Wellness with Matt (Senior Policy Manager)

“Wellness with…” is our ongoing series that takes a closer look at Logistics UK staff and the hobbies that support their wellbeing.

As part of our commitment to giving the logistics industry easy access to trusted mental health and wellbeing resources, we hope these stories encourage others to explore something new.

This week, Matt, shares his experience with his hobby of Choir Singing.

What first inspired you to join a choir group?

I loved karaoke when I younger, and a friend who had joined a pop choir locally guessed (correctly as it turned out) that it would be an activity I’d enjoy. I couldn’t join for about a year, as I was taking my daughter to football training on that particular evening, but once that had finished, I decided to give it a try.

How many people are part of the choir group, and what’s the group dynamic like?

At a rough guess I’d say there are around 30 people in the choir, of who around a third are men. There’s a reasonable amount of churn, and not everyone turns up to every rehearsal. So you often see new faces as well as familiar faces who’ve not been able to attend for a few weeks or months for whatever reason.

The group dynamic is friendly and sociable. As most of the songs we sing are from the 70s, 80s and 90s, people tend to be 40+, but there are a few younger members.

Do you perform as part of the choir, or just rehearse? How often do you meet and where do rehearsals take place?

The weekly rehearsals (in the backroom of a local pub) form the main part of the commitment, but we do perform a few gigs throughout the year – at an ice-skating rink before Christmas, then summer gigs at a local primary school and a local music venue.

Since joining, what changes or improvements have you seen in both your own singing and the choir as a whole?

The guy who runs the choir writes three- or four-part harmonies for each song – so bass/baritone for the men and alto and soprano for the women. As one of the guys you quite often have to sing below the melody, rather than on it (which is harder), but it does vary from song to song. That way everyone gets the chance to sing the melody for at least some songs.

Do you have any personal or collective goals you’re working toward with your choir singing?

It’s fairly low commitment, to be honest. You just turn up, buy a drink at the bar then sing the songs by looking up the lyrics on your phone. That’s one of the reasons I like it – very little preparation required. When we have a gig coming up, we normally have to rehearse a bit harder to ensure we’re tight enough to deliver a decent performance, but other than that it’s just a question of showing up.

How does being part of a choir support your mental health?

I’m lucky in that I don’t particularly suffer with my mental health, but I would say that singing certainly helps with your overall sense of mental well-being. There’s something quite uplifting about being to express yourself as part of a group of people.

Would you recommend others take up choir singing, and if so, why? Are there any tips you’d give to someone looking to start choir singing?

Absolutely. Going to choir definitely has the feelgood factor and it builds your confidence too. For anyone who’s considering it, I’d say just go for it. You won’t regret it.