For years, I have lugged around a cd player. It was very cool at the beginning, because I could put three different cds into it and change the cd and volume with the click of a handheld remote. It endured very cold weather in the trunk of my car and the indignity of being dropped several feet onto concrete on more than one occasion. It was scuffed and battered, and the remote was long gone, but I loved it. Without music, the training room feels empty, the air too heavy.
Since my training modules are generally 50 minutes long (and so are many cds!), I had a perfect set up. If the training was all day, my first cd would be very upbeat, possibly The Chenille Sisters, to greet the participants with joyful melodies as they entered the training room and waited for the training to begin.
My second cd would be the Lind Institute’s Classical Melodies, to relax everyone and create a pleasant and comfortable feel to the room. I would play it very very quietly, so the music was subliminal. Few if any participants would know it was playing, but it would have the desired effect.
The third cd holder would have a different upbeat cd, perhaps Jazzy Tunes for Trainers or Everybody Dance! from The Trainer’s Warehouse, to carry us through a ten minute break. During this time, I would need to remember to change the first two cds- the first to the Lind Institute’s Classical Harmonies for subliminal music that was uplifting and the second to a different upbeat cd for the next break. Since I wanted to be an equal opportunity music player, I would try to select music from different upbeat genres for each break.
All of this entailed carrying lots and lots of cds with me (particularly for multi-day programs!), plus the boom box. But, I had a system and it worked for me.
When I started to do national and international training, the boom box was no longer an option. Sometimes clients were able to accommodate my need for a cd player, but it was usually set up for only one-cd at a time, which added significant complexity to my planning. This was especially true if participants wanted to chat with me over the break, when I would typically be setting up the cds.
Then I discovered the Apple iPod!! This tiny 2.5″ x 4″ musical wizard has made my life SO much easier! With the help of iTunes, I was able to upload all of my considerable cds into my laptop. Then, all I had to do was simply plug my iPod into my laptop- and it magically took care of transferring all of the music into my iPod. All that remained was to find something slim and easily portable to amplify the iPod’s sound- and Altec Lansing’s inMotion completely fit the bill! It neatly folds into a 5.4″ x 8″ package that fits nicely into my laptop carrying case! And wow, you should hear the quality and volume of sound it can generate! It can operate on batteries or plugged in, and when it is plugged in, it continually recharges the iPod! How cool is that??? I’ve even been able to let participants recharge their iPods for their trips home!
Now, I keep everything I need: laptop, iPod and inMotion, in my laptop carrying case- and I’m good to go!
