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A musician on a U.S. tour is turning audiences into a 'pub choir'

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Think about that moment when you're in a group, and somebody wants everybody to sing. Now, some people belt it out. Some would die. First, they...

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

(Laughter) Which are you, A?

MARTÍNEZ: Which am - it depends how much rum I've had, Steve.

INSKEEP: Oh. Oh, good to know. I can't wait to be singing with you later, after we've...

MARTÍNEZ: Uh-oh.

INSKEEP: Maybe a little later in the morning. Anyway...

MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.

INSKEEP: ...Go on.

MARTÍNEZ: Now a musician from Australia wants to draw you out. NPR's Adam Bearne has the story.

ASTRID JORGENSEN: There it is. There's the beginning.

ADAM BEARNE, BYLINE: In a small concert venue in Washington, D.C., founding director Astrid Jorgensen divides a crowd of amateurs into three color-coded groups based on how high or low people think they can sing. Then she teaches them to harmonize, starting with the high singers. Think sopranos.

JORGENSEN: If you are blue, it says (vocalizing).

BEARNE: Then the middle group, the altos.

JORGENSEN: And if you're green, it said (vocalizing).

BEARNE: How does Jorgensen lead the baritones? - with a voice-altering mic that always gets the crowd laughing.

JORGENSEN: (Through voice changer) If you're red, it says (vocalizing).

BEARNE: Then a slideshow acts as a visual aid to teach the singers one song.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS #1: (Singing) Video killed the radio star.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS #2: (Vocalizing).

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS #1: (Singing) Video killed the radio star.

BEARNE: This is Pub Choir, on tour in the U.S. now. Jorgensen says it's really not about drinking.

JORGENSEN: It's more like a suggestion that singing can be social. Singing can be relaxed. I feel like we have put way too much pressure on making music.

BEARNE: Jorgensen takes that pressure away, playfully teasing the crowd, like when the baritones overpower the room with sheer volume.

JORGENSEN: You were tasting blood here. I need you to relax. One, two, three, sing.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS #3: (Vocalizing).

JORGENSEN: Everyone sings better if they're smiling and laughing. I don't know how to say that without sounding like a bully, but I do tease the audience to greatness, I think. That's my goal.

BEARNE: And Jorgensen says it makes them feel great.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS #1: (Singing) I heard you on the wireless back in '52...

JORGENSEN: So many people come up to me and just say, it's been so long since I feel like I agreed with a room of strangers.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS #3: (Vocalizing).

BEARNE: And science says, humans singing together is the best group activity for social bonding. Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary anthropology at the University of Oxford, has studied it.

ROBIN DUNBAR: There's something magical about singing in harmony. This synchrony effect produces a massive uplift in the endorphin system.

BEARNE: The system our bodies use to ease pain and relieve stress - Dunbar says it also makes us feel bonded to others. Maybe that's why other musicians want to get in on the Pub Choir action. On a previous tour, Wheatus lead singer Brendan B. Brown performed the band's most famous track with an audience in New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BRENDAN B BROWN AND UNIDENTIFIED AUDIENCE: (Singing) Her name is Noelle, and I have a dream about her. She rings my bell.

BEARNE: It's a choir for everyone, whether you're an operatic maestro or a "Teenage Dirtbag."

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BROWN AND UNIDENTIFIED AUDIENCE: (Singing) 'Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby. Yeah, I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby. Listen to Iron Maiden, baby, with me. (Vocalizing).

BEARNE: Adam Bearne, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BROWN AND UNIDENTIFIED AUDIENCE: (Singing) Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, dirtbag. No, she doesn't know what she's missing. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Adam Bearne
Adam Bearne is an editor for Morning Edition who joined the team in August 2022.