According to the Harris Poll (Jul 2014) – “7 out of 10 American’s say that learnings and habits from music education equip people to be better team players in their careers.”
Does anyone want to jam because I need a raise!
Seriously though, I can understand this.
- When musicians play together, they need to learn to listen to each other for synchronicity and tuning. Being a team player from any job is much the same. Listen to your colleagues more, talk less and you will go far.
- Even if you are the “conductor” of a symphony or conductor of your own business, you must first listen then correct and direct as needed. This especially goes for when your team’s morale is low. Listen to their complaints and/or needs and address those first.
- Stressed at work? Listen to music!
- Via Richard Wiseman’s excellent book 59 Seconds: Change Your Life in Under a Minute: Blood pressure readings revealed that listening to pop or jazz music had the same restorative effect as total silence. In contrast, those who listened to Pachelbel and Vivaldi relaxed much more quickly, and so their blood pressure dropped back to the normal level in far less time.
- But certain music can decrease work performance.
- Make sure you choose music that doesn’t cause a distraction. I suggest instrumental music without lyrics.
- To get my creative juices flowing, I prefer chill electronica or ambient.
- According to Eric’s blog “Playing music can make you more compassionate” where he goes further to state:
- In a year-long program focused on group music-making, 8- to 11-year old children became markedly more compassionate, according to a just-published study from the University of Cambridge. The finding suggests kids who make music together aren’t just having fun: they’re absorbing a key component of emotional intelligence.