Juhtumiuuring harrastuskoorilauljate meeleolu- ja ärevusnäitajate muutustest proovi- ja kontserdisituatsiooni võrdluses LGBTQ+ segakoori Vikerlased näitel

Abstract

The positive impact of choral singing and music more generally on people’s mental well-being has been extensively researched and proven. Often, the focus is on the self-esteem of the singers (Moss et al. 2018), as well as on the psychological and physiological benefits and the social and community support people gain from participating in choral and community singing, especially those from marginalised groups (Bird 2017: 194). Methodology. The case study consisted of participant observation during the rehearsal and performance situations, a questionnaire, an in-depth interview with the conductor, a workshop, focus group interviews with choir members, and feedback of the results to choir members. This article covers only quantitative results from the questionnaire and from observation of the participants. Choir members. The participants were the singers and the conductor of the LGBTQ+ mixed choir Vikerlased based in Tallinn, established in 2017. The average age of respondents to the questionnaire (n=15) was 36.6, the youngest was 27 and the oldest 55. Respondents had been singing in the choir for an average of two years. The majority (13) had been involved in choral singing also in earlier life, since school. The following options were available in the questionnaire to identify their gender or sexual identity: male (M), female (N), lesbian (L), gay (G), bisexual (B), trans (T), queer (Q), asexual (A) and intersex (I). Seven respondents chose one symbol, eight respondents chose more than one, with a maximum of four symbols. The I symbol was the only one in the list not used in connection with their identity. The explanation box was used by four respondents who added new terms to the repetition of definitions already in the list: non-binary and pansexual. In order to avoid any possible implicit identification of the participants, the article does not provide more detailed information about the respondents. Selected results. Motivation for singing. Respondents were asked to rank seven different reasons for choir participation in order of importance, resulting in a common ranking of reasons: (1) pleasant company, (2) singing together, (3) expression of LGBTQ+ identity, (4) the songs and the music itself, (5) the opportunity to perform at special events (demonstrations, charity concerts, e.g. for Ukraine, Pride, etc.), (6) performances in general, and (7) the opportunity to perform at the Song Celebration. Observations. The overall dynamics of anxiety indicating behaviours were similar for the rehearsal and the performance: while the level of observable anxiety-related behaviours was moderate during the first song, it decreased during the second song, being the lowest of all in the performance as a whole. During the rehearsal, the fourth song was the “most anxious” in general, while during the performance it was the fifth song that was the “most anxious”. During both the rehearsal and the performance, the average observed anxiety level of the choir returned to around the level of the first song during the last song. Compared to the rehearsal, there were numerically more anxiety behaviours in the performance situation. Self-rating scales. Respondents (n=15) rated their anxiety and mood using a 10-point scale. For both scores, lower results indicate a more desirable situation with a lower anxiety level and raised mood. Before the rehearsal the average anxiety score of the choir was 3.9 and after the rehearsal 3.5 points. For mood, the pre-rehearsal score was 2 and the post-rehearsal score was 1.8. Statistical significance analysis (t-test) revealed that the group mean anxiety and mood scores were similarly low before the rehearsal and that there was no statistically significant change in these scores after the rehearsal. Before the performance, the average anxiety score of the choir was slightly higher than before the rehearsal (4.1) and the mood score was lower (1.4), i.e. there was a small collective increase in mood between the end of the rehearsal and the performance, but there was also an increase in overall anxiety levels. After the performance, the mean scores were 2.4 for anxiety and only 0.9 for mood. Changes in both anxiety and mood scores were also statistically significant (p=0.002, t=3.453 for anxiety, and p=0.021, t=2.481 for mood). Thus, after the performance, the average anxiety level of the choir members decreased significantly and mood increased. Discussion. The choir members considered the most important factors in participating in the choir’s work to be pleasant company and singing together. Choir members had a fairly high level of awareness of mental health issues and practised behaviours to prevent mental health problems. These issues are not taboo in the choir, which offers general support to its members in addition to musical activities. An openly LGBTQ+ choir such as Vikerlased offers a safe way to increase tolerance and to acknowledge different experiences in Estonian society at large.