One of my favorite songs is Buffalo Springfield’s BLUEBIRD. Every time I hear it, I feel a melancholic happiness. Every time I hear it, I feel like singing, too.

Music is a power. It can change a bad mood into a good one. The positive vibrations it gives us are good for our immune system. And, in times like these, our immune system needs all the help it can get.

Since the COVID-19 lockdown, Italians have been lifting their spirits (as well as those of the rest of the world) with their balcony singing.  Of course the music frequencies help but what also helps is that it has given us a chance to come out of isolation without breaking the rules. It has created an awareness that we are not alone in this moment of tragedy.  It has made us feel like brothers and sisters again.

So we must continue to sing because what is good for the soul is good for the body.

Rome’s flashmob playlist:

Inno d’ Italia

Azzurro

Il cielo e sempre piu blu

Videos of the Flashmob Sonora (I’ve tried collecting as many links as possible…maybe when we’ve been in lockdown for another week, we won’t feel like singing anymore and I can always play these links to warm up the spirit):  Italians Find ‘a Moment of Joy in This Moment of Anxiety’   + A Violin in Venice   (FB url)   +   Coronavirus, a Bologna si canta Bella ciao dai balconi per vincere la paura  +   Why national anthems exist: Ma a vincere il premio del giorno è lui. Monteverde Roma (FB url)   +   Nessun Dorma a Gavinana (FB url) WOW!   +   Cori e canti sui balconi: da Napoli a Milano la musica che unisce il Paese   +   Italy prepare to fight the coronavirus with a flashmob at a distance   +   “TANTO L’ARIA S’ADDA’ CAGNA’” – A ROMA GIULIANO SANGIORGI DEI NEGRAMARO IMBRACCIA LA CHITARRA E IMPROVVISA UN MINI CONCERTO DAL BALCONE DI CASA SUA    +   Singing from the balcony: life in lockdown Italy   +   People in Salerno singing the Italian national anthem to keep their spirits up…(Facebook url)   +   “Abbracciame cchiù forte”, il canto dei napoletani in quarantena dai balconi di casa   +   Balcony jam session…even with the shutdown the people of Punticiell found a way to get together and share Joy! (FB url)   +   A Benevento il coronavirus si combatte così: musica e canti sui balconi…   +   Así dan la pelea los italianos al covid-19   +   LA SPERANZA Siena, le contrade si affacciano alle finestre e improvvisano cori per scacciare il Coronavirus: il video    +   4° giorno di quarantena: La periferia e il suo legame profondo con la musica! Ho suonato anche pezzi miei ma, sinceramente, qui me so emozionato comm’ a nu criaturo.. from Facebook   +   Se non ci fosse NAPOLI bisognerebbe inventarla (twitter)   +    Woman sings opera from a balcony in Italy while under lockdown due to coronavirus (FB url)   +  E allora cantiamo và! (FB url)   +   Il flashmob sonoro che unisce l’Italia  +   Watch: Quarantined Italians are singing their hearts out. It’s beautiful   +   Italians sing patriotic songs from their balconies during coronavirus lockdown  +  more national anthem        Premier Conte’s  tweet      -30-