REP.Presents

18/05/2025

Our teacher. Maestro Stefano Baroni and his daughter Baroni

28/01/2025

“Happy Year of the Wood Snake! May this year bring you wisdom, growth, and transformation, just like the Snake’s steady and graceful energy. Wishing you abundant health, joy, and prosperity as you navigate new opportunities and embrace success. Here’s to a year filled with good fortune and harmony!”

12/01/2025

Strings theory. Not string. But strings.

25/12/2024

Music for adults

Few adults play musical instruments, and even fewer do so in a group, Caroline Mimbs Nyce writes. What health benefits might they be giving up? https://theatln.tc/oglkQfzJ

“Kids receive plenty of music education, but as people get older, they fall out of practice. Many stop picking up their instrument,” Nyce writes. “This is unfortunate, in part because plenty of research shows that adults could benefit from playing music.”

Playing music helps build larger brain networks and new pathways. “Musicians tend to have better attention than nonmusicians,” Nyce continues. “Banging on a drum or tooting a horn can also relieve stress, reduce burnout, and help with anxiety and depression. For older people specifically, research has shown potential cognitive benefits along with a possible decrease in dementia risk.”

Adults may be skipping out in part because music education is associated with childhood and coursework. And after people grow out of music education in their childhood, they tend to think that music is a special talent, Nyce writes, not something that just anybody can learn.

“Of course, people are busy; they simply may not have the luxury of sitting down to study Bach once a week, much less the money to pay for an instrument or private lessons,” Nyce writes.

Playing music in groups has additional benefits, such as allowing adults to feel more trusting of and connected to one another, and to the world in general. But while it’s easy to go to a park or gym and pull together a game of pickup basketball, “piecing together people at the same skill level to play a concerto or even just jam in a garage is another matter.”

Nyce herself recently began to play the recorder. “I plan to keep learning,” she writes, “not because it strengthens my neuropathways per se (though I certainly don’t mind that), but because making music, even when it’s silly—perhaps especially when it’s silly—is just a whole lot of fun.” https://theatln.tc/oglkQfzJ

📸: Photo Media / ClassicStock / Getty

22/09/2024

I think it was in 2016 that Capita Syuen and I attended the Rhythm2Recovery training by Simon Faulkner. Syuen particularly loves it and loves using the workbook too. Kennedy loves the philosophy and psychology behind R2R

Together, we’ve been hosting R2R sessions since then and have gotten wonderful results from participants across diverse population groups including adults and children living on the spectrum, living with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Dementia, school teachers and caregivers, corporate professionals, students and youth as well as community groups.

Wish we could have attended the weekend session with Simon but glad that we managed to catch up for a chat over dinner with Simon, his wife, Hagedorn, Terry and Rhonwyn.

Thank you Simon for the R2R booklet on grief. Looking forward to our next meeting and training

22/09/2024

It’s been a while

A fun weekend workshop in Malaysia hosted by John & Rhonwyn Hagedorn of MyBeat - thanks so much guys for your warm welcome and hospitality during this visit. Thanks to all who attended coming from across Malaysia and Singapore, and all the best bringing this into your work.

19/09/2024

And they keep saying art is useless

22/07/2024

This is what we help people to do.

21/05/2024

Grove to the beat to the grove to the tempo to the bass to the centre

10/01/2024

Did our first Community Drumming in 2024 for members of Kiwanis Stroke & Neurological Centre at Jalan Gasing. Had the honour of being assisted by Ibrahim. Also got to drum with our friends from Kupuna Community Fitness Low and James. A fun and productive start to the year.