麻豆社

"The human voice is the organ of the soul" - so says the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 sing because I鈥檓 happy, I鈥檓 happy because I sing鈥� claimed US philosopher and psychologist William James.

鈥淲hen I sing, I believe. I鈥檓 honest鈥︹�� Frank Sinatra.

The human voice is the only musical instrument just about everyone can play. Every culture in the world has singing as a part of human ritual and celebration. Rebecca Kesby looks at the act of singing itself. What鈥檚 happening physiologically and chemically to us when we sing - and why does it make us feel happy - and free. She takes lessons from Beat boxers in South Africa - and acapella choirs in Croatia - and talks to scientists, opera, and throat singers. She meets the midwives who sing before work and the miners who sing after.

(Photo: A woman sings into a microphone. Credit: V von Bonin/BIPs/Getty Images)