• Music & Emotion,  Music and pleasure

    Musical pleasure in the familiar

    Hello Dear Reader, and a Happy Friday to you. Well the sun is out today! We are having a cracking “Indian Summer” here is Switzerland with temperatures eking their way close to 20 Celsius. This week I have also discovered the pleasures of watching the gentlemen playing chess in the local park on the giant walk-in sets. They know their stuff. And the enjoyment of a simple glass of prosecco at the end of a long work day with a new friend. All in all, a good note on which to return to London after 6 weeks, for a weekend at home with my Oscar. I can’t wait to see…

  • Music & Language,  Music & The Brain

    Can instrument training improve speech?

    Greetings Dear Reader, from a chilly rainy Swiss morning. The weather has not been great in Luzern of late; autumn mist has descended from the mountains meaning that most days the city is coated in a low white blanket that hides the majestic scenery and waters the landscape. But every so often the sun appears and I’m reminded of how stunning this city can be. Luckily, even the mistiest of days can’t obscure the beauty of the lake and the old town. This morning I turned my attention away from the rain and onto to a paper that had been staring at me every day since I downloaded it. A…

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