Different music genres’ own unique contributions to wellbeing have been the focus of recent Medley blog posts on music, from musicals to folk to ballet – and I hope to return to this theme to explore other genres. But this time I want to look at music for wellbeing from another angle, by concentrating onContinue reading “Strike A Chord”
Author Archives: medleyisobel
Common Ground
Hearing the theme of Creativity And Wellbeing Week 2021 reminded me of the striking Banksy artwork which was first seen in Southampton last year. It shows a boy casting aside his superhero dolls for a doll dressed as a nurse: the true superheroes of the pandemic. Creativity recognizing the importance of care. So what thenContinue reading “Common Ground”
Free To Connect
By opening people’s eyes to nature and the great outdoors, lockdown’s new perspective throws up questions about how and why people respond to nature so strongly and why it can have such a positive impact on our mental health. So it is no wonder that the theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (10-16Continue reading “Free To Connect”
Eyes And Ears
While Medley highlights how art, music and nature can improve wellbeing for anyone and everyone, I also want to focus on specific ways they can help people in particular circumstances, like hearing loss. We’re now in the middle of Deaf Awareness Week (4-9 May), which is run every year across all different organisations involved withContinue reading “Eyes And Ears”
Crafting Away
Fuelled by the times we live in, craft is booming. With Covid-19 lockdowns, many have turned to craft to occupy themselves or to make scrubs and masks. And as awareness grows of the climate emergency, people are reducing, reusing and recycling more, and upcycling as well. TV programmes like Sewing Bee and The Repair ShopContinue reading “Crafting Away”
A Step In Time
Ballet might seem to be more about movement than music, but music is clearly integral to ballet’s impact: so it’s the latest music genre I’m exploring in my occasional series on why different styles of music might boost wellbeing in different ways. One genre I recently focused a blog post on was musicals, songs fromContinue reading “A Step In Time”
Nature’s Remedy
At last spring is here, and as I’ve just heard that April is National Stress Awareness Month, this seems an opportunity to highlight how nature can ease the stresses which have become so common in everyday life. No, nature won’t remove these stresses, but it might help rein them in or create a sense ofContinue reading “Nature’s Remedy”
Creativity And Autism
To mark World Autism Awareness Day on 2nd April, I’m focusing this blog post on how and why art – and music and nature too – can help people who have autism. World Autism Day was founded by the UN and is held every year on 2nd April, as an opportunity to rais eawareness ofContinue reading “Creativity And Autism”
One Year On
Last Tuesday’s national Day Of Reflection set me thinking again about this last crazy year and how I for one have seen positives emerge in amidst all the darkness. Positives like people turning to nature, to music and to creativity in their droves, painting, drawing and crafting. Sometimes this has helped distract us, liberated usContinue reading “One Year On”
All About Folk
Medley’s blog is running an occasional series on different music genres and their particular impact on wellbeing. Last time I explored musicals’ impact (https://medley.live/2021/02/18/all-singing-all-dancing ) and now it’s the turn of folk music. Does folk music reach people in different ways to other genres? And if so, why might this be? Maybe the clue’s inContinue reading “All About Folk”
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