In all traditional societies, chanting is the principal way of communing with the Divine and of keeping society in tune with itself. In the Christian world, until fifty or sixty years ago, everyone went to church and sang. They didn't do it because they sang well; it was simply the way to achieve and maintain harmony. By singing, chanting, and intoning together in church, people tuned themselves. Our body is a kind of vibratory system with many different kinds of resonances. If we stop chanting, we no longer keep ourselves in tune.

Jill Purce, Raising Spiritual Children in a Material World by Phil Catalfo