Musicalizing Discussion

This is another way to energize workshops, meetings, trainings, and classes that are getting stale. Participants use kazoos, tambourines, and voice to demonstrate musically the patterns of their discussions or to capture the dynamics of a problem.

Purposes

• To bring variety and zest to formats that are getting stale from routine
• To unleash creative impulses in enacting discussion dynamics
• To use nonverbal means to explain and shed light on a familiar experience

How It Works

• Small groups of six to eight members are given kazoos, tambourines, and triangles so everyone has an instrument.
• The assignment is to create a musical composition of up to a minute that uses instruments and voices to capture the dynamics of a problem, issue, or experience.
• Members are told to keep in mind the possibilities of creating these choices in their music:
  • Moments of harmony and dissonance
  • Periods of silence, loudness, crescendo, and decrescendo
  • Solos interspersed with ensemble playing
  • Variations on a theme
  • Different musical sounds connecting and responding to each other
  • Conflict that may or may not be resolved harmonically
  • Compositions that emphasize balance and symmetry
  • Compositions that emphasize chaos and disorder
• Facilitators briefly demonstrate how they might musicalize some of the dynamics above to represent their understanding of a specific topic.
• Groups disperse for about twenty minutes to create their compositions.
• When ready, groups return, and each performs its composition.
• The whole group reconvenes to discuss what different compositions conveyed and any new insights that were gained as a result.

Where and When It Works Well

1. In a one- or two-day workshop. The technique is not particularly time consuming and can infuse energy into a brief workshop.
2. To build community. This activity helps people let their hair down and get to know one another in a more relaxed and personal way.
3. With creative arts organizations. Not surprisingly, this technique often works well with groups sharing a creative or artistic orientation, such as a community theatre, community arts organization, or museum.
4. Where institutional routines have become stale. Groups that meet many times over a period of weeks or months are likely to benefit from an exercise that infuses their interactions with new energy. This technique can be a lot of fun and unleash group members' creativity.

What Users Appreciate

1. Affirming different ways of knowing. Many participants, especially musicians and other artists, appreciate the recognition that communicating through music is a way to make sense of the world.
2. Relationship building. Musicalizing enables participants to interact more informally and to develop relationships.
3. Unleashing creativity. It frees people up to try out new ideas and communicate in a new way.
4. It's energizing. People like the way it introduces energy into a formal setting.

What to Watch Out For

1. Discomfort. Many find this uncomfortable and disorienting, so facilitators need to acknowledge this. They should stress how using an unfamiliar medium to express understanding often results in new insights.
2. Confusion. Participants usually need help, at least at first, figuring out what it means to musicalize discussion. Showing video streams of previous group attempts is often helpful.
3. Making sure you model the exercise. Facilitators should model how they might musicalize their analyses of problems, providing lots of concrete examples people can build on.
4. Time constraints. Make sure to give the full twenty minutes for creating the composition and ten minutes to discuss any new insights that occurred.

Questions That Fit This Protocol

• “How does it feel to be made to implement actions you don't agree with?”
• “What does our communication sound like?”
• “What makes for an effective team?”
• “What does a discussion sound like that is a mix of strong agreement and strong disagreement?”
• “How do we live our mission?”
• “What does it sound like to be fulfilled in your work?”
• “How do we deal with setbacks and frustrations to our cause?”