Music is always worth it
An unfortunate old belief about the arts, including music, is that it's not worth it to start pursuing them as an adult. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's never too late to learn how to paint, sculpt, or play an instrument, and doing so brings countless benefits at all levels.
For example, music is a scientifically proven booster of memory and neural connections. Here's a helpful and concise explanation of how it works by Dr. Lewis Clarke:
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It's helpful to be aware of this when working with adults in music education, or as part of your own journey through aging. It surely keeps motivation up! If you have personally identified benefits that music gives you as an adult musician, tell us about it.
It's 2024, we can't keep neglecting our hearing health!
On November 15th, 2023, our director Millicent attended a hearing health workshop in Birmingham, taught by Miles Dakin, the founder of Dakin Custom Audio. Miles Dakin is a guitar player who suffers from tinnitus. Around ten years ago, he got in contact with other professional musicians and sound engineers to develop ear monitors that protected the users' hearing. He also campaigns to bring awareness to hearing issues.
This is what Millicent had to say about the experience:
The workshop was fantastic. I learned about the structure and anatomy of the ear canal, which allowed me to understand better how the process of hearing actually works. Miles Dakin explained that whenever we are exposed to loud and startling sounds, like sirens, roaring machinery, or blasting speakers at live concerts, we might experience ringing in our ears or discomfort. These sensations indicate that some of the nerves on our ears have died, therefore our hearing has been reduced.
This is something that musicia...
The Challenge of the Perfect Embouchure
The main instrument of any musician is their own body. From the brain to the limbs, to the internal organs, to the skin, different parts of the body interact with musical instruments, with other bodies and the world around them to create music. It's no wonder, then, that musicians and their health are a topic of interest in medicine.
An interesting example was presented by the British Dental Museum this year with the exhibition The Challenge of the Perfect Embouchure. Defined as "the way in which a player applies their mouth to the mouthpiece of a brass or wind instrument, especially as it affects the production of the sound," embouchure is critical for players of these kinds of instruments.
The exhibition was dedicated to Maurice Porter, a dentist and amateur clarinettist who became an authority on embouchure during the 50s and 60s. One of the first doctors to pay attention to how poor dental or facial health was specifically detrimental to wind and brass players, Porter wrote some ...