In my house sits an old guitar, unused for many years. Sometimes I’ve wondered about learning to play, but still haven’t taken the plunge. All I remember about the one and only time I went to a guitar class (at a music club for young people, when I was about 12), was all the talkContinue reading “Endless Possibility”
Tag Archives: Music
Showtime
November can be a dark and dreary month – the very opposite of musical shows, which explode with rhythm and colour and life! So this November I’m sharing a suggestion each day of a song from a musical to listen to (in a Facebook group) – just go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/557385639483426/ Life-enhancing would have to beContinue reading “Showtime”
Unlocking Memory
National or global themed awareness days follow another all through the year, more and more all the time. I like the way they help highlight particular causes, issues or situations, and every now and then I hear of a new one which really strikes me. One of these is National Playlist Day – 22 SeptemberContinue reading “Unlocking Memory”
Down Time
Wellbeing is rarely simple. It’s a knotty and complex question. What helps one person’s wellbeing might do little for someone else. And so many different emotions come into play: joy, contentment, calm, hope, positivity, stimulus. It’s about far more than rest and relaxation alone, but these are important for anyone to “be well”. And I’veContinue reading “Down Time”
On A Different Note
Yes, music’s impact on dementia is well known, and there are many different initiatives and opportunities. But there’s also growing need and demand as dementia becomes ever more common, and here I’m thinking about some different ways of sharing music and sound, and how these could impact people in diverse ways. Three possibilities stand out.Continue reading “On A Different Note”
Play It Again
Listening to Classic FM’s Hall Of Fame countdown over the Easter weekend, I thought how music has such different impacts on us. Familiarity, musical memory, is important – but so too is novelty, hearing new music. Maybe balancing the two is most beneficial for wellbeing? And now comes UK Music’s The Power Of Music report,Continue reading “Play It Again”
Music In The Dark
Hearing about the concert to be held for Ukraine led me on to think how music can be not only a response to troubled times (as here) but can also itself be born out of troubles, inspired by pain, forged through struggle. This is so true across musical genres and styles, and across time andContinue reading “Music In The Dark”
Playing Out
To mark Hearing Awareness Week, I thought I’d explore how people with hearing loss still experience, enjoy, perform and compose music and song. One present day composer who lives with hearing loss is Richard Ayres. I first came across Ayres’ music in 2020 when he opened a BBC Proms concert with a work exploring hisContinue reading “Playing Out”
Good Mood Guitar
Guitar Day falls on 11 February each year, an opportunity to highlight guitar’s huge contribution to music of all kinds. For while guitars might most immediately conjure up pop or rock, there’s great diversity in guitar music, and this sheer diversity gives guitar real scope to boost wellbeing. Not only is there acoustic as opposedContinue reading “Good Mood Guitar”
Generation Sound
By disrupting schooling, Covid 19 highlighted a surge in mental health issues among children and young people – but this has been growing for some time, before the pandemic began, for many different reasons. So I’ve been thinking about ways children interact with music, and how this could help – or hinder. Music is suchContinue reading “Generation Sound”
Medley 