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Wendy Hargreaves and Melissa Forbes

We studied the ‘bibles’ of jazz standards – and found sexism lurking in the strangest place

Thumbnail image CC-BY-NC Tristan Hargreaves

Melissa Forbes

Flow state, exercise and healthy ageing: 5 unexpected benefits of singing

Melissa Forbes

singing for people with Parkinson's

Singing has been shown to have a wide range of health and wellbeing benefits for people Parkinson's. My own research has shown that these...

Melissa Forbes

The jazz singer’s mind shows us how to improvise through life itself

Photo by israel palacio on Unsplash

Melissa Forbes

meaningful work for musicians

A recent article of mine (co-authored with Assoc Prof Irene Bartlett) examined the work of health and wellbeing singing group...

Melissa Forbes

(my) imposter syndrome is boring

There is nothing like an existential crisis to drive you back to the drawing board to reconsider everything you think you know, believe...

Melissa Forbes

is there a place for compassion in higher music education?

"By making space for diverse musics, learning styles, and pedagogical approaches, we shift our attention away from exacting external...

Melissa Forbes

music educators—are you comfortable making mistakes?

I've spent a great deal of time reading about learning new skills and achieving mastery. Reading highlights include George Leonard's...

Melissa Forbes

the essentialist academic—a contradiction in terms?

As an academic—and particularly as a music academic—I am aware that I occupy an extremely privileged place in society. Academic roles...