𝐀 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞? 🎶⁣⁣

When I tell people I just did a one-day musical improv workshop with a bunch of people I don’t know, they mostly react with, “That sounds terrifying!” and “Why would you put yourself through that?” 😱 Here's why:⁣⁣

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👶𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 - As we get older we do lots of the same things over again, relying on our existing skills. Our world narrows and so too does our brain. You forget what it feels like to be a beginner, to be afraid of not getting it right, to be at a mediocre level even when you’re trying your hardest. In musical improv I battled with letting go of my ego and pushing myself to try stuff that felt difficult and clunky for me.⁣⁣

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𝐒𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐰, remember that it’s emotionally draining to step into the unknown and give them the space and support to experiment.⁣⁣

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📋𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 - As a self employed person I mostly get to choose the work I do and who I do it with so there’s a danger I get stuck in a rut living in my controlled existence. At this musical improv workshop I did not have much control over the activities we did, or what the melody would be, or how long a song would be, or who would sing when, or what the dance moves would be. Terrifying and liberating in equal measure!⁣⁣

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At work, the more senior you get the more control you have and you forget how unsettling it can to be suddenly told; “we have a new strategy”, “your job role has changed”, “you have a new manager” etc. Knowing that autonomy is a factor of motivation, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦?⁣⁣

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🧠𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 - Whereas in a work setting it’s easy to rely on our thinking brains, musical improv is a full-body experience. It works best (and you enjoy it more) when you allow yourself to connect with your whole body, to move, flow, create, sing and express in a multitude of ways. And you feel it all through sweating palms, shaky voices, aching cheek muscles (from laughing uncontrollably) and deep connection with your fellow creators.⁣⁣

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𝐒𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, use multiple intelligences and try building things in lego, creating constellations or moving outside in nature.⁣⁣

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🤹𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 - Learning agility is a key skill and improv is a great way to increase it. You need to notice what others are doing and adapt yourself to create something brilliant together. To let go of your ideas to follow a new narrative or rhythm as it evolves. If you see a gap, be willing to create something imperfect and then if it’s not working, try something else.⁣⁣

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𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 so how can you bring them more into the places where you work?⁣⁣

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A big thank you to Heather Urquhart and Steve Chapman for organising the workshop. They both do amazing things in this space so get in touch with them or me if it resonates with you!⁣⁣