Singfit is a free iPhone and iPad app, based on the concept music therapy, assisting a person to sing alone the specially preselected classical tunes to activate triggered by music brain performance. That helps to slow down and diminish the negative signs of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and to escalate recovery for the viral body functions as ability to speak, impaired by, for example, traumatic brain injuries and strokes, traffic accidents and other substantial traumas.
The app provides users with an eclectic assortment of sing-along selections, ranging from Foghat’s “Slow Ride” to Bob Marley and the Wailers’ “Buffalo Soldier.”
Numerous studies support the fact that singing in general can have multiple health benefits. Professor Graham Welch, Chair of Music Education at the University of London, puts it like this:
“The health benefits of singing are both physical and psychological. Singing has physical benefits because it is an aerobic activity that increases oxygenation in the bloodstream and exercises major muscle groups in the upper body, even when sitting. Singing has psychological benefits because of its normally positive effect in reducing stress levels through the action of the endocrine system, which is linked to our sense of emotional well-being.”
While Dr. Daniel Levitian, author of the New York Times’ bestseller This is Your Brain on Music sums it up like this: “Listening to, and even more so, singing or playing music can alter our brain chemistry associated with well-being, stress reduction, and immune system fortitude.”
SingFit can help bring the joyful, communication-enhancing act of singing to the patient-caregiver relationship. Since the SingFit app and a collection of public domain songs are free to download for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, it’s easy to try out the app for yourself. You’ll find that because one doesn’t need to be able to read or even see, SingFit is the perfect activity for seniors, people with neurological or physical impairments and those with developmental delays.
So, what is SingFit exactly? SingFit is easy-to-use software that utilizes spoken word prompting to feed the words of a song to a singer, right before they need to be sung. This means that a singer does not need to be able to read or even see to sing the words of the song perfectly. The lyrics are spoken to the singer during SingFit’s specially selected and recorded songs. Note that SingFit is not exactly a Karaoke application. In traditional karaoke a singer must read the words of the song. For that reason, people with certain conditions like Alzheimer’s, special needs or low vision typically have been excluded from using karaoke to sing. Plus, it is possible that being freed up from having to read the words of the song makes for a more spontaneous and enjoyable experience.
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System Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
Cost: SingFit is free to download and comes with five FREE, fun-to-sing standards including When the Saints Go Marching In, House of the Rising Sun and Home on the Range. Look for the free songs on the Featured screen of the SingFit song catalog. A $12.99 a month subscription gives unlimited access to SingFit’s catalog of hit songs from multiple eras & genres.
Rating: 5 out of 5
List of available tracks: http://www.musicalhealthtech.com/singfit-music-catalog/
Developers’ page:http://www.musicalhealthtech.com/singfit/
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