Leading & Following in Improvised Music – Jane Bentley

Lead & Follow

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Dr. Jane Bentley is a percussionist and drum circle facilitator based in Glasgow, Scotland, specializing in rhythm, improvisation, group dynamics and communication skills. She completed a Ph.D on drum circle improvisation and facilitation, highlighting the effects of group music making on human wellbeing, and revealing its fascinating leadership and followership dynamics. Jane’s work as a facilitator has broken new ground in the field of health and wellbeing, through her long-term collaborations with mental health occupational therapy staff in the UK National Health Service. She has worked with children in hospitals; in mental health care settings; in prisons, and with people with dementia. In this episode, she shares what she has discovered over the years about the power of fluid leading and following in improvised music.

• “The drum is a tool to deepen group relationship and understanding.
• “If you can just be aware enough to follow somebody and to find that meeting point that becomes a key that unlocks this door to going somewhere new and probably unexpected.”
• “Our educational process is to become a better follower: to become more aware of larger and larger chunks of our environment so that we can then formulate a response to it and co-construct things together.”
• “Its never one-way and it’s very important that that role switches over – that’s what makes the relationship.”

Jane’s TEDx Talk
https://www.youtube.com/embed/MQo-1qlKUBE

Connect with Jane Bentley

https://artbeatmusic.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-bentley-a2550631/

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