As Plato once pointed out, ‘Music gives wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything’. This adage is particularly applicable to teambuilding activities, where the addition of music can bring your team together and inspire them in new and unexpected ways.
Regardless of the musical expertise or status of each member of your team, from those who have never picked up a musical instrument to hobby concert pianists, there is a musical teambuilding activity to suit everyone’s skill level and encourage them to play together to reach their common goal.
Various studies support the idea of using music to enhance a team’s performance. Researchers have discovered not only that we have a dedicated part of our brain for processing music, but also that singing or making music with others directly impacts neuro-chemicals in the brain, releasing endorphins that influence closeness, connection and even pain thresholds.
By tapping into human nature, music thereby is the ideal resource to boost the sense of group identity, collaboration and cohesion within your team. Here are some music-related activities to add to your upcoming teambuilding events, to help your team find its rhythm.
Your team makes music together as a symphony orchestra, playing real instruments and under the direction of a conductor, after rehearsing for only 90 minutes. It may sound an impossible feat, but this harmonious challenge ensures that your team, no matter their musical ability, is working together as they never have before.
Participants choose their instrument, and then work in separate sections under the guidance of expert musicians, until they are ready to unite and play a specially-written, five-minute long piece of music.
The huge popularity of ‘Orchestrate’ led to the creation of a more compact version named ‘Crescendo’, which works to the same premise but uses only one room and takes just an hour, making it ideal for slotting into a packed schedule during your teambuilding event.
Team members are assigned either a violin and viola, and are taught the basics of playing them before contributing their part to their mini-orchestra playing a custom-made composition.
Instead of playing classical instruments, BeatsWork uses exhilarating samba rhythms to turn your team into a giant percussion band.
A professional percussionist teaches participants in small groups the basics of samba beats and breaks, until everyone comes together to play their own part, stamping, beating, shaking and drumming to create a rousing finale.
Contact Outdoor Living today to discuss adding a musical challenge to your next team event, and provide your team with a unique experience which will inspire them as they accomplish more than they ever thought themselves capable of.
