One of the silver linings of living in these strange times has been how many new resources are appearing online for musicians. Some of the world’s most prolific artists and teachers are creating content in their homes, and much of it is available for free. Added to that, many of us have had more time on our hands with which to consume that content. I tend to view these online resources from the angle of mindfulness, and I recently saw one video that seemed especially relevant to this subject.
Rex Richardson (world-class trumpeter and VCU Professor of trumpet) began his “100 days of practice” challenge sometime toward the beginning/middle (what is time anymore?) of the COVID-19 lockdown. Instead of simply sharing video of himself practicing, he usually includes sheet music for the exercise he is highlighting, along with some commentary. Day 35 was a clinic on various strategies for overcoming stage fright or performance anxiety.
In this video, one of Rex’s recommendations is to focus on the task at hand, not the consequences of how we perform that task. He makes the point that it is almost impossible to tell ourselves NOT to think about a certain thing (distractions, anxiety-producing factors). Instead, he recommends that we actively direct our attention toward the music itself. This occupies our conscious mind with ideas that are productive rather than destructive.
Rex notes that while most musicians know this already, putting ourselves in a healthy frame of mind during a high-pressure performance is easier said than done. The performance mentality has to become part of our practice routine in order for it to be accessible to us in performance. We can view this as just another part of our training: the mental along with the physical.
In the Practice Room
My method for practice, which comes from my teachers (and their teachers), is to simplify each task as much as possible in order to master it. As Toby Hanks explained it, the goal is often to break an excerpt down into its component layers (notes, rhythm, articulation, etc.), practice each layer separately, and then reconstruct the excerpt. Sometimes we even simplify to the point of practicing only one single note or interval. This idea is not new at all, but I have come to realize it is perfectly in keeping with the practice of mindfulness: focus on only one thing at a time.
Inspired by Rex’s thoughts on performance anxiety, I have recently been working to find a way to focus specifically on the mental side of performance during my practice sessions. The first task in constructing a positive performance mentality was to identify what my specific focus would be: where should I actively direct my attention? Many musicians believe that peak performance comes from focusing on the music, but what exactly does that mean? Here are some possible points of focus that could work:
-Focus on hearing an ideal musical performance and play along with that
-Focus on hearing your own voice singing and play along with that
-Focus on connecting each note to the next, forming larger phrases out of micro-phrases
-Focus on your breath and how it becomes music (for wind players)
-Focus on the combined physical and auditory sensation of creating each note and phrase
There are plenty of other ways to think about this, and each performer will have a highly individualized mental concept of the music they perform. I have found it to be worthwhile to try out different points of focus in order to observe the effect they have on my performance.
Of course, performance in the practice room is not the same as actual performance. The closest approximation is making an audio or video recording, since many of us experience similar nerves in both recording and performance situations. Recently I have been applying the “one thing at a time” idea to practicing my mentality while recording myself. I decide on a point of mental focus (an ideal tuba performance, my breath, etc.) and record myself while trying to maintain that focus.
I say “trying” to maintain that focus because I am never able to stay completely focused on whatever I choose. My mind will stray here and there to react to what I hear coming out of my instrument. Luckily, as I have often written on this blog, the practice of mindfulness is not the act of maintaining a focus or an empty mind indefinitely. It is simply the act of returning our focus to where it belongs when we waver. Perhaps the most important part of training for our performance mentality is our perspective on the process. Losing focus is not a failure. It is a human reaction. Instead, the act of returning to our point of focus is a victory. Each time we have one of those little victories, our performance improves because of it. We cannot ask more of ourselves than that.