But a strong body of research conducted with choirs indicates that membership has many benefits to individual wellbeing and physical health. It is possible these effects are due to people participating in something they enjoy doing. Or, there may be something more elemental taking place.
If these findings are viewed through an evolutionary lens, though, there is compelling evidence that music making provided some very specific benefits for our ancestors.
Three theories have been proposed - singing creates a shared emotional experience; singing increases social bonding; singing improves cognitive function.
The first theory is that our hominid ancestors used music to create shared emotional experiences. This would have been particularly important for early hominids struggling to survive, because emotions serve as a kind of "red flag" to our cognitive processing systems, signalling that something critical requires attention.
Hominids, like many other primates, could have developed very small social groups, or even no social groups. But the ability of a large group to work together was more advantageous than individuals trying to survive alone.
To co-operate, individuals had to subsume their individual priorities and learn to delay gratification so the good of the group could take precedence (such as forgoing eating or sleeping while building a shelter).
Group singing probably provided a positive activity in which emotional empathy could be developed.
The second theory is that music engagement would likely have led to increased pro-social behaviour.
Music is at the centre of where we learn to be sociable - in the mother-infant bond. Infants are mesmerised by their mothers' singing. It is a communication tool between mother and infant, and is highly companionable in nature.
These musical communications are highly effective despite the infant not understanding the linguistics involved. They are also universal; lullabies are recognisable as such in virtually every culture on Earth.
There are strong indications that group music-making and social behaviour are still linked today. Individuals with Williams Syndrome, in addition to profound cognitive deficits, are known for their love of music and their incredible sociability.
Music therapy has been shown to improve social behaviour in individuals on the autism spectrum.
Choir members say social bonds are one of the primary benefits of choir membership.
Studies also show that musical interaction increases empathy and pro-social behaviour in children.
Taken together, the evidence points to a strong link between co-creation of music and improved social bonding.
Finally, evolutionary theorists say hominids' musicality enabled them to develop what is known as the "social brain", while others believe the complex brain we have today developed to keep track of large social networks.
It may have been a bit of both.
By creating a shared emotional experience and increasing members' pro-social behaviour, group singing supported complex social networks.
Tracking and managing complex social networks may have led to the development of the neocortex, which provides the skills needed to make and implement long-term plans.
It also supports cognitive flexibility, a style of fluid cognition that enables humans to pair concepts that don't generally go together, resulting in creative, insightful, and elegant ideas and solutions.
If the theories are correct, it may benefit us both as individuals and as a community to normalise and promote music co-creation.
Participating in singing ought to be more than a once-a-year activity.
• Susan Maury is a PhD candidate in Psychology at Monash University.
- theconversation.com