String Quartet Uses Lean to Support Creativity

"Lean" has spread from the manufacturing floor into the accounting office, order fulfillment and occasionally even the strategy process. But a string quartet?!

According to Benjamin Wolff, Associate Professor of Music at Hofstra University and the member of a string quartet, lean principles help his ensemble and his students make the most of their rehearsal time, by improving the routine processes to free up more energy for the creative process. Professor Wolff gave an insightful presentation at this month's AME Regional Conference in San Diego.

Ben's presentation showed his quartet rehearse a specific piece for an upcoming recital. Without necessarily telling the group what he was doing, Ben began using lean principles to rethink the rehearsal process. For example, all four members of the quartet play string instruments that must be retuned at least once during the rehearsal. Ben has used lean thinking to reduce the amount of time it takes to tune the instruments, and to ensure that the tuning process produces a more consistent result each time.

The major takeaway from Ben's presentation was this: creativity thrives in an atmosphere of disciplined practice and routines. By using lean processes to standardize and improve the supporting processes (the microprocesses), the musicians have more time and energy to innovate where it counts: the musical interpretation.