Unfortunately, the invention of microphone changed completely how people engage in singing as well as how they perceive it. Due to popular culture, many of the benefits of singing got completely lost. The focus is almost entirely on technique, style and performance which feeds into the general obsession with measurable outcomes.
This mindset is also evident in amateur singing, including choir singing. Surely, performances and competitions can help people to improve their technique. However, it won’t help them to appreciate what the process of singing does to their wellbeing when it’s done appropriately.
Bad singing reveals itself by a poor sound. But we can get used to it and accept it as ok. But what bad singing will cause to vocal cords and the rest of the body is undeniable: it’ll lead to pathology while the benefits of singing will be completely absent…
In other words, our current cultural environment overemphasises doing over being as well as a performance over a process. Unfortunately, it tends to ignore the aspects of singing that are invisible. Ironically, it’s the invisible aspects of singing that have life-supporting and sometimes even life-saving effects on people’s bodies and minds/souls.