Brass on the Mind

16/01/2026

Now you’ve settled into January, how about making some time to freshen up the skills that will help protect the mental health of you and your band mates and help you all PERFORM at your best.

Just a reminder that if you haven’t got round to enrolling for FREE in the Certificate in Brass Band Mental Health and Wellbeing course yet, it’s OK because now is the best time!

You don’t need to remember any codes… the course is set to be FREE for the next 650 sign ups which will bring us to target of enrolling 1000 brass band mental health and wellbeing leads by 2027.

… and this is part of a much wider mission that Brass on the Mind founder, Tabby Kerwin, has to help 7 million people protect their mental health, grow with their grief and PERFORM at their best in the next 7 years… and she wants our bands to be at the heart of it all.

Please help us to help others and simply head to www.brassonthemind.co.uk and sign up to the course for FREE by hitting the enrol button.

🎺🧠

11/01/2026

A man that inspired so many ❤️

It is with profound sadness that we must announce the passing of our dear colleague and founder John Wallace early this morning. An extraordinary musician, educator, scholar and friend, he will be so deeply missed by all who knew and worked with him, and most especially by the music and brass community around the world.
Details of services and tributes will be announced in due course.

30/12/2025

"If we don't find something affordable, we're going to go bankrupt and cease to exist."

Enderby Brass Band is fundraising all the time but would like a permanent home in the village.

Read more: https://bbc.in/4jnsGk0

24/12/2025

Wishing all my banding friends a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

Thank you to everyone that has supported us this year and helped to protect the mental health of brass band musicians. 🙏🏼

A special thank you to everyone that has enrolled in the Certificate of Brass Band Mental Health course since we launched it. We now have well over 300 mental health and wellbeing leads in bands and edge closer to the target of training 1000 people for FREE by 2027.

You can enrol for FREE at www.brassonthemind.co.uk

This Christmas, please take a moment to drop a message to someone who may be lonely, struggling or you haven’t heard from for a while. This time of year can be hard for many people, but together we can make people feel more connected.

Keep in touch with your banding friends as you have a few well earned weeks out of the bandroom. They may just need you more now than ever.

Thank you and much love.
Tabby ###

19/12/2025

Let’s all help Sarah with her research please 🙏🏼

HELP PLEASE!! 😊
One of our wonderful Northumbria University students, Sarah, is looking for some help with research for her dissertation.
Please read her request below and complete the study if you are able to.
Please also share Sarah’s request with your own band members. 🙏
Thank you so much for your help.

Hi all,
I hope that you are all enjoying the festive period!
As part of my final year of my undergraduate degree, I am conducting a study for my dissertation exploring the effects of playing in a brass band on players’ mental health, wellbeing, and social support.
The survey includes questions about your experiences of playing in brass bands, as well as questions relating to mental health, wellbeing, and social support.
I would be very grateful if you could take the time to complete the survey using the link below. I would also really appreciate it if you could share the link with anyone you know who currently plays, or has previously played, in a brass band.
https://nupsych.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_baaYSNfX5mFPw4C
Many thanks,
Sarah

04/12/2025

This Grief Awareness Week, a gentle reminder to make the space for grief in our bands and remember that there is no timeline or guideline for grief.

🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺

To better protect the mental health of brass band musicians and support people with their mental health and grief, enrol in the Certificate for Mental Health and Wellbeing in Brass Bands course for FREE at www.brassonthemind.co.uk

02/12/2025

Hey there banding friends!

Thanks so much for the love and comments on the video I posted about loneliness in bands last week… now let’s open up another discussion… about grief…

Today marks the start of Grief Awareness Week so what better time?

Bands have been a huge part of my grief journey - for good and bad - but I think sometimes we can still be a little scared or unsure of how to support people in their grief - especially as we all need something different.

But in the main, bands make wonderful support networks. So thank you to you all for that.🙏🏼

Maybe, together, we can start to do a little more? I’m here to help you and help protect the mental health of our brass band musicians.

Don’t forget you can get FREE access to the Certificate in Brass Band Mental Health and wellbeing at www.brassonthemind.co.uk

Oh… and if you didn’t know… in October I became one of the first British banders (or maybe the first 🤔TBC!) to deliver a TEDx talk - I’d love for you to give it a watch 🙏🏼 just hop on over to YouTube and search for me… or pop TED in the comments and I’ll send you the link!

If you want any FREE grief resources just let me know and I’ll drop them into your inbox 🔗

01/12/2025

We LOVE this.
Thank you Redruth Town Band 🙏🏼

Mental Health Awareness is something that matters all year round.
Over the past few months, members of the committee and band — Kev, Katie, and Hannah — have completed the Perform Certificate in Brass Band Mental Health & Wellbeing.
A huge Thankyou to Tabby Kerwin at Brass on the Mind for facilitating ❤️

This training equips them with greater understanding, tools, and confidence to support the wellbeing of our band community. We’re proud of their commitment to fostering a healthier, more supportive environment for everyone. 💚

23/11/2025