Dear Reader Today I break from my normal summary of music psychology papers to share a personal musical blog. I was recently contacted by Reel Connections, a Community Interest Company that uses film, music and the creative arts to connect people, groups and communities across Norfolk and the South East of the UK. They asked me to take part in a Music On My Mind Podcast, available on their website. As part of the podcast preparations they said… It would be good to have a list of 10 songs that have been a part of your life. Maybe some that inspired you as a young person and then some that you t ..read more

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Huffington Post asked me to comment on the idea that we tend to listen to only familiar music. What may be the benefits of listening to new music instead and how might we approach this challenge? The questions I received from the Huffington Post are in bold text below and my full, original answers are underneath. How might we retrain our brains to appreciate and take in more new sounds, when many of us become more accustomed to nostalgic sounds as we grow older? Lamont and Loveday (2020) conducted most recent review on the importance of music in our lives; the power of music in our memories an ..read more

I am fortunate to receive messages from talented musicians on a regular basis, with anecdotes about supporting wellbeing in their communities. In an era when positivity can be in short supply, these stories brighten my spirit, reminding me that our artists never give up on making a better world for us all. One such artist is Jack Painting, a music psychology MSc student, who reached out to introduce me to Taiko Drumming. Having studied kit drums and music performance at the London Centre of Contemporary Music, Jack completed Taiko Meantime’s apprenticeship program in 2011. He is a former kickb ..read more

Parkinson’s UK in collaboration with the British Association of Sports and Exercise Sciences (BASES) have produced a simple and effective infographic summarising the multiple benefits of musical experiences and therapies for people living with Parkinson’s Disease. This infographic is supported by a growing number of empirical studies. It is backed by a short expert statement on the uses of music for Parkinson’s Disease authored by 11 academics and clinicians in the field, including my good friend Dr Dawn Rose. The statement begins with the quote: “Music makes me feel free; it makes me feel no ..read more

FOLLOW THIS LINK TO TAKE PART IN A STUDY ON THE IMPACTS OF REVIEWS In 2018 the Guardian newspaper (UK) ended its contract with Lyn Gardner, its theatre critic of 23 years, and the ‘last reliable mainstream chronicler of contemporary British theatre’. The newspaper wrote: Cultural criticism in its traditional form is dying. It is being replaced by something entirely different: the internet phenomenon known as “fandom”. For many, this event symbolised a worrying trend; the disappearance of professional arts criticism from mainstream media. This was blamed on the influx of peer to peer and non-p ..read more

I have no intention of pressuring anyone to breastfeed. I struggled for months with feeding my babies. We went on to manage a good relationship with feeding, but I know – I really know – how hard it can be. If you are struggling too then I feel for you and wish you all the very best. Please seek out all the help you can, there is absolutely no shame in saying that feeding is difficult. The most heartening piece of advice from my midwife was that ‘fed is best’ and at this challenging time in life, it is not worth making yourself ill trying to feed when it isn’t going well. There is help out the ..read more

Between 2008 and 2010 the UK government Foresight’s ‘Mental capital and wellbeing’ project considered how to improve a nations wellbeing through life. The Five Ways to Wellbeing were the resulting set of evidence-based public health messages. These messages have recently been updated to reflect Five Ways to Wellbeing at a time of social distancing. Even a small improvement in wellbeing can help to decrease health problems and help people to flourish. This document sets out 5 actions to improve personal wellbeing. The 5 ways to wellbeing are: Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and G ..read more

Hello Dear Reader Since being on maternity leave I’ve had the opportunity to refresh my thoughts on the purpose of this blog. As a result, we are going to try something a bit different. I hope you like it. Since I began writing in 2009 I’ve used a simple formula of presenting summaries from recent papers in the music psychology literature. This has worked well. However, I have received comments about the role of music in wellbeing where people want more than just scientific papers, they want insights – they want to know how music might help them. I am not a music care professional or ..read more

Happy New Year my wonderful readers! My, my it has been a long time. I hope you are very well. I have been distracted of late by the arrival of my son, Antony, who is now 9 months old. Along with his sister Penelope (now 2 years and 7 months old) our family has settled into our new normal and I am ready to emerge, blinking and staggering, into the real world. I am still on maternity leave until Spring 2020 though I work one day a month in order to keep up with my ongoing projects. On one of these recent days I worked on a BBC Bitesize piece about music and emotion. I wrote long answ ..read more