Diary of a Demented Store Owner

Wednesday 9 December 2015

Music Makes Us Better Craftspeople

Listening to music makes us feel better - but many doctors are now beginning to believe that it does much more. There is emerging evidence that it can bring about physical changes to the body that can improve our health and ability to do glasswork. Famed stained glass and fusing glass emporium, Fantasy In Glass, in Canada has actually conducted a somewhat, kind of scientific study of this and has seen some very impressive results. Mikey and the staff of FIG Inc have found that students who listen to well recorded and reproduced music need less cutter lubricant, are able to cut Youghiogheny art glass with much less pressure and that, most significantly, grinder usage decreases dramatically.
According to Dr Gary Brownoff who carried out the study (a Barry Manilow admirer), there is growing scientific evidence that music creates physical changes in the body which can help such things directly related to this craft of ours (like listening to Barry Manilow makes most fusers throw up?), such as evening out glass cutter excursion pressure. He said: "The physiological benefits have been measured. It is a fact. Music reduces blood pressure, the hear rate, and hormones related to stress."
It is primarily for this reason that Mikey, President (and lead researcher) of FIG Inc regularly plays a varied and eclectic mix of live and acoustic blues amongst the odd side journey to Radio Paradise (look it up- great commercial free internet radio).
Here's Mikey's current dose of some musical medicine- Boogie Woogie. And tell me you can't stop tapping your toes when this one gets cooking.
Pick it up at the 1 minute mark.