Don't forget to sing! Don't forget to sing! No matter what the trouble is don't forget to sing!

That's the lyrics to a song I learned in 1985. It keeps coming back to remind me to always keep a song going all the time either in my head or out loud! I've discovered a website that's very interesting. I've read about how some schools are using a singing program to boost reading skills--in 9 weeks they've jumped up a grade level....and the kids are happy doing it. So here's their list of 100 ways to sing! I'm smiling just for reading the song suggestions! (Be sure to check into # 18!)

1. Hum

2. For fun, humor and just plain silliness (I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, Anne Boleyn, Clementine)

3. For laughter (John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt – sung faster each time)

4. In the shower (the best sound chamber in the house)

5. Whistle

6. Along with recordings (see www.westmusic.com for singable songs)

7. Use Rise Up Singing: the Group Singing Songbook—lyrics to 1200 songs www.quakersong.org/rise_up_singing

8. With a Rise Up Singing meeting in your city

9. Start a Rise Up Singing group in your community

10. For love (You are the Sunshine of My Life, Comin’ Through the Rye, Danny Boy, Down in the Valley, My Girl)

11. At birthdays and parties (Happy Birthday, Vive la Compagne)

12. In church (hymns)

13. Door-to-door with a group (carols, folksongs, patriotic songs)

14. Hold a karaoke party

15. As a wake-up (Reveille – army bugle piece, Oh What a Beautiful Morning)

16. To say good night (I Gave My Love a Cherry, All the Pretty Little Horses, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot)

17. Grace before meals (Johnny Appleseed)

18. To calm pets (see video “Bedtime for Puppies” http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ldtY7fFqJeo)

19. On a trip (Carolina In My Mind, Erie Canal, Homeward Bound)

20. As a conversation rather than speaking (try singing in country style, opera style, rap, etc.)

21. In a choir

22. In harmony in simple rounds (Frere Jacques, Kookaburra, Row, Row, Row your Boat)

23. For charity (Singing in the Light—Barbara McAfee’s solar lantern project)

24. With Alzheimer’s patients (activates more areas of their brain than any other activity)

25. To a baby (Knee bounces, nursery rhymes, lullabies, “This is the way we wash our hands…”)

26. For peace (We Shall Overcome, Peace Song, Blowin’ in the Wind, If I Had a Hammer)

27. To protest (Where have all the Flowers Gone?)

28. For freedom (John Brown’s Body, Michael Row, Oh, Freedom, www.singingrevolution.com)

29. To start a meeting (Sing, Sing, Together, Vive la Compagne)

30. To children and grandchildren (Nursery rhymes, children’s folksongs)

31. Start a Song Circle that meets regularly to sing

32. Hold a Sing-along Party

33. Hold a Storytelling & Song Sharing Party—everyone brings a favorite story or song to share (around fireplace)

34. Use Singing Coach software to improve singing accuracy (available at Target, Amazon.com)

35. At camps

36. In a canoe (2- and 3-part rounds (My Paddle’s Keen and Bright, Land of the Silver Birch, Hey Ho, Nobody Home)

37. As a diversion—sing about whatever task you are doing (“I’m washing windows today”…)

38. Around a campfire

39. For brain & ear training—practice singing intervals (do-re-mi, do-mi, mi-do, do-re-mi-fa-sol, do-sol, etc.)

40. For a fundraiser—hold a Song Marathon with sponsors paying $ per song sung

41. As a Song Relay – pass a song around a circle, each singing one phrase

42. To a sick person (Lean on Me, You’ve Got a Friend, You are the Sunshine of My Life)

43. To someone in hospice (Imagine, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Both Sides Now, Turn, Turn, Turn)

44. To build teamwork, camaraderie in a group

45. With a DVD of a musical (Music Man, Oliver, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins)

46. While playing a game with children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews (Ring Around the Rosy)

47. With a Barbershop quartet www.barbershop.org

48. With a Sweet Adelines quartet or choir www.sweetadelineintl.org

49. Like an Italian tenor (O Solo Mio)

50. Hold a Hymn Sing—participants choose their favorite songs to sing together

51. To relatives who live far away (grandchild calls grandma to sing songs to her)

52. On the bus (The Ants Go Marching One-by-one, One Bottle of Pop)

53. On a hike (Oh, What a Beautiful Morning, Marching to Pretoria, Follow the Yellow Brick Road, Swinging Along)

54. On the train (I’ve Been Workin’ on the Railroad, She’ll be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain

55. On a picnic (The Ants Go Marching One by One, Goober Peas)

56. While sailing (Down the Ohio, Yellow Submarine, The John B. Sails, Ship Titanic)

57. To meditate (ohm)

58. Biking (Daisy, Daisy)

59. Traveling (King of the Road)

60. At community meetings (songs from different cultures)

61. With youth groups: Scouts, Campfire, YMCA, YWCA

62. In daycares and nursery schools (folksongs and song games) www.westmusic.com

63. To newborns in the hospital (lullabies, nursery rhymes, wake-up songs)

64. On a farm (The Farmer in the Dell, There’s a Hole in the Bucket, Skip to My Lou)

65. Hunting (Oh, A Hunting We Will Go)

66. In the mountains (The Happy Wanderer, yodeling songs, Rocky Mountain High, The Sound of Music)

67. Backpacking (Swinging Along, Loch Lomond)

68. In a mine (Clementine)

69. As a learning tool (ABC Song, the Wheels on the Bus Go ‘Round and ‘Round)

70. At holidays (Over the River and Through the Woods, Jingle Bells)

71. To shift a mood, lift a depression

72. To tell a story (ballads—Puff the Magic Dragon, I Gave My Love a Cherry, Titanic)

73. With an illustrated folksong book—in the library and in children’s bookstores

74. To connect with a friend (You’ve Got a Friend)

75. While waiting (Goober Peas)

76. To create joy (This Little Light of Mine)

77. For patriotism (Oh, Beautiful, Star Spangled Banner, Grand Old Flag, My Country ‘Tis of Thee)

78. To connect with other cultures

79. To learn second languages

80. In an argument—sing your sentences and find out that it’s impossible to stay mad

81. As praise and thanksgiving (Alleluia, Hava Nashira, For the Beauty of the Earth)

82. For hope (Blackbird, Imagine, Somewhere, What the World Needs Now)

83. To cheer someone up (Here Comes the Sun, Oh What a Beautiful Morning, Morning Has Broken)

84. For unity (A Place in the Choir)

85. As a warning (House of the Rising Sun, Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies)

86. On the phone (Pick a Little Talk a Little)

87. About money (If I Were a Rich Man, Brother Can You Spare a Dime?)

88. For love lost (On Top of Old Smokey, The Water is Wide)

89. About getting old (When I’m 64)

90. About eating (Peanut Butter, On Top of Spaghetti)

91. Faith (Lord of the Dance, How Can I Keep from Singing, Old Hundredth)

92. For the earth and ecology (What Have they done with the Rain?)

93. As a social commentary (Little Boxes, Where Have all the Flowers Gone?)

94. For good times (Vive l’Amour, The Wassail Song, My Favorite Things, Hava Nagila)

95. In happiness (I Feel Pretty, Tea for Two)

96. To chase away sadness (Pack Up Your Troubles, blues songs)

97. At the ball game (Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Na, Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Goodbye)

98. For play (Skip to My Lou, We’re Off to See the Wizard, There’s a Hole in the Bucket)

99. To ring in the New Year (Auld Lang Syne)

100. To live healthier and longer (see Young@Heart Chorus www.foxsearchlight.com/youngatheart