concentration

Although the primary purpose of this blog is to provide you with topics for concentration during practice, I decided that a specific guide for focusing could be helpful.  I find that sometimes while practicing, my mind goes to a totally different place while I’m playing.  Whether it’s a grocery list, a to do list, thoughts about a previous experience, or thoughts about an upcoming performance, anything can cloud your mind.  Before addressing suggestions for dealing with this during practice, I first suggest that you begin every practice session with at least one minute of quiet time. In fact, I begin each lesson with my students by witting quietly with our eyes closed for about one minute. Set a timer if you like, then close your eyes and focus on breathing for just a minute.  This will go a long way in clearing your mind.

Now, if you’ve found your mind wandering in the midst of playing that Poulenc sonata, gently stop yourself and practice a focus exercise.  For instance, choose the opening phrase of the second movement of the Poulenc and challenge yourself to focus only on the music, your fingers, your breath, or (in a mirror) your embouchure.  Perhaps, you can focus on each of these aspects, or more, in turn.  After a few of these exercises, you’ll find that your ability to focus will greatly improve in the rest of your rehearsal.   If you want to up your game and aim for getting into a flow state, try to make yourself aware of your surrounding while simultaneously focusing on one aspect of your playing at a time.  You’ll feel like you’ve gone to another planet – a wonderful planet where all that matters is music. And, isn’t that what we all want out of our practice sessions?  Enjoy!