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Melissa Forbes
Jan 124 min read
From the concert hall to hospital wards: The changing face of musical excellence
From this... As musicians, we often define ourselves primarily through our performance abilities. Whether we are classical...
Melissa Forbes
Dec 26, 20243 min read
Self-leadership as a path to "good work" as a musician
Leading a group singing session for clinical psychology students at UniSQ As musicians, we often focus intensely on perfecting our...
Melissa Forbes
Jun 4, 20243 min read
How singers can help address our crisis of connection
Cover photo by Colin Michael on Unsplash This post is based on a longer article published in Voice and Speech Review which you can read...
Melissa Forbes
Apr 24, 20242 min read
🔆Creative and performing artists are positively energizing community leaders 🔆
The idea of positively energizing leadership comes from the work of Kim C. Cameron, and recently I came across one of Aesop's fables,...
Melissa Forbes
Mar 14, 20243 min read
Unlocking the power of persuasive academic writing: Insights from Time to Write Persuasively by Karyn Gonano
I love reading books about writing. I find they can really help when motivation is waning. Some of my favourites are: Write No Matter...
Melissa Forbes
Feb 15, 20241 min read
Alicia Keys' voice crack during the Superbowl halftime show reminds us that "to err is human", and that we are all singers
As a society, we have impossibly high standards for professional singers and a low tolerance for imperfection. We then apply these same...
Melissa Forbes
Jan 29, 20245 min read
Your voice is like a car...is that the full picture, though?
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash There's a well-known analogy within singing voice pedagogy circles that the voice is like a car. The...
Melissa Forbes
Dec 12, 20231 min read
Being music podcast
In this episode, Dr. Melissa Forbes from the University of Southern Queensland in Australia discusses the relationship between performing...
Melissa Forbes
Nov 22, 20231 min read
Interpersonal neurobiology and group singing
I recently gave a short presentation on this topic at the SIMM-Posium in Brisbane and I thought I would record a version of it to post...
Wendy Hargreaves and Melissa Forbes
Oct 21, 20221 min read
We studied the ‘bibles’ of jazz standards – and found sexism lurking in the strangest place
Thumbnail image CC-BY-NC Tristan Hargreaves
Melissa Forbes
Apr 17, 20220 min read
Melissa Forbes
Feb 13, 20221 min read
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
Feb 12, 20221 min read
The jazz singer’s mind shows us how to improvise through life itself
Photo by israel palacio on Unsplash
Melissa Forbes
Apr 4, 20211 min read
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
Jan 16, 20202 min read
(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
Dec 7, 20184 min read
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
Aug 3, 20183 min read
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
Jul 27, 20184 min read
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...
A place for germinating ideas on singing, music for health and wellbeing, (Q)ualitative research, becoming a researcher etc
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