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How long is it since you experienced a full-on gut-wrenching laugh that left your tummy trembling and tears in your eyes? Is it a rare event, or one that happens daily?
How often do you laugh with your students? Do your students leave your lessons or rehearsals happy and relaxed or tense and anxious? Research tells us that we learn best when we are happy and relaxed, but do our classrooms and rehearsals reflect a happy and relaxed atmosphere?
Recently I attended a one-day course in laughter therapy and can now boast the title of Laughter Therapist, an “expert” in the use of laughter. My students find this quite amusing, which isn’t surprising given that children laugh an average of three to four hundred times a day, while adults can barely manage a laugh on average fifteen times a day. The number of times we laugh decreases steadily onwards from adolescence as we become more serious and face the responsibilities of life. In classrooms laughter is often frowned upon and punished when it occurs during the often deadly serious business of teaching and learning.
Apart from creating a happy and relaxed atmosphere laughter has many other therapeutic benefits. It releases endorphins, the feel-good chemicals in the brain, massages our vital organs, and increases energy levels. It is increasingly used to help people with cancer and in pain management and of course in the treatment of depression. Socially, laughter that is good humoured and not aimed at humiliation or laughing “at” others can help to create a sense of community because sharing a sense of humour and fun is often the basis of great friendships. As the old adage goes, “laughter is the best medicine”.
So, after my day’s training as a laughter therapist, rediscovering my playful side and meeting some very interesting people, I decided to shed my pride and take the risk to try it at my new schools when I recently began teaching for Education Queensland. These kids didn’t know me and had no idea what hit them when I began my lessons and rehearsals with healthy doses of laughter. Susan Welch, the founder of Laughter Clubs Australia, who was once a stand-up comedian had said that kids are a tough crowd, so I was taking the risk of falling flat with these kids that I didn’t know.
I got around the difficulty by telling them that this was a great way to teach breath support (which it is) and they were a bit reticent at first, until one of them invariably “lost it” collapsing into fits of giggles and laughter, which got them all going.
“Imagine you are a big, fat Santa Claus with a big round belly. Now put your hands under your belly and laugh “Ho, ho, ho” (low brass air support). Now Santa hears something so funny that he loses it and ho, ho, ho’s until his guts ache and he can’t breathe any more.” I continued until the majority of the students had experienced a really good “Ho, ho, ho”. Then we moved up to the “ha, ha, ha’s” (clarinet and trumpet air support), the mad scientist making a wicked discovery. This laugh centers on the belly button, and the muscles we use for articulation. We placed our hands on our middles and ha, ha, ha-ed until we couldn’t laugh any more. They felt their muscles move where breath support lives, so I could then ask them to use their “ha, ha, ha” muscles when they play. We then did the wicked witch “he, he, he” (flute support) laugh, which is terrific fun. The lessons and rehearsals that followed this experiment seemed to be more focused, the students developed a better awareness of breath support and I felt rapport growing with my students at a rapid rate.
To succeed you have to let yourself go and lead the game with as much enthusiasm and gusto as you can muster. Of course, you experience the benefits as much as the kids and will find yourself energized and feeling happy and relaxed as well, which is a great state of mind to be in for teaching, especially at early morning or afternoon rehearsals. I haven’t made a routine of laughter therapy because the effectiveness of new ideas can die as the novelty fades but I use laughter and a good dose of humour with classes when they are lacking in energy or someone is a bit down to reinvigorate their state of mind. Apparently the brain doesn’t know the difference between real laughter and fake laughter, so you receive the benefits just by taking a deep breath and laughing for all you’re worth regardless of how you feel.
It’s only anecdotal evidence, but for me, it works. My students have no idea what to expect, which means I mostly have their undivided attention. They concentrate well because they’re happy and relaxed, and despite knowing each other for only a short time, we are progressing together (the meaning of ensemble in French) as a community of people experiencing the joys of making great music.
There’s probably a laughter club near you, where you can learn the techniques of laughter therapy, discover your playful self, and pass on the benefits of laughter and learning to your students. For more information you can contact me at susan@jiltoa.com or visit Susan Welch’s website www.laughter.net.au, or you can read "Laugh for No Reason" (2002) by Dr Madan Kataria, the founder of laughter yoga (available from Susan Welch).
Susan Clarke is a past President of ABODA (Australian Band & Orchestra Directors Association) in NSW and Queensland. She is currently an instrumental teacher for Education Queensland and has her own consulting business “JILTOA Consulting and Educational Services”. She is available as a guest conductor, clinician and keynote speaker.
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