Though it is difficult to truly evaluate how much each specific complaint brought about a positive change in the lives of people involved or their country (and this is not something the founders wanted to evaluate), the media frequently reported on the project, which would have increased its impact. There are also some choirs that continued updating their songs. For example, one of the DIY choirs in Hong Kong got in the habit of composing a song related to whatever demonstration was taking place, so it could they could sing it at the demonstration. In Cairo, the DIY choir then formed into a 'utopia choir' as the reverse of the complaints choir concept, and inspired The Choir Project, which sets up community-based choirs that can cover any theme relevant to a particular group of people (other than just complaints - more on them here). This 'utopia choir' was born just before the uprising of 2011.
The Choir Project.
There are some potential personal results that may well ring true for some of the choir members, too. The opportunity to share complaints that may not have been shared before, in a setting where everyone is accepting and doing the same thing, can give strength to an individual. Being able to create nice sounds together with other people, when an individual may not be a good singer, can give them confidence and satisfaction. People enjoy listening and especially working together to achieve something that is good, which can be therapeutic. For other people, it provided an opportunity to do something a bit different or strange. The diversity of issues sung in such a range of ordinary, real voices, 'in all their colour and individuality' (in contrast to the blandness of the pop music industry), ensures each voice is heard and made to feel accepted and included. As with the blues, it has brought music into daily experience of suffering, and as with what blogging has done to mass media, it has put the voice of the individual into the limelight. From a historical viewpoint, it has also created important records of human experience.
Therefore, there is a wide variety of possible outcomes, either on an individual or collective level, and it is important to the Kalleinens that they don't dictate the outcome. The idea of it being an 'open source' project allows it to be transferred to an array of different contexts, where it can work equally well in different ways. People can use it as a tool and modify it to fulfil their needs.
After the unexpected success and widespread continuation of the project, with choirs in over 20 countries, the founders hope to develop their website into a platform where people can showcase their own video material. Besides that, they see their role as becoming increasingly to help people use and develop the project in a way they find appropriate, as well as take a back seat and observe.
