ABSTRACT
Numerous studies document that singing increases levels of “feel-good” brain chemicals such as endorphins, oxytocin, and dopamine, while the increased oxygen intake raises energy. The physical and emotional boost to the individual contributes to the collective strength of the singing group. Having been universally oppressed for millennia – as much within struggles of resistance, rebellion, and revolution as within daily life – art, storytelling, and singing by women have had a special urgency as they have expressed centuries of anger, frustration, commitment, and passion. Dissolving boundaries and borders, crossing zones of awkward engagement, and thus enabling the creation of spaces and places for action, songs as stories, symbols, and shared experiences allow people to collectively, powerfully, purposively, and persistently sing their hopes, dreams, and desires into being. The singing and drum circles that was a feature of the North American Occupy movement and the ongoing Bay Area “Occupella” are examples of people using song, sound, and noise.
