Music and Being Human.

During my years as an early years music teacher with Lucy Sparkles and Friends, one of the most significant things I learned was how fundamental music is to being human. I watched as children as young as two danced around the room, reacting with extreme care to the different dynamics and tempo changes within the music I was performing for them. Perhaps most notably, despite some pieces of music being completely new to them - there was a synchronicity to the way in which they would move and express themselves together around the room. Yes, there would be the occasional little boy who would much rather just jump about and bash in to his friends, but when they were ready to take part, there was never a moment when music failed to make them move in a manner which showed me first hand how intrinsically wired our brains are to music and movement.  

Working with children showed me that music is a part of everybody no matter who they are. Embracing it can enhance every aspect of our lives, and as proven by the latest scientific evidence, can literally change the neurological connections in our brains and drastically improve our mind's functionality. When it comes to drumming, not only are we using our ears, but we simultaneously making microscopic mathematical calculations one after the other to create what we feel as 'time'; we are dancing by using our whole body to communicate through movement; we are processing every element of of lives up until that exact moment in order to express how we feel about ourselves and the world; we are socialising we our fellow musicians in one of the most charismatic forms of communication available; and we are accessing the deepest areas of our imagination in order to create something entirely new.