Dopamine, Philosophy and Flamenco ♫♪

Happy Easter! Hope you are all enjoying your long weekend and stuffing yourself full of chocolate. Remember, on Easter Sunday, all chocolate magically becomes calorie-free. This is an immutable law of physics.

Also, it means that The Music Spot will be closed on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday - but we will be back on Tuesday, and full of chocolatey energy!

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Speaking of chocolatey energy, did you ever notice that when a song comes on that you really love, you seem to just feel all warm and fuzzy all of a sudden? That's a real thing - that's the dopamine being released by your brain in recognition of a sound that you love, and the anticipation of the peak of the song that your brain knows you will enjoy.

Recent studies show that the feel-good chemical released from the brain explains why music has always been so closely related to emotion. Music from your childhood can trigger happy feelings and memories, and listening to certain songs during certain times in your life can cause them to become associated in your mind. Music has always been a huge part of human history, and historical events always seem to have their own sound track - try to think of the flower power movement in the sixties without swaying away to The Byrds! So the next time you want to get in touch with your emotions, or you just feel like a little pick-me-up, try to remember what your favourite song was from your childhood, something that might remind you of happy times with your family, and chuck that up on Spotify. Sit back and smile!

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Music that makes you smile has always, to me, involved a Classical Guitar. From Maria Von Trapp to Spanish Flamenco, this kind of music just relaxes the soul. This is one beautiful instrument with many possibilities. No wonder it's the go-to choice for beginning Guitar students!

Year after year young (and young-at-heart!) people wanting to begin the adventure of playing Guitar come into our store to grab a Valencia Guitar. While the majority later switch to steel-string acoustics, many do go on to study Classical Guitar music, and graduate to something like the Valencia 304 series or this beautiful Katoh. The possibilities are endless! We have many different styles of Classical Guitar instore, so come in and try one for yourself today!

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I promised you better Friday Funnies, and the boys are refusing to help me, so I just have to do the best I can on my own:

I have no doubt you can do better than that, so please help out by emailing your music jokes in asap!! I'm drowning here!!

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Have a great long weekend, stay safe on the roads, don't make yourselves too sick from the chocolate, and we will see you bright eyed and bushy tailed next week!