Teaching Leadership and Character Through Music

We can strengthen our leadership skills through the study of music, whether listening, singing, or playing. Music rehearsals are an ideal place to draw parallels between leadership, character and music. While programmatic music may be an easy inroad to connecting life experience with music, the music does not need to tell a literal story to provide moments that engage with leadership and character principles.

Here are 5 Leadership Tips for how to connect leadership and character to music.

1. Listening to one another with respect is fundamental to being an excellent performer. We show respect for one another by playing with refined intonation, balance, and appropriate dynamics. We can apply this principle of respectful listening to how we listen and act when not engaged with music.
2. We grow in empathy and understanding through the study and playing of music with others. We learn we are not alone and that striving to match tone, pitch, and dynamics develops our ability to be empathetic outside of music.
3. Blending our tones together increases our ability to not only work well with others but to also realize that we are not the center of the universe. Blending tones creates a beautiful color, just as people with diverse opinions and thoughts can work together in harmony to create something new and vibrant.
4. The harmonies in music model how we can achieve harmony with others. It takes effort, work, and compromise to make a harmony sing, but it is worth the commitment and investment.
5. Taking responsibility for learning our music for the good of the group demonstrates character. When we are accountable for our part, we model the importance of being accountable and build trust with the members of the ensemble. Taking responsibility and following through on our commitments are acts of character.

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