What can we Learn from Music? An Okinawan Melody

Making Friends near Manza Beach on Okinawa Island...

Anytime I go home, I share some music with my dad.

Two years ago, we watched a live Foo Fighters show on high def and an hour special on the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He enjoyed both, though he probably wouldn't be able to pick them out of a police lineup today.

This year, I shared some Okinawan music with him. 

He was eating lunch, but immediately looked up and said, "Now that, I like. It's got a melody."

Ah, yes, the melody...

The melody was always king in the Hughes household. There was often music coming from the record player. I heard a lot of Burt Bacharach when I was growing up. And Herb Alpert (Casino Royale and A Taste of Honey always make me smile)... Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra... Tom Jones...

You always walked away humming.

While my brother got into hard rock and heavy metal, I never wandered far from the melody. For all my life, I've been drawn to tunesmiths - The Who, Neil Finn, Nirvana, Snow Patrol, Tom Petty, Bruce, Aerosmith, Green Day, Bad Company, The Eagles, Damien Rice, Bangles, Beatles, Beach Boys, Peter Gabriel, Def Leppard, Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Cheap Trick, Sigur Ros, Stone Temple Pilots, Third Eye Blind, Tom McRae, Tori Amos, U2...
I could keep going...

I can appreciate Metalica and rap and disco and country and jazz, but I can't love them.

None of those are ear candy. None of those have, as one critic said of UFO (Lights Out, Love to Love to Love You), "more hooks than a meat market".

Anyway, when I introduce music to my dad, I make sure it's got a melody.

Here's "Sanshin No Hana" from a popular Okinawan band called Begin.

There's a lot we can learn from music.
Here are some questions for you to think about:

• What's your hook - for you, your product, or your presentation?
• Is it as clear or catchy as a good song chorus?
• Does your audience walk away singing your song? 
• If not, why not?
• What can you do to strengthen your hook?

Why Language is Overrated (from Seoul, Korea)

Yesterday was election day in Korea, so Angie and I had a chance to see some sights.
It was a beautiful day in Seoul - sunny and warm, with a cool breeze.

Our first stop was Unhyeongung Mansion, where we stumbled into a Pansori performance.
I heard a microphone check, walked over to see what was going on, and discovered this performance.

Pansori is a traditional storytelling method that is very rhythmic.
Think trance-rap, and you start to get close.

I love it, because the audience is encouraged to participate.
It can get a little rowdy, with the feeling of an Southern church (Amen, brother!!).

Anyway, we walked right into a front seat, and this vibrant woman put on a great performance for us.
She also sang Arirang and a few other songs; clapping, smiling, snapping her fan, and joking with the audience till she had us all laughing. 

I didn't understand a word, but it didn't matter.

Why is that true?

• Because the rhythm spoke to my body
• Because her body language communicated so much information
• Because my fellow audience members signaled me with laughs, groans, and shrieks of delight
• Because her eyes, smile, and face spoke a thousand words
• Because melodies reach across all borders
• Because the tone and pace of her voice was full of signals
• Because she used her fan as a prop to signal us

How many of these tools do your use purposefully in your communications?
Not enough, if you're anything like me...
Give just one a try and see what happens.

If you want to see Pansori in action (and see a great movie), you should rent or buy "Chunhyang". It's Korea's Romeo and Juliet - an excellent story, beautifully filmed.

This lucky discovery reminded me once again:
Keep your eyes, ears (and heart) open, and you never know what you'll find.