group, “bad” singing is encouraged. Different abilities and comfort levels are welcomed. And performance takes a backseat to the science of music, happiness and connection.

We’ll be sharing more soon about where you can find SingWell programming. If you think a SingWell group could make a difference in your organization or community, we’d love to hear from you.

🔗 Learn more at the link in bio or at SingWell.ca/Programs

07/17/2026

What’s it like joining a singing group for Parkinson’s?

Marion shares the perspective of a Parkinson’s care partner. After seeing a flyer for a SingWell research study on singing & Parkinson’s, her late husband Frank ended up joining a singing group specifically for people with Parkinson’s.

What he found was a place free of judgment, an opportunity for connection and mutual support, and the many joys of singing and shared music making. Marion got to connect with other caregivers who traded baked goods and perspectives on supporting a loved one with Parkinson’s.

Marion and Frank’s experience shows just a few of the reasons why SingWell is working to make group singing a regular part of community life. Singing is truly for everyone, and it’s powerful when we do it together.

🔗 Learn more about what group singing can do for people with Parkinson’s at SingWell.ca/Parkinsons

06/19/2026

⚽ Did Canada’s win bring you to tears… or perhaps, to song? For the SingWell team, watching FIFA has an added layer of intrigue:

The group identity fans feel may have a lot to do with the singing and chanting that are central to football culture around the world.

The mechanisms at play when we sing together — synchrony, mood boosts, physiological changes — help explain why singing appears so reliably in moments of shared identity, from ceremonies and protests to packed stadiums.

So if you’re watching the match with others… sing loudly 💙🎶

05/12/2026

Why is group singing such a powerful tool for wellbeing in older adulthood?

In this study, SingWell researchers explored how group singing affects wellbeing across biological, psychological, and social domains by following two community choirs — one for healthy aging older adults, and one for people with Parkinson’s.

One of the most important findings: the benefits people experienced had nothing to do with how they assessed their own singing ability.

The power of group singing comes from participation, not performance. And it’s an activity that people with different physical abilities can continue to do as they age.

Science continues to shed light on how this ancient practice supports wellbeing from multiple angles at once. Swipe through for key findings and what it means for healthy aging ➡️

04/16/2026

Happy !

There’s so much we want to highlight about how central the voice is to wellbeing, and how group singing supports this relationship.

But since it’s also Parkinson’s Awareness Month, today we are spotlighting one clear example: How singing can improve vocal communication for people with Parkinson’s disease.

In the words of one Parkinson’s singing group participant: “Parkinson’s kind of gives rise to introversion. You start to withdraw because you can’t relate, but if you’ve got a strong voice, you can overcome that.”

Want to learn more about how group singing can support vocal, breathing, respiratory, and psychosocial outcomes for people with PD? Our latest SingWell resource synthesizes the research in an accessible way and showcases singing groups for people with PD online and across Canada. Check it out at ⭐️Singwell.ca/Parkinsons⭐️

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350 Victoria Street
Toronto, ON
M5B 2K3

Website

http://www.singwell.org/, http://linktr.ee/singwellproject

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