ADVENTIST ADULTS’ PASSIVENESS IN CHURCH CHOIR INVOLVEMENT

A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY

A thesis

Presented to

College of Arts and Humanities

Department of Music Adventist University of the Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Music in Music Education

Joy Ann Versano

Louie G. Paa

Starlight D. Tamparong

May 2018
 INTRODUCTION

One of the most common and famous religious activity found inside enormous Christian

churches is choral singing. From youth to aged, rich and poor, whatever the status, if not all were

absolutely involved into it. It would be impossible to find Christian church without singing. And

the Bible is the best reference why Christians sings. While most of the Seventh-day Adventist

Christians were taking part of this activity, specifically joining the choir, with each has unique

reasons, there were still, from among those aged adult old in the local churches doesn't find singing

could be helpful and surprising beneficial and is essential in their well-being.

Clift and Morrison (2011) proved that regular group singing can really improve the well-

being among adults with a history of enduring health problems. "Singing is of great interest to

neuroscientists as it would seem that there is more of the brain given over to the processing of

music than almost any other activity," says Dr. Graham Welch (2017), professor at the Institute of

Education in London, these are some studies conducted about choral singing. According to

Phycologist Nick Stewart (2014) of Bath University indicates that people who participate in a choir

enjoy a greater feeling of togetherness and being part of a collective endeavor than others involved

in different social activities. There was another study according to Cardiff University (2012) they

have just uncovered a fact that lung cancer patients who engaged in choral singing had a greater

expiratory capacity than people who did not join in choir. According to Jordan Smith (2016), the

impact of group singing has on boosting oxytocin levels, which help control stress and anxiety.

Participants who had been diagnosed with depression found that some of them no longer met that

diagnosis following their involvement with a choir. These are some study that most of the people

are very familiar with.

 There are many studies of the benefits of choral singing in the church like stated above

whereas, there were no studies about the benefits of choral singing for an adult choir member

inside the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Singing is essential to the well-being! This case study will determine the good and indelible

reason why adults should participate in such activities. This study will be an eye opener to the

Seventh-day Adventist Church about the importance of choir singing and it will also help the

present conductors and future conductors in informing his/her members about the benefits of

chorale singing to the social, mental, physical and spiritual aspect of their members.
Statement of the Problem

There are

1. What are the reasons why Seventh-day Adventist adults do not join church choir?

2. What do the study participants suggest to the local church to encourage them to join in the

church choir?

Significance of the Study

This research study aims to encourage the

Scope and Limitation

This study limits its coverage on the adult choir member of Seventh-day Adventist Church

from the age of 40 to 65 years old only. The main purpose of this research is to identify the benefits

of choral singing and the impact of it on the well-being of an adult choir member.
 The participating choirs are the Sound of Hope of Frisco Seventh-day Adventist Church

Quezon City. This study will focus only to five (5) adult members of the choir and will start on the

first week of November 2018 until First week of January 2019.

 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter will cover the different literature about the different benefits of group singing,

impact of choral singing in the well-being of an individual and reasons for joining a choir.

Reasons for Joining a Choir

Having fun is important part of the choir! Singing can change the mood quickly and set the

mind in good state. Enjoying beautiful music, dressing up with friends to sing in church services,

having fun and evaluating after a satisfying performance are important, as well as the pleasing

elements of being in a choir. This are some reasons why adult member should join choir!

According to Harry Robert Wilson (2004), one of the 21st Choral Conductor offered

insights into reasons for which adults join singing groups. “The person who joins a chorus is

seeking, primarily, to satisfy through the medium of singing a longing for something beautiful and

spiritual in his life”. There may be social motives but the musical motive is invariably

stronger. The most natural and at the same time the most universal medium for experiencing music

is that of singing. The total physical and emotional responses in the act of singing make it the most

personal musical activity yet dramatically leads to social-musical bodies. (R. McCoy, K. Laura

2016). The same as Wilson from the 20th century musicians, may be compared also to adult

amateur singers, who join such singing activities. Their opinions were investigated in a previous

research that was quoted by Cindy Bell. The data gathering that has been done presents the

influences and motivations of adult amateur singers, there were two most important reasons which

is: Musical reasons and Social needs. It is stated adults were attributed singing as an enjoyment,

wanting to increase their musical skills by participating in public performances. They looked at
participating and involving themselves to choral singing as “recreation”. Participants described

singing as “intellectually stimulating, something that is spiritually elevating and demonstrates to

them the beauty of life” (R. McCoy, K. Laura 2016).

According to the study of D.J. Redman (2016) on Motivation of Adult, Auditioned

Community Choirs: Implications toward Lifelong Learning, adult singers ranked their most

important reasons for participating in the community choir: (a) “to participate in a choral activity

for the sheer pleasure of singing;” (b)”enjoying the pleasure of performance” as stress and anxiety

reliever; “As for different individuals, and even for the same individual at different times, stress

can be a powerful motivator or can be disruptive to learning and performance” (c) “to enjoy the

satisfaction that comes from learning;’’(e) “to develop a greater understanding of choral music”,

and lastly, these folks love music because if they didn’t they would not be actively participating

by now. These were the most ranked important reasons that adults who participated in the scope

of the research.

Benefits of Choral Singing

Exercise is one of the few activities in life that is indisputably good for us,” writes

Daniel H. Pink in his new book, “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing.” “Choral

singing might be the new exercise.” There are huge number of health benefits that can be acquired

in choral singing some researchers address that it can lessen the chance of having an Alzheimer

disease, it can also help the brain to function well. Further study address also that singing can help

the respiratory system and some will be going to discuss in this section (Pink D. 2105).
 A recent study (Fenoglio, 2017) sites that, “Preliminary results suggest that community

choral singing does indeed provide a better quality of life for participants. Increased lung capacity

and greater oxygenation of the blood resulting in improved alertness are all associated with

singing. Singing is also good for the brain, especially when memorization is involved. "Singing is

of great interest to neuroscientists as it would seem that there is more of the brain given over to

the processing of music than almost any other activity," says Dr. Graham Welch (2017), professor

at the Institute of Education in London. By reducing "fight-or-flight" stress responses as marked

by more robust vagus nerve activity. More specifically, a 2011 study, “Cardiac and Respiratory

Patterns Synchronize Between Persons During Choir Singing,” reported that interpersonal

oscillatory couplings resulted in phase synchronization in both respiration and increased heart rate

variability (HRV) while people were singing together and for some time afterward (Bergland C.

2017).

According to Phycologist Nick Stewart (2014) of Bath University Indicates that people

who participated in a choir, enjoy more a greater feeling of togetherness and being part of a

collective endeavor than others involved in different social activities. Another study according to

Cardiff University in 2012 they have just uncovered a fact that lung cancer patients who engaged

in choral singing had a greater expiratory capacity than people who did not join in choir. According

to Jordan Smith (2016), the impact of group singing has on boosting oxytocin levels, which help

control stress and anxiety. Also, participants who had been diagnosed with depression found that

some of them no longer met that diagnosis following their involvement with a choir. Other related

health benefits of singing include a stronger diaphragm and stimulated overall circulation. Since

pulling in a greater amount of oxygen while singing than when doing many other types of exercise,

some even believe that singing can increase your aerobic capacity and stamina. Another health
benefits of singing can help strengthen the throat and soft and hard palate muscles, which helps

stop snoring and sleep apnea.

According to Jacques Launay and Eiluned Pearce (2015), regular choir members report

that learning new songs is cognitively stimulating and helps their memory, and it has been shown

that singing can help those suffering from dementia, too. The satisfaction of performing together,

even without an audience, is likely to be associated with activation of the brain’s reward system,

including the dopamine pathway, which keeps people coming back for more.

Church Benefits in Choir

After reading different types of health benefits of choir singing, this chapter will discuss

the different about the benefits of Church in the choir.

There are a lot of benefits that the church can get from the choir, according to Jonathan

Aigner (2014) a well-known Choir Director and Church Leader from US, Choirs can support a

good congregational singing. Also, choir can help to encourage the congregation to sing with the

song leaders specially for those who are having a hard time in singing a new hymn. Their presence

can also encourage the congregation to sing. With the good arrangement of piece, choirs can sing

selections from practically any genre, from classical, to folk, to world music, to

contemporary/popular music, something that just isn’t possible for a “worship leader” and a praise

band. Besides leading in times of corporate singing, since choirs have the benefit of outside

rehearsal time, they can offer up musical praises on behalf of the congregation that would

otherwise not be possible. According to ACDA or American Choral Director Association (2016)

church choir leads and enlivens the congregation’s song, musicians knows that every word of the

music that they are singing become part of their heart and mind. Therefore, it become imperative

to the congregation to absorb all the motivational message of the songs that the choir sing. In this
sense, a choir can be a preaching and praying group, proclaiming God’s self-revelation, to which

the congregation can listen, meditate, and respond worshipfully in their hearts. Choir groups

ministry in different churches can be an avenue for introducing outsiders to the church and the

Christian faith. Another wonderful study according to Jonathan Aigner Participating in a church

singing groups or choirs can teach Christians how to work together sacrificially for the common

good of the group, just as the church is to follow the model of our Servant-Savior and give

sacrificially for the good of Christ’s kingdom. Church choir serves also as a small group within

the church for faith formation, because of singing the bonding of church choir members are getting

more intact. In general choirs can add aesthetic in the environment of the church.

There are many studies shows the different impact of choral singing in the well-being. In

this section you will see the different literature about impact of choral singing in the well being of

an adult choir member.

Clift and Morrison (2011) proved that regular group singing can really improve the well-

being among with a history of enduring health problems. Research shows that looking at singers’

experiences they have found cognitive effort involved in singing that can serve distract from

worries and focus the mind on a group product. Many of the studies in choral singing in this

modern time proves that singing with the group will not only give an enjoyment to the individuals

likewise, it will also give a big impact to the well-being of a member Clift and Morison (2011).

According to Yoni Blumberg (2018), people who sing in a group report far higher well-

being than those who sing solo. It’s about synchronizing with others. Research shows that choir

members have also social benefits of singing, including building up a good friendship, improving

social activities, and creating a sense of accepting the reality of life because of some wonderful

and inspiring message of the songs that they are singing. It has been found that singing has been
shown to improve emotional and mental wellbeing as it promotes positive affect, cognitive

stimulation and regular commitment; enhances spirituality and improves psychological difficulties

and daily functioning for individuals with mental health difficulties (Hopper, Hodge, and Simm,

2016). According also to Clinical effects of choral singing for older adults (2018), Others have

also undertaken studies to examine the effects of choral singing to emotional health finding singers

they experienced improved self-esteem and feelings of rejuvenation, all of which led to an overall

improvement in emotional balance. It has been found also that joining a choir could be a cost-

effective way to improve people's well-being. Yet we know surprisingly little about how the well-

being effects of choral singing are brought about. These findings suggest that the experience of

using your voice to make music may be enhanced when you feel part of a cohesive social group.

Further research could look at how moving and breathing in synchrony with others might be

responsible for creating a unique well-being effect (Stewart N. 2013).

Another study according to (Frank Abrahams, 2017) found out that, “The myriad of

benefits reported by the adults in many research papers and writings span aspects such as physical

health, social opportunities and feelings of belonging, mental activity, and acquisition of new

skills, emotional health, confidence, self-esteem and friendship.” Choral singing is an activity that

fosters personal fulfillment and an appreciation of beauty for a lifetime. Moreover, singing with a

chorus has a life-long collateral benefits including fostering behaviors that lead to good citizenship

(Quadros, 2012). Choral singing can also be a help to the improvement of the wellbeing of an

individual. Another study about health benefits of choral singing, (Blumberg, 2018) expound that

"Choral singing calms the heart and boosts endorphin levels. It improves lung function, increases

pain thresholds and reduces the need for pain medication. It also seems to improve your outlook,

boosting mood and self-esteem while alleviating feelings of stress and depression.”
Definition of Terms:

The following are the operational definition of terns as used in the study:

Seventh-day Adventist refers to a Protestant sect that preaches the imminent return of Christ to

Earth (originally expecting the Second Coming in 1844) and observes Saturday as the sabbath.

Well-being refers to the state of being happy, healthy, or prosperous.

Impact refers to the strong effect on someone or something

Choir is an organized group of singers, typically one that takes part in church services or performs

regularly in public.

Benefits refers to receive an advantage; profit; gain.

 CHAPTER III

Methodology

Case studies were one of the first types of research to be used in the field of qualitative

methodology. Today, they account for large proportion of the research presented in books and

articles in psychology, history, education, and medicine, to list just few of the fundamental

sciences. Much of what we know today about the empirical work has been by case study research,

and many of the most treasured classics in each discipline are case studies (Flyrberg 2011, p. 302).
 This chapter contains the methods, research design instrumentation, data gathering

procedure and data analysis used in the study. It will also cover the profile of the population suited

to serve as the participants in the study.

Research Design

This research applies qualitative case study method, finding out the effects of choir

singing in the well-being of an adult choir members inside the Seventh-day Adventist Church

through interview and observations.

This qualitative case study approach will understand the boundaries and limitations of

each primary factors which is the spiritual, emotional, educational and social and which of these

factors contribute the most to their well-being. The behavioral pattern of these boundaries will be

recorded in a detailed consideration from the participants the selected choir members of the

Frisco Seventh-day Adventist adult choir and are continually kept in focus over a period of time.

Since study can look into the influences of the impact of choir singing to the adults, the

researchers deemed that this is the best method of research to be use.

This method will be a tool to understand the reasons why an adult member of a church

should join a choir and the impact of it in their well-being.

Sampling

Since the chosen method is a case study, the sampling would come out only from one

Seventh-Day Adventist church choir which is the Frisco Adult Choir. There would be a

maximum of five random people selected within the choir members to be interviewed and

observed.

Table 1. Profile of the Participants

 Participant Gender Age Occupation

1 F 62 Office
Secretary
2 F 62 House Wife

3 M 62 Electrician

4 M 48 Police

5 F 50 House Wife

Instrumentation/Data Gathering tools

Because the qualitative case study method is being used for this research, it is suitable for

the study to use an interview type of data gathering and observation with rubrics as a tool. It is

advantageous for the researchers to use these two approaches. Heather L Stuckey(2013), wrote

that interviewing is a primary way of collecting data in qualitative research, to direct the

participant in responding to a specific research question. It is that useful to use interview as a

tool, because it obtains detailed information about personal feelings, perceptions and opinions of

the participants.

A combination of interview and observation makes the case study convenient in finding

and verify the boundaries of the cases. The interview will be consolidated to the results of the

observation. Secondary tools like voice recorder and video camera android application were also

used.

Data Gathering Procedure

 Sending request letter to the church for the personal interview to their aged adult choir

selected members which is led by Louie G. Paa, the conductor, was the very first step in

gathering data making it more formal to conduct a study. Participants in the target population

receives an interview questionnaire form with a maximum of five questions, and there would be

a follow-up question for some of these five questions. The said questionnaire contains an

unstructured question for the participants. In the unstructured questions, researchers allow the

participant to responds in the way and to the extent and depth they like to make them express

what they feel and their perspectives.

The interview conducted lasts in a span of 10-15 minutes for each respondent.

Observation is done before, during and after rehearsal schedules inside their own church with

rubrics to determine the qualities needed in the said study. The interview will then be

consolidated to the results of the observation.

Recorded interviews using voice recorder and video camera android application and

survey questions were validated by the experts.

Data Analysis

The person involved in polishing and completing the study analyze the process of the

gathered data. Coding is used to make it possible to compare and consolidate the data gathered

through the combination of interview and observation to receive an output of set of conclusions

organized. During axial coding, the categories and/or concepts will be consolidated, relate and

get the similar results of information gathered form different participants to each other, via a

combination of inductive and deductive reasoning.

Reasoning is the action of constructing thoughts in to a valid argument. In Deductive

reasoning, data analysis will be basing in the conclusions showed by the common answers of the
interviewed participants. Using these conclusions is following the exact format of axial coding,

collecting the similarities of all participants and then make an over all conclusion. While the

inductive starts with a small observation or question and works its way to a theory by examining

the related issues.

Questionnaire

1. What do you feel every time you sing in a choir?

- What do you like while singing in a choir.

- What you don’t like while singing in a choir.

2. How does choral singing help improve your well-being?

- Does singing in a choir helps you cope up with your difficulties in life? (spiritual,

emotional, educational and social)

3. What do you think are the positive effects of choral singing in your own point of view?
4. What do you think is the advantage/s of choral singing in the Church?

- If there are advantages in choral singing, what do you think would be the disadvantage.

5. How beneficial is choir singing in the Church?

References:

André de Quadros (Edited) (2012) The Cambridge Companion to Choral Music. A multiplicity \
of voices: choral music in the USA
Retrieve from:
https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=Hh3aAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA117&dq=Benefits+of+
church+choral+singing+for+adult

Cindy L. Bell (December, 2004) Update on Community Choirs and Singing in the United States
Aaron Copland School of Music Queens College, City University of New York
Retrieved from: https://acda.org/Editor/assets/IJRCS/volumetwo/ijrcs2_1_bell.pdf

Christopher Fenoglio (June 8, 2017) Choir members enjoy health, spiritual benefits
Retrieve from: http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/choir-members-enjoy-health-
spiritual-benefits

David James Redman (March, 16, 2016) Motivation of Adult, Auditioned Community Choirs:
Implications toward Lifelong Learning. Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Retrieved from: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6134/
Frank Abrahams, Paul D. Head (edited) (2017) The Oxford Handbook of Choral Pedagogy
Teaching and Conducting diverse populations
Retrieve from:
https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=33nXDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA350&dq=Benefits+of
+choral+singing+for+adult

Fox, W. & Bayat, M.S. (2007) “A Guide to Managing Research” Juta Publications, p.45
Retrieve from: https://research-methodology.net/descriptive-research/
(PDF) Clinical effects of choral singing for older adults. Available from:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication96044_Clinical_effects_of_choral_singing_for_
older_adults [accessed Oct 17 2018].

Hopper M. J., Curtis S., Hodge S. and Simm R. (2016) A qualitative study exploring the
effects of attending a community pain service choir on wellbeing in people who
experience chronic pain. British Journal of Pain
Retrieve from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994773/

Rickard McCoy, Krystal Laura (2016) Painting with words: portraits of adult singers' perceptions
on meaningfulness in two community choruses. Theses & Dissertations Boston University
Theses & Dissertations.
Retrieved from:
https://open.bu.edu/bitstream/handle/2144/.../RickardMcCoy_bu_0017E_11731.pdf?...1

Stewart N. British Psychological Society (BPS), December 4, 2013. “Why singing in a choir is
good for you”. ScienceDaily.
Retrieve from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131204202705.h

Yoni Blumberg, 23 Feb 2018 “Singing in a choir could be 'the new exercise'—here’s the surprising
science behind why”, CNBC.com
Retrieve from: https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/02/23/daniel-h-
pink-shares-why-choral-singing-benefits-health-like-exercise.html