Music groups such as bands and ensembles frequently encounter developmental or organizational problems which create psychological discord for individual members as well as group dissonance.  Musicians, however, are not always well prepared to deal with the complex issues which are a natural part of a group's existence.  

Consequently the group stumbles through the disruptive times, often at great creative, personal, physical, and financial cost, without seeking assistance from the outside.  Delivery of health care in situations such as these is a critical issue whether from a traditional or non traditional perspective.  Brandfonbrener issued a
challenge to the field of music medicine to find creative solutions to all of the health issues experienced by musicians.2
 

 The various facets of the music industry typically have not followed the course of other major areas of business and utilized the vast store of psychological knowledge regarding group dynamics and process.3  One has only to walk into a local book store to see what new approach to human resource development has arrived on the business scene. Whether it is the one minute manager, quality circles, team concepts, or management by objective; there is always some approach designed to improve the quality of a group's interaction or the quantity of it's production.4   Some skeptics will quickly comment on the "fad" nature of these many approaches. But it is important to recognize that most areas of business have been and still are searching for ways in which to improve the human side of their enterprise. 

 The music industry, on the other hand, has put great amounts of energy into working with the creative talents of performers.  And currently there is a strong effort to develop the business knowledge of artists.  But still there is very little coordinated effort placed on supporting and developing the inter and intra personal or psychological aspects of musicians.  This lack of primary prevention
sets the stage for the development of more serious psychological problems.

 For the past five years this author has been working with various musical groups on the social/emotional side of their collective interaction.  A wide range of musical genres have been represented during this time: classical quartets, country/western bands, lounge acts, folk singers and alternative cover groups.  The  issues faced by these groups have been more similar than different.  Leadership issues centering on responsibility and authority were stumbling blocks for two groups.  Problem solving and goal setting were lynch pin elements for two others. Interpersonal communication styles caused difficulty for several of the groups.  Intertwined were various individual issues such as divorce, depression, and drug use.  Most interventions were carried out from a consultative or educational perspective rather than from one of psychotherapy.  Yet the dynamics of group life were always present and in some senses of the term consultations had a family counseling flavor.  While being sensitive to client confidentiality, I would like to utilize some of these issues to outline a consultation/education format which also includes a process sensitive approach.
 

 For any psychological intervention effort to stand a chance of success the importance of having environmental or culture specific knowledge and skills cannot be understated.  This does not necessarily mean the consultant has to be musical, rather it demands that there is a practical understanding of the basic mileau in which the musical group functions.  For the traditional individual, group, or family therapist, the typical approach is for the client to come to the office of the therapist.  For the group consultant/educator/coach the opposite is true. It is essential for the professional to gain as complete a sense of the group's working space as possible. Historically the organizational consultant in the business sector has demonstrated the need for spending time "on the shop floor".6  So it is for the musical group consultant.  It is important to see how the group functions during rehearsals, business meetings, performances, and while traveling. 

 Interactions among the group members are influenced by their total history and it is easier for the professional to intervene if he/she has a sense of this present reality.  How a group communicates during rehearsals or performances may be different than how they communicate
 while selling product, at a set break, or while loading equipment in or out. How a group problem solves may be different at a recording session than in the van, car, or bus driving between gigs.  Who provides leadership and how that leadership is obtained or delegated may be different during a performance, upon arrival at a club date, or
during a business meeting. Or a first chair sectional performer may have difficulty accepting less of a leadership role in a quartet. Or a diverse group of first chair musicians forming a quartet may struggle over issues of authority and responsibility.

 There are many possible consultation/education models available from the world of business.  I would like to use a more general approach as described by Gallessich to outline a format of psychological consultation/education with musical groups.7
 

 Consultation with a musical group may be initiated by the consultant, individual group members, group leader, or some other professional/consultant such as the manager or lawyer.  I believe in an ideal sense it is easier to accomplish a successful consultation if the consultant does not initially solicit the contact.  It is fairly well established in the world of psychotherapy that the voluntary client is easier to work with than the mandated client.  However,
large proportions of the music community do not realize the potential value of such consultations.  They are well aware of the advantages of utilizing a vocal coach , staging expert, or personal development specialist; but not the potential of an organizational coach.  Consequently the consultant might well be employed after "selling" the group on the concept of consultation. 

 In this initial phase the consultant's focus is on establishing lines of open communication, rapport, trust, and establishing himself/herself as a credible professional who knows the music business and has something worthwhile to offer.  This task can be made more difficult if the consultant has been hired by someone other than
the musical group itself.  Being retained by the manager, attorney, or record label could well lead to mistrust from the artists.  Issues such as these are best handled through open discussion.

 Another obstacle to  successful intervention is the possibility of what some therapists label as resistance.  Change of any sort can be threatening to some; consequently there can be conscious or even
unconscious processes which interfere with the consultation.  From my point of view, resistance can be minimized as ground rules, especially of confidentiality, are established.  In addition as the consultation process evolves, the honesty and integrity of the consultant will
emerge and this typically reduces resistance.  And finally, a here and now feedback approach can be utilized to openly discuss any hesitancies to change.  As the groups' communication skills improve, the members become for adept at resolving problems.
 

 Assessment of the group's present and historical situation does not take place separately from the relationship establishment phase.  The consultant's general task is to gain an overview of the group and the various forces or sources of influence.  This assessment process
involves becoming familiar with the current culture of the group as well as how it evolved over time.  Consequently seeing the group function in it's many different roles is essential.  Talking to individual members, attending rehearsals, going to performances, sitting in on band business meetings, going on a road trip, meeting
significant others, being at recording sessions and facilitating group meetings to identify themes and issues provides the consultant with many different views of the group. 

 Some critical points may have been identified by the group when the consultant was first contacted.  For example, it is not unusual to have more difficulty resolving differences of opinion on business issues than musical ones.  Musicians have often developed means communicating about musical matters, but the same processes may not work when talking about developing a marketing scheme or a standard for setting fees. Other issues may well be identified by the consultant as the assessment process unfolds.  It could be that the on stage leader during performances does not have the technical experience to be a leader during a recording session. 
 

 One expects there will be at least three general categories of needs which will emerge during the relationship and assessment phases.  Individual needs such as performance anxiety management, self-confidence, general physical health, psychological problems such
as depression or substance abuse will become evident.  Group issues such as goal setting leadership styles, problem solving, or communication problems will be identified. And finally the impact of outside influences such as manager, A & R representative, attorney, or significant others will be highlighted.  One group's development into
a successful regional act was severely disrupted by a spouse who strongly objected to road trips longer than one overnight.  The disruption to the musician's homelife was such that he had to leave the band.

 As these or other patterns become clear an intervention sequence can be designed and presented to the group and other involved parties.  In some instances individual consultation might be appropriate; such as helping the artist with performance anxiety deal with this issue or
assist the group's formal leader to know when to take decisive action and when to seek more input.  For other problems a combination of skill building and group process work becomes appropriate.  For example there might be  short presentations to the group on communication skills and problem solving; and then the consultant
would sit in as a moderator during a band meeting or rehearsal to facilitate some practice of these new skills in a real and relevant situation.  Or the consultant might facilitate the group's outlining a list of outcome and process goals by guiding them through the specific stages of this activity as well as presenting the goals to the manager.

 This proposed series of interventions would be outlined to the group and decisions would be made as to how or if to implement them. Additionally a priority list of topics would be established.  Group input into the finalization of the plan is also a way to begin the active intervention.  Trust and mutual respect are heightened during this highly inter-actional stage.  Group members often gain a sense of
reassurance as the consultant demonstrates his/her skills and the members immediately see constructive results.
 

 Formal implementation of the intervention series  usually involves meeting with the group and beginning the process.  It is my experience that this focuses on establishing a regular time to meet with a specific ending time.  It seems that many if not most events in which
musicians are involved actually take place later than scheduled and often last longer than anticipated.  This is the phenomena of Musician's Time which is often different from the time frame of the consultant.  Some might call this time scheduling process a power struggle, but perhaps it is only recognizing that life, like music does have a structure and there is something to be gained from coming to a common consensus of when things begin and end.  One band found this issue of time to be very important because one of the members would always show up late to rehearsals and everyone one have to wait
while he set up.  There was also not a timely feedback system established so during large portions of the practice time, other members would snipe at the late comer.  Needless to say the quality of rehearsals was not very good.

 Rather than have identified topics of training like communication styles, problem solving, or leadership, another approach is to have meetings which focus on specific, present centered issues and then do
informal training as it is appropriate.  To help a group problem solve the distribution of responsibility and authority issue of who does what on the road can involve many general principles of team work.  It is my experience that a group is more open to considering new approaches if they can see how these different tactics apply to real rather than  abstract or artificial problem situations.

 Who attends the regular meetings can be a complicated  issue.  For some groups the manager, accountant, lawyer, record company A & R rep, or producer can be included when issues are specifically involving them.  In some instances it is important for the band to have a consensus on an issue before anyone else is included; in other
situations a consensus can occur only with this other person such as a producer is included.  One band was going to use an outside producer for the first time on a recording project.  To prepare for this the band made initial decisions as which tunes were to be on the record
and carried out a series of rehearsals in preparation for going into the studio.  And then because of the expense of studio time the band spent a few rehearsals with the producer and the engineer so everyone was on track when they actually began to record.

 It is also in this phase that consultants clarify their roles in an on going process regarding the establishment and maintenance of confidentiality.  All individual and group meetings are confidential and consultants will not share information with anyone else without specific  permission.   Group members must also recognize their own
responsibility to keep what is said in a group meeting as a private and personal communication.

 Success of any intervention does depend upon all group members being willing to verbally participate in the developmental process.  Even though the verbal level of participation will be different, it is always good to encourage all members to be as active as possible.  Each member must have a chance at air time.

 Consultants need to be available to the group members outside of scheduled developmental sessions.  Therefore there should be a systematic way to frequently attend band sessions including rehearsals, band meetings, performances, etc..  This availability provides a format for consultation on a more informal basis either to the group as a whole or to an individual.  The consultants also gain
important role data by seeing the group members function in different settings.

 Since this type of consultation is not intended to be therapy, the consultant is often faced with the artful task of knowing how to help individuals and the group itself know when to stop.  There are times when a group has a problem which has it's root in an individual's
mental health issues.  For one group, a very talented member was often very "dark".  His level of psychological depression was often so great that it made it very difficult for him to interact in a constructive manner during performances, rehearsals, and business meetings.  The
band did not want to lose him but his psychological condition was becoming very disruptive.  In a meeting, the members were able to clearly describe, in behavioral terms, the consequences of his "dark" moods.  As this feedback session evolved it became clear that the band
could not help him resolve this internal situation but they were able to create a communication plan which enabled the band to provide him with immediate feedback and the depressed player was able to commit to the band that he would seek additional individual therapy.

 In some consultations, individual psychological issues can be best handled by have a here and now discussion rule or limiting historical discussion to the life of the band.  This can minimize the introduction of individual problems.  Even if individual problems do come out, they can be dealt with by limiting discussion to "How can we help you with this?". For one band, a member was in the process of a
divorce and this stress set the stage for him to resume drinking.  He disclosed that his most difficult time of temptation was after a road performance when he was in his motel room by himself.  The band was able to provide assistance by another member agreeing to share a room
with him for the rest road trip.  Other members also were very open in supporting his seeking of outside counseling.
 

 With the music business being what it is, it is unlikely that a group will not go through the throes of a crisis during the consultation period.  This could be anything group related or personal: loss of a contract; getting stiffed at a gig; divorce; crisis with drugs or alcohol, an arrest, van accident, suicide, or a serious illness of a member.  If the consultants role has been clearly defined it is more likely that constructive assistance will result.  In some instances it might be more productive in the long run for the group to, by itself, handle the situation.  It can be very empowering for a group to be able to resolve a chaotic situation on its own. 6.  In other instances having a special meeting where the consultant acts as mediator in order to guide the groups' resolution of the issue might be appropriate.
 

 In some situations, the group consultant has to turn to other professionals to assist with or take charge of unique problems.  In the case of a band member being addicted to cocaine, assistance by an interventionist was required.  The artist was very resistant to seeking treatment on his own because of his well established system of denial and minimization.  The other group members worked very hard at establishing a consistent response to his behavior but this did not result in any change.  Consequently an interventionist was brought in to arrange a meeting with the abuser and as many of his significant others as possible.  This group was coached as to how to respond to
the abuser and then a face to face meeting was held.  As a result of this powerful face to face meeting the abuser agreed to enter inpatient treatment.
 

 There are situations within groups when interventions of any sort are not appropriate, most often because of little readiness or willingness for change.  A fast emerging band with much potential was having difficulty with the lead singer and primary song writer who was a binge drinker while on the road.  This had resulted in several last
minute cancellations of  performances because the singer was too hung over to perform.  A very negative grass roots fan and booking agent reaction was beginning to emerge.  After spending time talking with the label representative, a close personal advisor, the singer, and his spouse, it became clear that a consultation/education intervention
was not possible.  The singer and his spouse were heavily in denial and minimization and did not believe that any assistance from the consultant would be helpful.  Consequently the label representative was advised to back off on the advice and to proceed in future contacts with very behavioral based observations.   This approach
could well lead to a series of negative consequences which might influence the singer to seek assistance in the future.
 
 

 By being sensitive to the emotional climate of the group as well as aware of a changing environment the consultant can, when necessary, modify the basic intervention plan.  This requires  the utilization of a feedback loop which enables information to flow in all directions.  As information is received it can be evaluated and changes can be made.   For one band this involved making a switch from a business process oriented consultation to a more interpersonal support mode when one member went through a divorce.  Because the group was able to
back away from it's business direction and become very supportive, for a number of months, as the divorce became final the impacted member was able to sustain his performance abilities and stay with the band.
 
 
 

 EVALUATION OF THE CONSULTATION

 Formal evaluation of a consultation with a musical group can be very difficult.  Considering the size of many groups, it can be difficult to use psychometric tests.  It is possible, however, to have informal evaluations based on subjective discussions of how the group functioned prior to and after an intervention effort.  While requiring extra time and effort, an evaluation does offer the possibility of improving future efforts with a given group .  This evaluation effort can also serve to solidify the learnings/changes which have taken
place over the time of the consultation.

 FINANCIAL COSTS OF CONSULTATION

 Any consultation project requires a commitment of time and money.  And for many musical groups the costs of on-going consultation can be too high; this is especially true for emerging or "baby" bands.   Only two of the groups discussed in this paper were able to pay anything for the author's services. From a pragmatic point of view many consultations will most likely take place with well established musical groups.  For some groups this process can be classified as a developmental cost and included in  recording, publishing, or performance contracts.  Including these services in union negotiated contracts is also a possibility.

 Consulting professionals as well as musicians have to educate funding sources of the benefit of such projects.  Opera and symphony directors, management organizations, and recording companies--to name
just a few--could benefit for information as to the potential of this process.  Funding could also be obtained from arts oriented foundations.

 CONCLUSION

 Psychological consultation/education approaches have much to offer musical groups which are experiencing discord.  Artists are typically well versed in their art, but the creative functioning of a group often calls for additional skills.  It is quite clear that these essential skills can be incorporated into the life of a group.  As the quality of group interaction and production increases there is
typically an easing of individual stress.  As stress is reduced there is often improved psychological and physiological health. Consultation projects of this type also offer the music industry a way to intervene in the human or personal side of the art.  Currently much effort is expended in developing the artist musically and as a business entity, but little formal effort is put forth to develop the individual artist or group's social/emotional qualities.
 

 REFERENCES

1.  Raeburn, S. (1982) Occupational stress and coping in a sample of
professional rock musicians.  Medical Problems of Performing Artists.
2, 41-48.

2.  Brandfonbrener, A. (1995) Medical problems of nonclassical
musicians. Medical Problems of Performing Artists 10, 1-2.

3.  Martin, I. (1996) From Couch to Corporation: Becoming a successful
Corporate Therapist.  John Wiley: New York.

4.  Champy, J. (1994) Re-engineering Management. Harper Collins: New
York.

5.  Sue, D., Arrendondo, P., & McDavis, R. (1992). Multicultural
competencies/standards: a pressing need.  Journal of Counseling and
Development. 70, 477-486.

6.  Bennis, W. & Townsend, R. (1994) Reinventing Leadership:
Strategies to Empower the Organization. William Morrow: New York.

7.  Gallessich, J. (1982) The Profession and Practice of Consultation.
Josey-Bass: San Francisco.
 
 

John Hipple, Ph.D.
Counseling & Testing Center
University of North Texas
940-565-2741