acoustic variation.13 As Dr Graham Welch from the University of London puts it: ‘Each of these basic emotions has a characteristic vocal acoustic signature and an acoustic profile that is associated with a strong characteristic emotional state.’14 In other words, even if we do not understand the words that someone is saying or singing, it is usually fairly obvious what emotion is being conveyed. Added to all this, and this the main point that I want to highlight, is the fact that when we sing, we