Passions: Our banging Rock Choir has Fringe benefits

I've spent many happy Festivals being part of the audience at the Fringe. But this year I’m in it. Along with around 2,500 of my Rockie pals, the nickname for members of Rock Choir, who are taking a shift – or three in my case – during our month-long Edinburgh run. I've learned so much already – the most common word on the Edinburgh Fringe is “Sshh!” as excited participants need to keep a lid on it as they take to the stage with so many venues having multiple performance spaces.

Our set list is a secret, but I can reveal it's made up of specially arranged pop and rock classics. We might even have a few dance moves. This is a big deal for us. We're an amateur choir, you don't need an audition to join. We often sing at community events or in shopping centres, raising money for charities. In Edinburgh, St James Quarter loves us – and we like running events. We feel these are often our best crowds as they pass us at speed, missing any mistakes we might have made. But the Fringe is a paying audience – even though we have all pressganged family and friends into buying tickets. We've been practising hard – while we're driving, walking the dog, doing the ironing. We want to be word perfect.

But although we're taking our show seriously, singing in the company of others isn't serious at all. It's a ton of fun and studies suggest that belting out a tune and singing in a choir can enhance mood, immune system, blood pressure, and reduce feelings of chronic pain. Some GPs in England are starting to prescribe singing for a range of conditions.

One of the most notable impacts of singing is the immediate boost in your mood. In his podcast, Michael Mosley reveals singing may release “happy hormones”, such as dopamine and endorphins, giving a true natural high.

Rock Choir brings joy to enthusiastic singers around the land

Fancy a go? The new Rock Choir term begins in September and one of the songs we'll be learning is Guns N' Roses banger, Sweet Child O' Mine. That's after we've perfected a favourite from last term, Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. You can sign up for a free taster session on the website (www.rockchoir.com) to see if it's for you.Rock Choir Live is at Venue 38, theSpaceTriplex at 6:40pm and 7:40pm until 26 August. Full price tickets (£15) from www.edfringe.com

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Alison Gray is The Scotsman Assistant Editor (Features and Magazines)