Music Community and Society

Singers wanted for choir to beat Parkinson's

The Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre is going to put this question to the test as part of its Sing to Beat Parkinson's program.

The Australian-first study encourages program participants diagnosed with Parkinson's to sing on a weekly basis as part of a group.

Irene Bartlett from Griffith University said they would study each of the participants' lives closely to see what benefits came from singing.

"We're wanting to get empirical evidence that singing is helpful and useful for quality of life," Dr Bartlett said.