The power of groups in learning and rehabilitation
Waiting until we feel ready to show up is not an option. Trying to grow or heal completely on our own often leads to isolation. It can leave us in a vacuum where curiosity shuts down.
A participant in one of my groups once said:
“During the group sessions I was surprised to realize that my abilities only really became palpable to myself when they were perceived through the music by colleagues who embraced it with just their presence – my insecurities and all. I was surprised that this feeling of ‘being able to make music’ came back from my audience to me like a boomerang.”
In other words: we become who we are when we are perceived.
Our skills, emotions and voices take shape in the resonance they awaken in others.
Learning new works, adapting techniques to new works, are processes that occur only in our body or in our brain.
After almost three years of offering group experiences online, I took a long break and focused primarily on individual sessions.
During those months I was reminded again and again: the nervous system is a social system .
Yes, individual work is important! And groups are vital.
We learn and recover better as a team.
Stigma in music
“The conventional approach to cognition has convinced us that the only path to smarter thinking is to cultivate our own brains.”- Annie Murphy Paul, The Extended Mind
The stigma hangs in the air whenever we talk about artists going through a crisis:
What if I fail? What if my sound is not good enough? What if others notice? What if I lose my job because of this injury?
Studies show that a high percentage of singers experiencing vocal problems do not seek medical help, often out of embarrassment or guilt.
These thoughts are real and powerful. I understand them deeply.
But stigma and withdrawal not only prevent us from asking for help; they also make it difficult for us to share our strengths, skills and talents when we are facing a difficulty.
And here appears the paradox: the exchange is usually more enriching precisely when we are not well.
Moreover, the study alone becomes tedious.
When we share from a place of vulnerability, something opens up. Ideas, inspiration and new associations arise in the brain.
When I put my story into words and someone I trust listens, something moves inside me. The burden lightens.
Guilt, on the other hand, makes us hide. We hold back, do not share or censor parts of the truth. That is when the nervous system protects and provokes tensions, growth stops.
You don’t have to tell everything or everyone.
Each person chooses what to share and who will witness their process.
The role of being a witness
In group sessions, many ears, eyes, brains and personal stories accompany and witness the experience.
And while each story is unique, others often recognize something familiar about it.
That reflection matters.
Our experiences settle and integrate more fully when they pass through other minds.
Witnessing is not passive: it transforms us.
And that sense of shared space allows the learning and healing process to continue more smoothly.
The extended mind in action
Science journalist Annie Murphy Paul, in The Extended Mind, challenges the traditional view that cognition is confined to the brain.
It shows how thinking and learning extend beyond the skull: to the tools we use, the environments in which we move, and the people with whom we interact.
Learning is not only what happens inside our head.
It develops through how we interact with the environment: with instruments, with technology and, above all, with others.
The study of distributed cognition (Edwin Hutchins, 1990) demonstrates the effects of thinking with others and how groups can generate results that exceed individual contributions.
This phenomenon is known as collective intelligence.
Music demonstrates this in a beautiful way.
Imagine trying to master singing or piano just by reading a book on instrumental or vocal technique. Impossible.
Voice and music are relational.
They require listening, resonance, feedback and presence: things that live between people, not just within them.
Where good ideas come from
Author Steven Johnson makes a similar point in his book Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation.
He shows that history’s most significant innovations did not emerge in isolation.
They appeared when humans stopped living as nomads and began to settle in communities.
Why does the connection change everything?
Because the density of contact matters.
Because diversity allows for a richer exchange.
When people stopped being nomadic and began to interact with different groups, their ideas collided, mixed and ignited new possibilities. The wheel, bread, cement, money or the alphabet appeared in contact, not in isolation.
Creativity and innovation, says Johnson, are network phenomena.
The same goes for learning and rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation in musicians is a process where we develop ideas to do what we like so much in a way that perhaps our body had not perceived until now.
Like innovation, personal transformation flourishes in spaces of connection.
Why this matters in music
For musicians and musics, this is not just an inspirational idea: it is essential.
Even when we practice alone, our voice or instrument is shaped by imagined listeners, by the music we absorb from others, by the energy of the stage.
Our nervous system learns and heals best in connection.
Rhythm, resonance and expression are strengthened when we are seen, heard and supported by the environment.
That’s why master classes, choirs or ensembles can be such powerful spaces.
It’s not just about technique: it’s about regulating the nervous system in community.
We teachers also benefit from regular exchanges with colleagues and other disciplines that nurture our pedagogical practice. This constant exchange is a continuous source of learning, a way of integrating knowledge and a path towards approaches that are more sensitive to the individual.
An idea
Create a peer group where each participant has ten minutes to practice something in front of the others. Let the group witness different learning processes. No advice. Only group reflections at the end.
If you are a singing or instrument teacher, create a space for your class to do the same, and another one for you and your colleagues, where you can share and exchange about your pedagogical practice.
And tell me how you are doing.
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