Music and sport
Recently I watched the London Marathon on television. Like many people I sat on that Sunday morning, slightly ashamed in my pyjamas with my toast, watching a variety of talented athletes, enthusiastic fit amateurs and just plain mad but incredibly sweet and generous charity runners (often in incredibly cumbersome costumes) make their way around the 26.2 mile and 385 yards of the London course (42.195 km). Continue reading…
The power of our musical memory
This week I have been refreshing my lectures for the upcoming academic year. One of my favourites is a lecture I give to my Masters student on long-term musical memory. Reading the studies in this area again has re-energized my belief in the depth and strength of musical memory, and fed my growing conviction that music can be used to help keep our minds youthful and energized as we age. Here I present you with three case studies, which I believe sum up the ways in which musical memory can have benefits for the mind. Continue reading…
Music, health and wellbeing
This week I have for you some hot-off-the-press research in the field of music, health and wellbeing. Attending a conference is a great way to find out about the latest findings in any research area. Often people will present their findings at a conference long before they appear in a paper, as a conference is a great way to get feedback from fellow academics on your findings. The conference I attended this week was called ‘Striking a Chord: Music, Health and Wellbeing; a conference exploring current developments in research and practise’. Continue reading…