1.8 million years ago, the homo Ergaster started to walk in two legs as us, and that posture gave our ancestors the possibility of a bigger brain and a lower position of the larynx, that favoured musical and linguistically ability. Singing is as old as communication, as old as the origin of speaking is, and singing in a group puts us in touch with the community.
Behavioural synchrony is rare in nature, although it happens; singing is a call to potential partners, singing supports the community in grief, helps the performance of a task by supporting it with rhythm and makes people feel happy and in disposition to friend each other.
It is for these reasons that nobody should be silenced. Nobody should be told “you can’t be in tune, so shut up”, or “you don’t have the musical conditions to sing in a group, you better not sing”. Nobody has the right to silence others. Nobody should be told “you can’t sing, just sit and listen”, as participating in communal singing is and has been of great importance for our sense of belonging, when we connect with the will of making music together of our ancestors, who would sing in front of the fire.