It’s music week here this week!
Our three main posts will be connected in some way to Paul and Ally’s passion for music (especially music involving guitars, amplifiers and bleeding ears!)
In this first post Paul, rather strangely encourages us to turn the volume down!
I have mentioned my passion for music before. I even have a small recording studio at home where I record and master music used in podcasts, like the one we recorded here.
Many years ago I was recording in a studio in Bournemouth used by Andy Summers (the guitarist in the Police) and was being allowed to play with the controls on the mixing desk.
The studio engineer came up to me and said “The bass is way too loud.” I asked him to explain but instead he started to play around with the settings on the bass track. He made some changes and then switched the bass track off and then back on again. He did this several times before finally saying he was happy with the levels.
I asked him what he had done and he told me a useful tip:
The best level for the bass track is when you only notice it when it’s off.
While this may not be the case in all kinds of music these days I still use it when I record the kind of music I like.
And it is useful to remember in the training room too.
Music is a great tool for managing state but it can be overused. I was recently working with client who had a really funky surround sound system in their training room. They were encouraging me to “whack up the music” but I declined and showed them why.
Firstly we turned the music up and it was immediately obvious that we had distracted our learners from their task.
Next we turned it off and the energy levels in the room started to drop.
Finally I set the levels just where I thought it should be and explained that it was now at the best level. When my client asked me how I knew, I turned it off. This was noticed straight away by several of the learners who looked up to see what was going on.
As with the bass guitar track, music in the training room is at it’s best level when the learners only notice it when it goes off. Any louder and it can be a distraction, any quieter and it’s not doing the job.
So our call to action today is simply this:
Play around with your volume levels and get used to what the optimum level is.
Notice what happens when you turn it off. If your learners only notice it when it goes off, your level was about spot on.
guitar image by schimaul
Paul and Ally are working on an exciting 6-part (online) course to help your learners fully engage with your training - sign up for the 'early bird' list for advanced notification and more info
If you liked this, you may also like these:
- Grooveshark — Listen to Free Music If you have internet access in your training rooms and need some music, grooveshark is a...
- Kirkpartick re-writes Level 1 evaluation Jim Kirkpatrick, son of Don (creator of Kirkpatricks 4-levels of Evaluation), is calling for “a radical...
- Take your learners to a concert (or two) The use of background music during lectures, vocabulary decoding, or group readings is a cornerstone of Accelerated...
- Great Learning State = Focus + Physiology The state of our learners is crucial to the quality of their learning and their state can...
- Acoustic guitar and flexible training design Ally shares a remarkable acoustic guitar performance that inspired insights into training design and delivery. Guitarist Andy...
3 Comments
I was being told at work that if I am playing music while training, it should only be instrumental, as lyrics tend to distract people.
Do you think that’s true, Paul?
I agree with you that volume rather than lyrics, is distracting.
Is it not ok to play a peppy number while an activity and a soft track when the group is reflecting?
Hi Megha,
The purists would say that you should avoid music with lyrics but I am not so sure. I sometimes use music with lyrics in a language that my participants don’t understand. African music is great for this as it can be peppy or quiet.
And then sometimes I will use music that is really recognisable. I listen as learners hum away while working. Does this mean they are not learning – of course not. In fact I may be cresting some very powerful anchors for them as, the next time they hear that piece of music, they may well recall the learning.
Don’t worry too much Megha. I think lyrics are OK.
(Great to hear from you BTW)
Paul
I would never play music in the classroom unless it was a music course. I absolutely believe that music is not something that should be “in the background” but is rather something that should be focused on and paid attention to. I’ve even left restaurants that play music because it distracts from the food (and isn’t that really why we’re in a restaurant? the food?). Granted, as a trained musician I may be coming at this from a slightly different angle than some, but don’t you think it’s disrespectful to the music and to the task at hand to ask class participants to try to focus on two things at once?
13 Trackbacks
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by paul wright and paul wright, paul wright. paul wright said: Music: getting the level right – http://bit.ly/4pgvrl [...]
RT @pdub123 Music: getting the level right in the training room – http://bit.ly/4pgvrl
RT @pdub123 Music: getting the level right in the training room – http://bit.ly/4pgvrl
RT @pdub123 Music: getting the level right in the training room – http://bit.ly/4pgvrl
[...] Brain Friendly Trainer support for Brain Friendly Learning practitioners Skip to content HomeAbout UsPaul: profile and postsAlly: profile and postsCan We help?PracticeClickablesReflectionsTheoryContact Us « Music: getting the level right [...]
For trainers and speakers, excellent article on the sounds levels needed for a room from @bftrainer http://bit.ly/3b5Cmi
For trainers and speakers, excellent article on the sounds levels needed for a room from @bftrainer http://bit.ly/3b5Cmi
For trainers and speakers, excellent article on the sounds levels needed for a room from @bftrainer http://bit.ly/3b5Cmi
Nice post from @bftrainer on managing sound levels/energy in the training-room: http://bit.ly/3b5Cmi (works for phys *and* edu training)
RT @finiteattention: Nice post from @bftrainer on managing sound levels/energy in the training-room: http://bit.ly/3b5Cmi >agreed
Nice post from @bftrainer on managing sound levels/energy in the training-room: http://bit.ly/3b5Cmi (works for phys *and* edu training)
Nice post from @bftrainer on managing sound levels/energy in the training-room: http://bit.ly/3b5Cmi (works for phys *and* edu training)
RT @finiteattention: Nice post from @bftrainer on managing sound levels/energy in the training-room: http://bit.ly/3b5Cmi >agreed