Group Singing Hits the High Notes

If you belong to a choir or glee club, you know how much fun singing with other people can be. Now, a growing body of research shows how group singing can help support brain health.

In one study of 34 adults ages 65 to 75, group singing improved episodic memory, the ability to recall details about daily experiences and past events. The participants sang in a choir once a week for 11 months, took cognitive tests and got brain scans. The results were published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience in 2025. “Given the social, intellectual and physical stimulation that choral singing provides, along with the enjoyment it offers ... [it’s] a particularly promising intervention to promote successful aging,” the researchers concluded.

A study in 2021 in PLOS One involving 162 healthy adults ages 60 and older found a specific cognitive benefit for longtime choir members: They were stronger in a type of brain function called verbal flexibility.

Group singing can lift spirits, too. It helped people feel socially connected and happy while providing a sense of purpose, according to a study published in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: Open Science, Education, & Practice in 2026. The study analyzed data from 886 adults ages 55 and older. And in a report published in the International Journal of Community Music in 2025, choir members said they felt a sense of emotional well-being and belonging.

Study co-author Julene Johnson, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco — herself a lifelong musician — notes that Americans often stop participating in music as they enter midlife due to family and work responsibilities.

“I think it’s a missed opportunity,” she says. “We should put more value on community music opportunities and make them more accessible.”

If you’d like to give group singing a try, your local community center may be able to connect you to a nearby chorus, or you could join a faith-based group. Encore Creativity for Older Adults runs singing groups in more than 10 states across the country. No auditions are necessary, and all skill levels are welcome.