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Is singing inherently embarrassing?

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So some brain researchers want to find out what part of the brain is involved in the emotion of embarrassment. Fine. They get a bunch of test subjects and put them under a brain scanner. But they had to reliably induce the embarrassment response in order to study it. How to do that? Of course, have the subjects sing.

The researchers asked 79 people — most with neurodegenerative diseases — to sing the song [“My Girl” by the Temptations] as their vital signs were measured and cameras recorded their expressions.

The participants’ singing was played back to the singers at normal speed without the accompanying music. 

Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy your career of embarrassing people.

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Comments

  1. Perhaps it is not the act of singing , per se, that is perceived to be embarrassing, but rather the fact that, no matter how badly one may sing (!) it isn’t possible to do it without having your naked emotion shine through. In addition, many people feel insecure about their singing (no matter how good they may be), and feel uncomfortable being heard all exposed (how many of you practice your vocalizing while there are folks in shouting range????)
     
    Seen in that light, singing is probably the easiest way to get people to feel embarrassed. After all, what would you have them do? Tell crude jokes or show crude pictures/videos?
     
    I don’t think we get over all of the feeling of being exposed/embarrassed – we just learn to live with it (or embrace our inner exhibitionist 😉
     
    Leah

  3. I have sons, Allen.  Apparently, my existance (and what I wear and my high voice)embarrasses them in front of their friends, the neighbors, etc…….so it doesn’t bother me about embarrassing my singers.  At least they won’t complain about what’s for dinner!
     
    Marie

  4. Doncha love it?  We spend hours, days, years trying to get people to get out of their “comfort zone” enough to sing, to get over the “embarrassment” of singing (note, please, how many people sing along with the radio, or even with muzak in some pretty darn public places) and then we have SCIENCE trying to make some point – and what do they do?  In one swell foop, destroy years of working with people to “get over it” and let it happen.  You know what I say?  Musicians of the World – IGNORE the laws of physics (that’s right, just violate gravity and float on up there – let’s see the scientists get their knickers in a twist over THAT!), VIOLATE every chemical law you can think of, make every psychiatrist and psychologist FAINT when we do something that “just isn’t in the science!”  I say we turn the tables on the scientists – just DO stuff that absolutely blows their minds and leaves them as gibbering, drooling fools!!!
     
    Ron
    (The Scrooge that Sang at Christmas!!!)

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