Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?

Subject: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From:
Date: 13 Oct 01 - 10:50 AM

I'm doing quite a bit of work with groups and trying to get them to work together and thought that at the beginning of each session a team building, unifying song would be good, can be funny, moving, poignant. All help greatly appraciated. Thanks in advance elizabeth

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: 53
Date: 13 Oct 01 - 10:52 AM

gloom despair and agony on me, that was an old song off of hee haw. bob

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 13 Oct 01 - 12:08 PM

Song of the Volga Boatmen

Heave Ho Heave Ho

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Amos
Date: 13 Oct 01 - 02:31 PM

H-A-R with a V!

V-A-R with a D!!

Knit one!! Purl two!!

HAAAARVAHD!! Yoooohoooo!!

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: 53
Date: 13 Oct 01 - 03:43 PM

this land is your land. bob

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 14 Oct 01 - 06:30 AM

Poor Elizabeth, not much help yet! Where are you from? Are your team members musical, i.e., used to singing? Will you/someone be accompanying them? If not, some kind of simple chant will be less threatening than a complex melody. Lemme think about it and see what comes up.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 14 Oct 01 - 06:32 AM

I just typed "@friends" into the Digitrad lyrics search and got several hits.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: chizzer
Date: 14 Oct 01 - 07:28 AM

If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: GUEST,Peter from Essex
Date: 14 Oct 01 - 10:28 AM

Sounds more like the kiss of death to me.

Cameraderie comes from mutual respect and dependence not the other way around.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Willie-O
Date: 14 Oct 01 - 11:41 AM

Check with Chairman Mao.

Team Building. What a bunch of Taylorist-descended crap. I get enough of this fake camaraderie "incentive" BS at work.

Music is rather too personal for a corporate theme song to have any actual personal meaning. If you have a group of people that actually have a shared objective, they will come up with their own theme song, based on their values in common. If you just lay one on them, that just isn't real. And unless it's a music workshop, the song would come at the end, or at least the middle, when (if) there is some kind of group that has found mutual values.

Nothing personal Elizabeth, just sick of this corporate crap masquerading as culture. If you're actually working with worthwhile non-profit cause-oriented groups, consider the paragraph above as my sincere observation.

Willie-O

hater of teams

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Rollo
Date: 14 Oct 01 - 12:34 PM

Try the "Bob the Builder" theme..

"Can we fix it? - YEZZ WE CAN!"

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Genie
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 05:13 AM

Somos El Barco (by Lorre Wyatt)

If it's not in the DT or forum search, give a holler and I'll post the lyrics.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 05:56 AM

STEP BY STEP

Step by step the longest march can be won, can be won Many stones can form an arch, singly none, singly none And by union what we will can be accomplished still Drops of water turn a mill, singly none, singly none.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Ship'scat
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 07:10 AM

Team Building? The one and only purpose for ALL sea shantys - coordinating the efforts so management could hire smaller crews - and compete with steam on cost (but not reliability). It was sort of a John Henry thing for team sports like merchant sailing.

You might also look in to track lining hollers - same team aspect but without the competitive economics. Today tracks are aligned with computer-driven, laser-sighted, single-man gizmos.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Scabby Douglas
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 08:03 AM

I personally enjoy singing.. I play guitar (a bit) and go out to sessions at least twice a week.. But... if any workshop, team building exercise, training course or meeting commenced by requiring the participants to sing a song, I would not participate. You can't make adults sing. If you try, they'll be embarrassed (even the ones who feel they CAN sing), the ones who can't (or think they can't) will be resentful and surly.

I'd suggest finding a different ice-breaker ...

Cheers

Steven

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Trevor
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 08:54 AM

Hello Elizabeth.

I make my living from helping teams work together and would agree that this could be the kiss of death at the start of an event - it's one of the things that does nothing for the credibility of the facilitator/trainer unless the timing is spot on.

If the time and circumstances are right, however, a shanties were designed to get people to do things together - well in time with each other anyway, so there is the possibility of a metaphor in there as well.

The other thing that I've used occasionally - but again, only when it felt right - is to get a group to sing a song between them, i.e. a word each.

Something that may be less threatening than singing a song may be to get the group beating out a rhythm. They can clap their hands, bang the table or you can give them bits of percussion. Somebody starts and then when everybody has latched on to the beat any member can change the rhythm. I've also invoved a samba band in team sessions. Members of the band take sub-groups and instruct them in beating a rhythm out of various instruments and then everybody comes together for a mega-samba session.

Can't emphasise enough though, you have to be careful or you will not see the group for dust.

The other thing is, bearing in mind Willie-O's comments, one of the things you have to accept, along with other members of the team, is that in order for a team to work it is not necessary for everybody to be choochy with each other, and one of the things that we all have to learn to deal with is that we do not all see the 'team' concept from the same angle.

Cheers.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Pinetop Slim
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 08:13 PM

"Step by Step," cited above, can be found in the Unitarian Universalist hymnal and heard on a John McCutcheon recording. The lyrics are from the preamble to the United Mine Workers constitution.
"People Like You" by Si Kahn
"It's a Pleasure to Know You" -- by Carl Williams, it's on one of Sally Rogers' recordings

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 08:22 PM

I've worked with groups of teenagers in leadership workshops, etc. I second the information above about BE CAREFUL. If the group is intelligent and motivated, you can have them write their own song. It's amazing what they can do with a little brainstorming and time constraints. A good tune would be any of the college "fight songs." (Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame...)

I've seen dozens of these ice breaker type skits. I always hated them...but was pretty good at them.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 Oct 01 - 08:56 PM

You sing the song when the team has come together, at the end of the meeting. All kinds of songs then might work to send them off invigorated. The Red Flag. The Internationale. Jerusalem. Edelweiss. Faith of Our Fathers. The Sash. The Marseillaise...

For starting a meeting the best team building song I know is "Why are we Waiting?" (to the tune of Come all ye Faithful). That builds team spirit splendidly among the people who've been drafted into going along, though it leaves the people running the meeting somewhat out on a limb.

Of course if you wanted a song which would help get across the message that by doing different things together people can come up with an effect that is a lot better and more interesting than they might think possible, getting them to sing a round might be quite effective. London's Burning, Frere Jacques, anything.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: GUEST,Corporate Rock Stars
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 08:14 PM

check out Corporate Rock Stars from GrooveLabs.net they have been producing corporate team building programs for over 7 years using classic rock songs.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 10:06 PM

The Pikes Street Public Market folks in Seattle have a team building workshop that they run but I don't know if they have appropriate songs to reinforce what they do.

They Should!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Rapparee
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 11:00 PM

Barrett's Privateers. Especially when everyone joins in the chorus.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: michaelr
Date: 24 Mar 10 - 11:32 PM

All gods critters got a place in the choir...

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 25 Mar 10 - 06:25 AM

Stone by Stone recorded by Mike Nicholson.

Valmai (Lewes)

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 25 Mar 10 - 04:15 PM

One man went to mow......

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: GUEST,Pete
Date: 26 Mar 10 - 06:08 AM

If they're not a team already there is a danger that trying to sing a song at the beginning of the event could be such a dismal embarrasmentthat you'll have your work cut out trying to move on. How about something to celebrate at the end.Ships cat mentions shanties. Good idea. the team doesn't need too much musical ability and the choruses tend to be shortish. you do need a good leader (shantyperson?) though.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 26 Mar 10 - 07:11 AM

We are the champions? (Queen)

DeG

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 26 Mar 10 - 11:32 PM

They MUST understand their ORIGINS (and Insertions)

Why were the born so beautiful?
Why were they born at all?
They are no F*&king use to anyone!
They are not F*&king use at all
They bring a joy to their mother
But they are no F*&king use to me!!!

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

If you want to be the master of servants - you must first be the servant of all.

Subject: RE: Help: What's a good TEAM BUILDING song?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Mar 10 - 03:24 AM

Garg, where have you BEEN?? We've missed you.......er, I've missed you...

-Joe-