“Lateral thinking turn up an idea” Edward de Buno
One of the main contributions in management thinking in recent years, related to the idea that our thought processes must sometimes force themselves to move sideways rather than in a strict linear motion, up and down. Edward de Bono, the author of this concept has ably demonstrated that from these lateral leaps come the great sparks of originality that make for successful business.
According to de Bono, there are five aspects to lateral thinking: escaping from cliche and fixed patterns of response; constant challenging of assumptions; habitually coming up with alternatives; seizing of new ideas without thought for the consequences; finding new angles from which to think about old subjects.
Music and Mind: The Nexus
Psychologists, neurologists and musicologists are unanimous in endorsing that there exists a very close nexus between music and mind. Researches done in modern laboratories have indicated that music is capable of affecting the brain functions variously. It is, therefore, easier to conclude that the pattern in music could affect the thinking pattern of an individual who is a listener.
As this conclusion is scientific, music offers great scope to the managers – by broadening their mindscape to make them carry out lateral thinking in all their affairs.
How does music promise lateral thinking?
For any keen listener or connoisseur, music incorporates lateral thinking in abundance as it moves. In the western classical system of music, we have an elaborate system of chords and harmony. As a note sounds, we are also made to hear the corresponding note of different but friendly frequency!
Take the example of fugues, mastered by the veterans of the western classical world led by Bach. His ‘Little fugue in G Minor’ is a typical example of how lateral thinking could progress as change takes place from one step to another.
As one ‘animal’ in music moves there, another ‘animal’ shows its heads and starts moving and the third ‘animal’ too enters the scene walking in the same direction at various distances – giving you a simultaneous experience of ‘visualising’ all the three ‘animals’ at the same time!
In the Indian classical system of music, there is a lateral thinking concept working smoothly.
In the Carnatic system of music, we have too many lateral oscillations of swaras which provide the experience enriched with graces or gamakas.
Oscillating swaras laterally by shaking their frequencies within a tala constraint, is real mental acrobatics involving lateral thinking. Even if we take up the structure of compositions in the songs (like pallavi, anupallavi and charanam), each such part provides avenues for laterally thinking about the raga structure. In raga-malikas, we have different ragas coming to play together as the composition progresses. Quickness with which an artist shifts his raga experience and moods shows how lateral thinking is working effectively in this musical system.
Alaps in the Hindustani traditions are also not lacking lateral thinking. Rather by expanding the raga experience which is like an ocean, the artiste hops from one aspect of raga to the other, almost laterally sometimes even jumping from one octave to another.
There are just a few examples of the two great traditions. We also find such lateral thinking in cross-rhythms celebrated in African music. The tala experienced in percussion instruments like mridangam, ghatam, tabla, pakhawaj, congo, bongo etc. show the lateral ways with which sounds could be created by the player.
By listening to such sounds, there is no doubt that the listeners exercise their inherent capacity for lateral thinking in such a way that their brain adapts to lateral thinking like fish adapts to water.
Music should be one of the essential subjects in B-school syllabus and listening to music should form a part and parcel of a manager’s life!
The article was published in Bhavan’s Journal October 31, 2006 – Pages 100 to 102
Edited by Geeta Shreedar, May 12, 2021