The Quiet Power of Humming — Beyond the Choir Room

By Tone Tellefsen Hughes

At ChoirBLAST, something extraordinary happens. Voices come together: hundreds of choirs from across the UK and Europe... breathing, listening, and singing as one. It’s powerful, uplifting, and for many of us, deeply nourishing.

But what if that feeling didn’t have to stay in the rehearsal room or on the festival stage?

Humming offers us a way to carry a piece of ChoirBLAST into our everyday lives.

Unlike full singing, humming is something we can do anywhere, at any time. On a walk, in the car, making a cup of tea, or in a quiet moment before sleep -no audience, no pressure, just a gentle sound that belongs entirely to you.

And yet, something quite powerful is happening beneath that simplicity.

When we hum, our breath naturally slows and deepens, helping to calm the body’s stress response. The soft vibration resonates through us, often bringing a sense of grounding and ease. For many, it becomes a small but reliable way to soften anxiety, steady the mind, and create a pause in the middle of a busy day.

It’s also a quiet thread of connection. Each hum can be a reminder of what it feels like to sing together: to be part of something bigger, to be held in harmony. In this way, even when we are alone, we are not entirely separate from that shared experience.

As we look ahead to June 13th, when ChoirBLAST celebrates its fourth year and welcomes over 100 choirs to sing together, there’s something rather special to consider: all those voices, all that shared sound, doesn’t simply disappear when the festival ends. It travels with us; carried in our breath, in our bodies, and in the small, everyday moments when we choose to hum.

So wherever you find yourself this week, take a breath in ... and as you breathe out, let a gentle hum follow.

You might be surprised at how much of ChoirBLAST comes with it.