"Music turns life into soul"
Rod Paton, PhD
Lifemusic™ is a method designed by Rod Paton, PhD, composer, music therapist and community musician. As a certified Lifemusic™ facilitator I have facilitated sessions around the world, working in a wide variety of settings – from community centres, to public health institutions, wellness facilities and office spaces.
For whom:
This workshop module is designed specifically as a team-building activity fostering trust and mutual connections in groups of people working together—whether as part of project teams, start-ups, regular workspace environments, companies, organisations – formal and informal.
"Why music?"
We know through research that musical activities are a powerful tool to foster creativity and connection, help overcome barriers, conflicts, foster mutual trust. And on top of all that—they are joyful!
The question should rather be: why is there so little musicking in our professional lives?!
"What if I have no musical talent at all?"
Every Lifemusic™ session is funded upon the four basic principles:
Everyone is musical (Believe it or not!).
There are no 'wrong' notes in music.
Every sound has a meaning.
Making music is an act of trust.
Lifemusic™ sessions can be equally joyful, engaging and beneficial for participants who already enjoy music-making, and for those who had never even considered it before. The facilitator leads the group through a number of open-ended activities, often based on so called 'holding forms', involving a whole set of carefully selected instruments, 'magical objects' designed to foster creativity and connection.
"Generally, apart from the odd whistling or humming, people who work in offices do not make music together though many will either have music piped to them or else will pipe it to themselves via i-pods or similar devices. (...) It is entirely feasible however to create a situation in which the office, the boardroom or the staff club could easily become a musical space. (...) This might seem like a strange idea yet it is only a brief step away from the work song which, as argued earlier, is not so much designed to support physical labour but to introduce an element of soul into the working day.
The benefits would surely include lower stress levels, increased well-being, enhanced communication, less fatigue, enriched relationships, even perhaps more effective and creative work outputs."
Paton, R. (2012). Lifemusic: Connecting People to Time. Archive Publishing.
If you are curious about Lifemusic™ and would like to find out more, please consider the following resources:
Paton, R. (2012). Lifemusic: Connecting People to Time. Archive Publishing. (Available on Amazon).
Paton, R. (2011). Lifemusic: Sounding out university community engagement. International Journal of Community Music, 4(2), 105–120.