How singing together changes more than the brain

Well, not only do we think we can't sing, but most people say they are not creative either. Creativity is not a unique talent. Yet futurists Watts and Wacker recently said: "Creativity has become the most universally endangered species in the twenty first century." I believe that creativity is the strategic tool of the 21^st century. A recent IBM CEO Global Study of 1,500 global CEOs ranked creativity as the number one leadership attribute in an increasingly complex and uncertain global environment.

Steve Jobs said that "creativity is just connecting things". Those "things" are all your experiences in life up until that moment when you want or need to be creative. So rather than desperately trying to be creative, the challenge is to make sure that you collect enough brave and broad experiences to fill up your toolkit for when you get creative.

And I believe one of the most effective devices to build your toolkit is the concept of "positive human collisions". Literally engaging and connecting with people who are very different to you on a regular basis. We surround ourselves with people who make us feel safe, who think, feel and dress like we do and who agree with us and endorse us. Yet our biggest gains as humans come from "creative abrasion", where we rub up against people we do not agree with and who make us feel a bit uncomfortable or even very uncomfortable…who challenge our notions of ourselves and the world we live in. And it sparks creativity and innovation.

A Song for the Future

In light of all the amazing benefits of singing, I thought it would be awesome to develop an innovative social enterprise movement that used the science of singing and fostered positive human collisions to build wellbeing and creativity, to change the world!

In 2008, I founded Creativity Australia's With One Voice program, which is building a happier, healthier, more inclusive nation through community choirs. We bridge the gap between people experiencing disadvantage and build supportive networks that help people connect to brighter futures.

Our choirs welcome people aged 9 to 90, from all faiths, cultures and backgrounds. One of the most amazing features of the program is the Wish List. Each week, participants are encouraged to express what they are thankful for, ask for what they need in life and grant wishes for others. Wishes granted include free music lessons, language tuition and jobs.

Rather than bringing together a choir of just young or older people, or migrants from one nation, or homeless 'hard knocks' people, or a choir of jobseekers, we deliberately bring together the most diverse people possible, a global village.

Following my recent TED Talk How Singing Together Changes The Brain, we've had enquiries from around the world, with pilot With One Voice programs now under development in the USA and Holland. Since 2013 the charity has been named one of Australia's top social innovations in Anthill's Smart 100 every year and we won the Melbourne award for Contribution to the City of Melbourne by a Community Organisation.

The choirs are a haven, a hub, a home. The neuroscience of singing puts people in a great headspace for people to feel safe, express themselves freely and ask for what they need in life.Through the program hundreds of people have discovered new friends, mentors, skills, networks and employment. It's all about joy, freedom and inspiration.

I love hearing stories of how the program touches lives every week. Board members who I asked to come along to the first few rehearsals are now in their six year of attending. They talk about the program as the highlight of their week and how the power of helping others has changed their lives.

Creativity Australia's annual participant survey shows that a vast majority of members have made new friends; learnt new skills; improved their wellbeing; reduced their feelings of stress, anxiety or depression; and improved their understanding and appreciation of diversity.