Draconian new coronavirus rules, to enforce social distancing in the UK, ban people from singing or dancing in pubs.
The new regulations “ban pubs and bars from playing loud music or allowing people to sing and dance,” reports the Independent.
Many children aren’t allowed to sing at school anymore, even nursery rhymes, because ‘it can spread germs’.
Under Oliver Cromwell’s puritan revolution – he ruled the British Isles as Lord Protector from 1653 until he died in 1658 – inns and theatres were closed, most sports were banned and enjoyment was frowned upon.
What have we learned in 350 years? Boris & co, we’re talking to you!
How much of our lives does the Government want to ruin, supposedly to save our lives?
Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, and philologist got it right when he said, ‘Without MUSIC, life would be a mistake.’
“God has given us music so that above all it can lead us upwards. Music unites all qualities: it can exalt us, divert us, cheer us up, or break the hardest of hearts with the softest of its melancholy tones.” We hear you, Friedrich.
Music is all around us; it’s made up of vibrations of different frequencies, heard in the sounds of nature, the sea, the birds, even the electrical sound of the fridge has a frequency that hums.
Thanks to science, we know that the denser an object is, the lower its vibration is, and the lighter something is, the higher its vibration. When we sing and dance, we operate at our highest frequency and vibration.
Singing opens the heart, raises joy, boosts the immune system and activates the DNA.
It is a natural expression of our feelings through voice. Repress that, especially in young children, and Houston, we’ve got a problem.
The Arts have already been ignored, worldwide, and are on the verge of ruin and now these rules have slipped through in the UK, without consultation.
The Arts have kept us going through the past seven months: the comedy, opera, pop, musical theatre… the virtual ‘live’ shows. They’ve helped us process our many emotions stimulated by this covid chaos. They’ve helped us feel…sadness, grief, frustration, pain, love, laughter, joy.
We need that.
For our mental and physical health and wellbeing, we need to feel connected.
Research suggests that music can stimulate the body’s natural feel good chemicals e.g. endorphins and oxytocin. Music alone can cross the bridge between the two hemispheres of the brain, thereby integrating emotional responses and cognitive thinking
processing.
In short, we need music!
When you can, in your own homes and gardens, please dance and sing your heart out and don’t stop playing your music. No matter what, continue to do whatever you can – whenever you can, wherever you can – anything that brings you joy. Not only is it crucial right now but it might just save your life.
Written by Simone Lanham (Director and Brand Guardian)
