Beat of the Drum

I often use hand drums during music instruction, to accentuate in the student’s mind that which we are to follow. Today, as a class of seven year-olds marched around the room, I occasionally threw in a percussive “HUP!” to help them to know when to change directions, accompaniment to:

Clarke–Trumpet Voluntary

(I’ve heard this work a lot–usually about twenty minutes before “I do”)

In his book Do One Thing Different, Bill O’Hanlon suggests shifting attention as a solution key for changing direction (I’m sure he’s used the drum from time to time as well).  He recommends using one or a combination of the following nine methods:

Change your sensory channel (NLPers refer to this as a submodality shift–visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory and gustatory).

Expand your focus of attention (pay attention to things you haven’t really noticed).

Shift from focusing on the past to focusing on the present.

Shift from focusing on the present or the past to focusing on the future.

Shift from focusing on your internal experience to focusing on the external environment or other people.

Shift from focusing on others or the external environment to focusing on your inner world.

Focus on what has worked (or is working) rather than what hasn’t (or isn’t).

Change your focus from thinking or feeling to action.

Ask solution-oriented questions.

I could comment a lot on these points, connecting them to the work of some others you might be aware of (Satir, Haley, Erickson, Wolinsky, Gilligan, Rossi), but maybe I’ll just save that for another time.

For now, why don’t we just shift our attention…

sigh...

Shakuhachi

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

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