Singing for Lung Health (originally called Singing for Breathing) started in 2007 at the Royal Brompton Hospital. Today there are 100+ singing groups for people with lung disease across UK, and continuing research its investigating impact on a range of respiratory problems.

There has been increasing interest over the past decade in the role of singing for supporting those with lung disease.

Singing has a number of similarities to physiotherapy techniques used for dyspnea management (breathlessness) and airway clearance – see Singing for Lung Health—a systematic review of the literature and consensus statement (Nature, 2016) for more details.

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You are forgetting about, ‘oh I’ve got to breathe now, I’ve got to push my out breath out from here’…the singing process does all that.

Singing for Lung Health Participant
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I have never felt so relaxed as today. My breathing was becoming regular and comfortable. There was a flow of energy from head to toe. Wonderful feeling to have.

Singing for Lung Health Participant
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When I sit down I can practise that breathing and just calm myself down and it’s amazing that, it’s just become second nature to me, you know. And I think in singing I’ve learnt without even realising it how to control my breathing.

Singing for Lung Health Participant
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I feel as though my airways have really opened up and my natural breathing is more fluid. Singing has so many benefits – physical, emotional and pure enjoyment.

Singing for Lung Health Participant

Beginnings

In 2007, two pilot singing groups began in Brighton and London exploring whether utilising the breathing techniques used in singing could help people with chronic lung disease.

The “Singing for Breathing” group at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London was run by Phoene Cave. It was inspired by a project in Oldham called “Bronchial Boogie” in which children with asthma were taught how to play brass instruments to improve their respiratory health and self-esteem.

The Brompton programme began with inpatients and then expanded to recruit outpatients for two clinical research studies (Lord VM et al, 2010; Lord VM et al, 2012).

”The service evaluation... indicates that SLH [Singing for Lung Health] has a significant clinical impact for people with respiratory disease besides the expected enjoyment of attending a community singing group.

Lewis, A., Cave, P. & Hopkinson, N. (2018)Singing for Lung Health: service evaluation of the British Lung Foundation programme. Perspectives in Public Health, 138 (4), pp.215- 222.

Developments

Singing for Breathing groups began to develop elsewhere in the UK.

Researchers from the Sidney de Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health in Canterbury set up a number of funded groups in Kent. These led to new research and evaluation (Morrison and Clift, 2013; Skingley & Clift, 2018).

Both studies showed participants value singing in regard to improving the management of their respiratory health and symptoms. Please see Reading and Resources for further research.

In 2014, the British Lung Foundation (BLF) commissioned Phoene to develop and deliver a training programme for singing leaders entitled “Singing for Lung Health”. The BLF is now Asthma + Lung UK, and they continue to promote singing for lung health.

Today

As of 2026, over 350 people have been trained worldwide by The Musical Breath team – including practitioners in the USA, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and around Europe.

ALUK continue to endorse and support the training and keep an up-to-date list of current groups in UK.

Research into the benefits of Singing for Lung Health is ongoing – with the aim of creating a strong evidence base. You can find a list of the research via Google Scholar.