Yesterday I wrote about why the exceptional design behind human singing. A particularly amazing connection between music and our ability to hear and sing is found in uncommon cases of people with “perfect pitch.”

Perfect pitch refers to a person’s ability to identify any musical note by name after hearing it, without reference to other notes. Perfect pitch — also known more technically as absolute pitch — can also refer to the ability that some singers have to sing a given note on cue….Famous musicians including Ella Fitzgerald and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had perfect pitch, which has been considered a rare ability.

“An Uncanny Accuracy”

Considerations of the sensory, mental, and physiological requirements to merely sing on key, let alone demonstrate perfect pitch, further highlight the complexity consistent with design in our ability to sing.

Singing a pitch is a complicated coordination between the brain, the vocal cords, and the breath. First, the singer hears the pitch. Then, the singer must adjust their vocal cords so that they are just the right thickness to replicate the pitch. Finally, the singer uses their breath to make their vocal cords vibrate, producing the pitch. Failure on any one of these three fronts can make a singer sing out of tune.

Perfect pitch, also known as absolute pitch, is a rare and coveted musical ability that allows musicians to identify or produce a given sound without any reference point. This ability can be extremely challenging to acquire, but those who have it are able to recognize sounds with an uncanny accuracy.

The complex physiological and anatomical components within our bodies that allow us to sing may also help explain the visceral response we can experience while singing or listening to music. Research reveals a profound level of complexity in the interaction between music and the autonomic nervous system. The vagus nerve is implicated in how our nervous systems respond when we engage in singing and related vocal activities.

Humming and singing can enhance our parasympathetic response during periods of anxiety or elevated stress….One of its jobs along the way [for the vagus nerve] is to promote our relaxation response….Because the vagus nerve touches our vocal cords, humming, singing, chanting or even buzzing can help stimulate relaxation during stressful moments.

The vagus nerve plays a key role in determining our physiological and mental states. Singing may well be part of our built-in design to promote nervous system health.

The vagus nerve is an integral part of your autonomic nervous system…Specifically, the vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms your body after you’ve been in a stressful situation….Singing may also stimulate your vagus nerve, keeping it healthy as vibrations stimulate the parts of the vagus nerve in the back of your throat.

It’s Good for You

Singing appears to be good for us, with music affecting our well-being at multiple levels. 

…singing can reduce tension, increase energy, and improve mood in healthy subjects….Humans interact with music, both consciously and unconsciously, at behavioral, emotional, and physiological levels.

Perhaps the most poignant aspect of singing is seen in the difference between the many people who can sing (not everyone can) and a truly great singer. Most people can at least make a sound that could be classified as singing; many people can carry a tune and sing pleasantly, but a rare few can sing in a way that delights and attracts those who hear them. What is it that sets apart the truly great singer?

I think what makes a great singer is intention…the ability to connect with every word, every note and every breath and give it meaning. To give it feeling and actually really mean what you’re saying, what you’re singing and what you’re doing. 

So this is the difference between a good singer and a great singer….A good singer will be in their head. They’re thinking about timing, remembering the words, and doing a good job. A great singer….They’re not in their head at all. They’re in their heart because they’re looking to connect with all the feelings. Feelings of hurt, rejection, joy, happiness. Or of love, in fact, everything that’s deep within them. They’re looking to connect with that.

A Human Fully Alive 

To listen to a great singer is to see a human fully alive. Not just someone performing a task well, with a one-dimensional focus, which perhaps describes most of what we do, but a person extending and expressing himself or herself with their entire being — mind, body, will, and emotions, emanating in their voice. Such a complete expression of our personhood is rare indeed.

We’re often afraid of sharing our feelings. We’re fearful of being honest. That’s why we love great singers. Because there is nothing more powerful than a human being singing from their soul.

With this description, we approach the something more that explains the allure and beauty of vocal musicians to so many people. Most singers can entertain, amuse, or impress their listeners, but the attraction of a great singer lies in the ability to sweep away an audience, catching them up with the passion of lyrics and melody.¹ In the mythical context of Middle Earth, developed by J. R. R. Tolkien, his description of Frodo’s response to hearing Elves singing in Rivendell captures this sentiment.²

He stood still enchanted, while the sweet syllables of the elvish song fell like clear jewels of blended word and melody.

Singing is one of the few things that humans can do with all their heart — communicating at a level transcending mere words, and affecting hearers at multiple levels, both conscious and subconscious. When listening to a gifted singer, we feel uplifted, stirred, encouraged, or moved to tears. Ascribing this gift to the evolutionary remnant of an ancestral mating call is as insulting as it is ludicrous. 

Singing as part of the human experience extends even further to serve as an appropriate expression of worship. As David said, 

Sing to the Lord, all the earth! 

I Chronicles 16:23

Notes

1. As an example of singing that is moving and beautiful, even if one doesn’t understand the Norwegian lyrics from 1910, is found at this link. “Å Vestland, Vestland,” sung by Sissel Kyrkjebø. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzWzyS2Px5E
2. J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954, original copyright date), p. 232.