Another singing nation Syng for livet - Norway

Hans Kåre Flø, Ulrika Bergroth-Plur, Tormod Bjørnstad

Sing Up National GatheringGateshead 23. november 2010

Outline

• Wealth, culture and singing

• The “anatomy” of singing

• Singing in Norway

• Syng for livet – a holistic initiative

Norway, an oasis of welfare?• 5,7 mill. Inhabitants• Left wing coalition majority government• Sovereign wealth fund of appr. £ 300 bn • A GDP among the highest in the world, even if

you leave the oil out• 3,4 % unemployment• No real problems since the beginning of the 90’s• Signs of inefficiency in the economy• Falling performance in the education system• Short term thinking, fragmentation• Multicultural challenges in Oslo and other cities

The real source of long term global wealth will be the knowledge society

• Knowledge and technology is abundant• Rate of change is increasing• Ability to make use of vast amounts of

knowledge is what’s important• Keys to performance for people, organisations

and countries are therefore innovation and learning capabilities

• Singing specifically, and culture at large, stimulate these capabilities

But wealth doesn’t guarantee happiness

• We need people to share it with

• We need care and good health

• And we need a meaningful life

• Singing can contribute a lot also towards these ends

• Singing has always been a tool for strengthening a group and a society

Let’s turn to singing, what is it?

• ”You’ll never walk alone” by Liverpool fans?• Psalms in the church?• Children’s songs?• Your song library on iPod?• Your lullaby for your child?• Susan Boyle, Beatles, Tom Jones or Madonna?• The songs your uncle write for family occasions?• The Eurovision Song Contest?• The Phantom of the Opera?• Your own singing in the shower?

Singing is a unique cultural expression

• Singing is universal and fundamental compared to other forms of music

• Your own body is the instrument• Singing brings joy and contributes to well being

and public health• Singing is closely linked to the language and to

personal and group identity• But singing is also an international language

Investing in singing pays off!

• Joy and well being – public health• Stronger cultural heritage and cultural identity• Better schools and better learning environment• Better grounds for cross cultural exchange• A stronger creative ability among people• Stronger artistic quality and increased music

exports• Synergies between music organisations

Singing is a meaningful holistic idea

• Singing constitutes a cultural body

• This body has a structure, an anatomy

The anatomy of singing

• The activity– Universal singing, troubadour singing, choral

singing

• The repertoire– Continuity and development, distinction and

common heritage– Traditional songs and literary songs

• The context– Situations, arenas and functions

Main areas of singing

Universal singing

Choral singing

Troubadour singing

The tradition of singing

Main areas of singing• Universal singing

– Singing without an audience, individual singing, singalong, lullabies, singing in congregations (religious songs, political songs, national anthems etc.)

• Troubadour singing/artistic singing– Artist or a group of artists with an audience– Street singers, pop singers, rock bands, singer

songwriters

• Choral singing– Children’s choirs, student choirs, opera choirs, local

choirs

Troubadour development

Family

Kindergarten

Friends

Local community

Clubs and gatherings

Schools

Courses and workshops

Community concerts

Demo-tape,first CDs

Larger concerts and commercial CDs,TV and radio

GroundsIntroduction to song tradition and the passing on of attitudes and values

Early developmentExposure in smaller arenas with support and feedback

Start upIntroduction to networks

ProfessionalizationCommercial market and further artistic development

Repertoire

• We want development, renewal and individual expression

• But if different generations and different groups shall be able to sing together we also need a common repertoire

• Songbooks, records, CDs and new electronic media are important parts of the song tradition

Context• Situations

– Concerts, religious worship, burials and other rituals, conflict situations, parties, football matches, bedtime for children etc.

• Arenas– Concert halls, sports arenas, private homes,

churches, shopping centres, schools, churches, traditional media (TV,radio,film), books, CDs, social media, the street, work places etc.

• Functions– Protest singing, religious worship, calming children,

artistic expression, expression of feelings (joy, anger, sorrow), expression of national identity etc.

Singing can be cultivated• Singing is a strong plant – you can’t kill it – but cultivation

gives a more beautiful garden, a richer harvest and opens up possibilities for more people.

• Individual song writers, artists, and visionary organisers have over the years contributed greatly the development of the song culture. “Visens Venner”, a small Norwegian visionary group of friends, succeeded by means of radio programmes and three song books to boost the literary song culture from the end of world war II and into the sixties.

• International anti authoritarian impulses through the sixties sparked a new wave of popular and folk singing in Norwegian language in Norway through the seventies. But workshops organised by Concerts Norway and the People’s Academies and radio programmes greatly contributed to the success.

Breadth and elite must go hand in hand

Variety of genres and roles, number of people involved

Individual or within the family

Friendly and private occasions

Education and organised activities

Professional level

Private space

Public spaceIncreasing professional quality and specialisation

Sports and arts: two different stories

Sports:• Interdependence between breadth and elite

acknowledged• Effect on public health indisputable• Substantial public funding of voluntary organisations

Arts:• Artistic elite promoted without due acknowledgement of

the importance of breadth• Effect on public health and well being is just now

beginning to be understood• More scarce public funding of voluntary organisations

Voluntary organisations are bridges between the public sector and the individual and are crucial for

bringing singing to everybody

Public sector

Individuals and families

Voluntary organisations

Commercial sector

Strong coupling Weak coupling

Singing in Norway – a growth story

• More choral singers

• Rock bands are ”everywhere”, Reality TV style choral and singing contests

• ”Everybody” listening to popular music (which means singing) ”all the time”

• Lots of high quality examples of good work

But the culture of singing is also being challenged

• Globalisation and international music industry challenge national traditions

• Technological development make high quality music available everywhere – and may reduce the space for and increase the barriers towards personal singing

• The common song repertoire is diminishing (at least in Norway)

• Multicultural impulses challenge national mono cultures

Singing in Norway: Strong – but still overlooked?

• Singing is the heart and bedrock of music and culture

• But the position in public budgets is weak• The position in school curriculums is weak• Singing is like the air, we breathe it, look through

it and take it for granted• But who speaks up for singing in public

debates?

Syng for livet speaks up for singing from a holistic perspective

• Holistic consciousness of singing will bring inspiration to our daily work! (Laying down a brick or building a cathedral?)

• Shared visions on singing communities and nations will create broader alliances nationally and internationally – and with greater success!

• We need new forms of cooperation and innovation! For example social entrepreneurship.

A “cloud” of small organisations do the best they can

• We do a lot, but the possibilities are greater• Effects are scattered and quite random

For example there are many really interesting initiatives on

singing in schools

We are not acting as a whole

• We overlap• We reinvent what others have invented• We are not efficient in learning from each other• Each and one have (too) little resources• We reach too few• We wear out• But together we could be strong!

Even so, promising Norwegian projects show the potential of joint action

• The “cultural rucksack”– A permanent system for school concerts, but so far oriented

towards children listening, not singing or playing

• “The whole country sings”– Concerts Norway, 2007-2010, local and national events with a

common frame. So far not being continued.

• Sangløftet– Privately financed fund, 2008-2012. Small grants for innovative

singing activities. Have proved very succesfull.

• Syng for Livet– A holistic perspective, knowledge platform, hub for coordination

and innovative initiatives

Syng for livet shall be the hub that makes the wheel turn

• We must focus resources towards major challenges

The Syng for livet alliance

• The Adult Education Association of Music in Norway• The Council for Music Organisations in Norway• The Association of People’s Academies• The Norwegian Choral Association• The Norwegian Singers’ Association• The Norwegian Association for Children’s and Youth

Choirs• Music in Schools• The Norwegian Folk and Popular Song Archives• The Norwegian Folk Song and Troubadour Association• Nature-Culture-Health Norway

The “Culture of Singing” Conferences

• 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010• Common understanding and platform for joint action

The 2010 conferenceLaine Jänes,Estonian minister of culture: The Singing Nation Estonia

Töres Theorell,University of Stockholm: Singing and Health

Baz Chapman,Sing Up: Singing in Schools

Anne Haugland Balsnes, Ansgar University College: Effects of singing

Results: new alliances, international network, research report, base for manifesto and action plan

Research on the effects of singing – report october 2010

• Physical effects– Relief from physical tensions, heart/lung effects

• Psychological/emotional effects– Relief from stress, effects on depression, well being

• Cognitive effects– Alertness, concentration, learning ability, self confidence

• Social effects– Friendship, network, therapeutic effects on social problems

• Meaning of life– Unification of body and soul, personal transcendence,

connection

Our major goal – the singing nation

1. Everyone in Norway shall have access to singing as an important source of joy, meaning of life and creativity– Youth and children – Sing Up Norway– Singing local communities– Access for the underprivileged

2. Society should acknowledge and make use of singing to create positive effects for society– Well being and public health– Cross cultural communication– Creativity and learning

The singing nation - continued3. Common insight and understanding

– Documentation of the effects of song (report 2010)– Documentation of the state of the singing community

4. Creative cooperation– Common arenas for learning and innovation

• Locally, nationally, internationally

– Shared programmes for pulling together• Singing, work force development, innovation

– Lobbying and PR

We are producing a joint vision expressed through:

• A manifesto of song

• A joint action plan

• designed to influence the state budget of 2012 and 2013 (and onwards)

Acknowledgement in words are at hand

”If voluntary work disappeared much of it would have to be replaced by paid work which probably would cost billions of kroner in public spending.” [...] ”Voluntary organisations are also important for the democratic functions in society. On the one hand they operate in a kind of intermediary space between the state and the market; on the other hand they play a role as mediators between the state and the individual. They also channel cultural impulses of different kinds into public decision making processes.”

(Norwegian government white paper on cultural policy, 2004, p. 216-217)

Even support from The Norwegian Parliament has been expressed

”The committee (of culture) refers to that we in Norway have had a strong tradition of singing together which has contributed to a feeling of shared identity across generations. The committee is worried that this tradition, partly due to the development within the media sector, may erode. The committee will therefore ask the ministry, through Arts Council Norway, to support actions aimed at supporting this tradition and introducing it especially to youth and children.”

(The Norwegian Parliament’s report on the governments white paper on culture, 2004, – page 121, based on a letter from Syng for livet)

But so far this means little

• We have to bring about change ourselves

Strategy

• Using our increasing national strength to press for a national breakthrough

• Gaining additional strength through international cooperation

• Taking advantage of international trends like globalisation, innovation, emergence of the knowledge society and ageing population

Scope of work 2011• Launching a manifesto and action plan for

Norway as a singing nation• Creating a Norwegian Sing Up project• Strengthening international contacts• Stimulating research on the effects of singing• Investigating action alternatives on singing and

health• Developing and implementing our model for

singing local communities• Strengthening our organisation

How can we help each other across national boundaries?

• Exchange of knowledge, experience and ideas• Learning good/best practice• Sharing arguments and examples for political

lobbying• Sharing concrete and resources• Addressing international organisations and

resources• Inspiring and supporting each other

The future is promising. There is no better time than the present.

Lets get on with it!