From heartbeats to brainwaves, research shows singing together strengthens bodies, brains, and social bonds, offering hope and unity in turbulent times.
The widespread presence of chants and songs in those crowds demonstrates something fundamental about the role of music in human evolution and survival: Music has been a vital driver of cohesive social movements for millennia. It has mobilized legions in service of both peaceful and brutal aims. The beats that move our bodies also shape our brains and anchor communities. The brain’s electrical rhythms—known as neural oscillations—physically align with musical rhythms and patterns, according to a 2025 analysis in Nature Reviews Neuroscience. This process, called entrainment, means that when we sing together, our brainwaves pulse together, fostering a sense of unity.Singing in the streets with strangers might feel “different” to some. It might be a risk beyond imagining. If so, those risks don’t have to be taken in public. A quick scroll through Instagram reveals how essential and diverse music-making can be to form deep social bonds—from shrouded Afghan women creating viral solidarity by singing (privately and in groups) in defiance of Taliban “virtue and vice” laws to middle-aged American moms in sweatpants gleefully lip-syncing with friends to their favorite pop anthems.This research shows that group singing may help humans form large, socially cohesive groups, necessary for building common cause with relative strangers, for good and for ill.Singing and dancing, alone or in groups, can also release natural stress-relieving chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, says Susan Magsamen, co-author of Your Brain on Art and executive director of the International Arts + Mind Lab at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
