ACTIVITY: A Lesson in Listening

Many teambuilding exercises motivate by pumping adrenaline and making a lot of noise. Small Sounds, presented by the Sound Arts Workshop (SAW), has a different goal: to teach participants to quiet down and listen. SAW director Gustavo Matamoros brings his "music industry in a briefcase" full of recording equipment and tiny "instruments" to breakout sessions and corporate conference rooms. Participants manipulate small objects like marbles and matchsticks on a table amplified with microphones, and listen as Matamoros creates a musical composition from the recordings. The theory: concentrating on minute sounds heightens awareness and shifts focus from the individual role to the group dynamic. CDs pressed at the end of the session let participants take the lesson home. SAW offers two consecutive half-hour sessions for 10 people each for $1,500, with additional sessions at $500 an hour. —Celeste Fraser Delgado
Posted 06.23.05