close search

Bensham Sings

Funded on Spacehive 18 March 2019

Impact data and claims within this report are provided by the project creator and have not been independently verified by Spacehive.

Bensham Sings

Bensham Sings

Bensham Community Choir By Bensham Community Choir

A weekly singing session for Bensham residents, supported by a musical director and support musician. The singers choose the songs they wish to sing and are building confidence to perform in public.

Gateshead Delivery stage

4
backers
£1,840
raised
funded icon
This project was funded on 18 Mar 2019!

To establish a singing group for Bensham residents, where all abilities are welcome and the enjoyment of singing is more important that having a great voice. We will hold a weekly session (6:30 to 8:30pm) on Tuesday evenings at St Chads Church that will be supported by two professional musicians (A musical director, who is also a pianist and a guitarist). The singers will be encouraged to try singing different songs and different styles but will ultimately choose and agree the songs they enjoy singing together. As the group develops and gains confidence, the members will be encouraged to sing at local community events as this will further develop confidence and will help to promote the groups to other ho may wish to join. We hope that in time that Bensham Sings will have enough members to cover its own cost just through a nominal weekly charge to it members.

What we'll deliver:

  • Provide one group singing session per week for Bensham residents
  • Develop the confidence of the singers through the sessions
  • Encourage the singers to perform at local events for the community

Why it's a great idea:

Singing has significant physical and emotional health benefits, such as, Stronger feeling of togetherness- Research by Bath University indicates that people involved in a choir enjoy a greater feeling of togetherness and being part of a collective endeavour than others involved in different social activities. Reduce stress levels and depression - studies have pointed to the mental health benefits of singing. 1 year-long study of people diagnosed with depression found that some of them no longer met that diagnosis following their involvement with a choir. Other studies have pointed to the impact group singing has on boosting oxytocin levels, which help control stress and anxiety. Improve symptoms of Parkinson’s and lung disease- Cardiff University researchers found that that lung cancer patients engaged in choral singing had better expiration than those who did not, and people with Parkinson's could strengthen their voices though singing, due to deeper breathing and voice variation.

Steps to get it done:

  • Promote a 10 week programme of Bensham Sings sessions
  • Attend 2 community events to perform by the end of 2019
  • Recruit 5 new members by March 2019
  • Perform 4 'gigs' by Sept 2019

Further evidence for singing (continued) Regulate heart rate- Researchers discovered that members of a choir saw their heart rates beat in unison in relation to the speed of their breathing. Heart rates were directly affected by the melody of the music, and the pulses of those tested rose and fell at the same time when they sung in a group. Reducing the variability of your heart rate has a positive impact on your health. It was also suggested that the ability of choral singing to regulate a nerve responsible for emotions and communication with others strengthens the feeling of cooperation. Increase life expectancy - It is quite a claim that this is a benefit of choral singing. But a joint study by Harvard and Yale Universities published in 2008 did in fact find that increased life expectancy was the result of a group of people participating in a choir in a Connecticut town.

Location Gateshead

About the space

Custom Location

Council

Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council

How will the money be spent?Total £1,263

Professional fees (Musicians) - £1,000 (79%)
Room hire (St Chads) - £200 (16%)
Other - £63 (5%)

Costs Breakdown

This shows how money raised for the project will be spent. These costs have been confirmed by the project's Delivery Manager and verified.

79%
Professional fees (Musicians)
£1,000
16%
Room hire (St Chads)
£200
5%
Other Read More
£63
  • Spacehive fees
    £50
  • VAT
    £10
  • Transaction Fees
    £3

Overfunding

This project is enabled for overfunding. If the project hits its funding goal before the end of the campaign period, any extra funds raised will be spent (in order of priority) on:

  • In the case of over funding we would provide additional sessions @£100 per session

Total £1,263

Our Volunteer List

We're currently looking for people to offer skills and time to develop our project! Check out the list of what we need below and then use the 'Volunteer' button to the right to get involved.

Want to help?

Do you have stuff or skills to contribute to this project? Use this tool to offer something to the project creator.

Volunteer
{{comment.UserName}} Creator Backer
{{comment.Comment}}
{{comment.Comment}}
{{reply.UserName}} Creator Backer
{{reply.Comment}}
{{reply.Comment}}