Mindful Musical Life

Focus

Theory and Practice

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Man Meditating

I spent this past weekend in Austin and San Antonio performing with the Austin Baroque Orchestra. I also had the great pleasure of presenting mindfulness to an excited room full of brass students at Texas State University. This combination gave me a great chance to work on my teaching approach, and also put my personal mindfulness practice into action with a couple performing opportunities. 

Like many other musicians, I originally got interested in mindfulness for the possibility of decreasing the impact of anxiety on my musical performance. While I firmly believe that the benefits of mindfulness impact the whole person, there is no doubt that this training does help with musical performance anxiety. With my performances this weekend, I felt the usually increase of anxiousness leading up to each concert, but I was able to sustain my focus in the moment thanks to my mindfulness work. This benefit is great, but the way that I teach mindfulness is not focused directly on the musical benefits. Instead, it is important to approach mindfulness as a holistic training for the whole person, not just the musician. 

This is what I emphasize when I share mindfulness instruction with anyone. In order to apply the benefits of mindfulness to music, and to reap the benefits in performance, you have to develop mindfulness away from music. The benefits from mindful practices will reveal themselves in many places in your life, but after a while you will notices there are specific practices that will  have a direct impact on the musical parts of your life. 

I have found in my own practice that meditation exercises emphasizing the development of focus are very beneficial to musical performance. One of my favorite mindfulness teachers on focus is Sharon Salzberg. I find her guidance in breath awareness is easy to follow and her pacing in exercise is excellent. Here is a link to a 20-minute guided breath awareness meditation. Try it out! 

What I learned after 50 days of mindfulness practice

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On April 14th, I had about three weeks of university teaching left ahead of me for the spring term. That included giving and grading finals and final projects, listening to juries, and many other loose ends to tie up. That day I sat for a 20 minute mindful awareness meditation, quickly remembering how helpful that time can be in a busy schedule. Then I did it again the next day. After 20 days in a row, I made the decision to continue this pattern. Some days I did a 30-minute resting awareness exercise, and others were only 5 or 10 minutes of breath awareness, but committing to do something everyday made a huge difference. 

A cursory google search can turn up plenty of research on habit formation, and the importance of sticking with it for a sustained period of time. Most of the findings seem to indicate that a major key to establishing a successful and lasting habit is setting reasonable goals and holding yourself to them for a pre-determined length of time. 

I’d like to add that some flexibility is also crucial to success, along with some self-compassion. Through my 50-day streak, there were days when I was not motivated to meditate, but the knowledge that 5 minutes was still a success was very helpful. If I had held myself to 30 minutes a day, I don’t think I would’ve been as successful. 

After 50 straight days of meditation, I noticed serval things. I was quicker to notice my wandering mind, and it was easier to redirect my awareness to the present moment. This increased level of meta awareness was most noticeable while I was enjoying a walk, bike ride, or some time in my kayak. These activities can present many opportunities for the mind to drift into rumination, when I would much rather be enjoying the present moment. 

Also, I was quicker to notice when my mind would wander while practicing my horn. The thoughts that arose in this situation where usually unhelpful (often negative), and they regularly accompanied a moment of lesser quality in my playing. By noticing these drifting thoughts more quickly, the resulting quality of my practice sessions stayed much higher. 

While formal mindfulness practice every day is not a requirement to gain some of these benefits, my commitment to a daily practice was extremely beneficial. If you are inspired to give this a shot yourself, I strongly encourage you to do so, just remember to show yourself compassion and allow for some flexibility from one day to the next. Make your goal a reasonable one, taking into account your schedule and the amount of time you can commit, and I’m sure you can do it. 

Can Mindfulness Improve Your Focus?

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After spending a few years practicing mindfulness I noticed a dramatic change in the quality of my performance. Overall I was making less mistakes on my instrument, which led to a more relaxed feeling on stage. Looking more deeply at this phenomenon, I realized that a majority of the mistakes I typically made were a result of a focus. I knew there were collations between focus and mindfulness, but in what specific way?

In a study by Antion Lutz et al. (2009), a team of researchers looked into the effect of mindful meditation on focus. The two practitioner groups were assigned varying levels of a daily attention meditation practice, such as breath awareness, and participated in a barrage of tests to measure focus before and after the study. After three months, both meditation groups saw a marked increase in their ability to sustain focus through the tests. Additionally, the amount of energy it took these participants to sustain their focus was reduced, indicating they had an easier time with high-focus tasks. 

This last result should especially grab the attention of performers. A long piece in a recital, or lengthy orchestra concert can leave us feeling drained. Besides the physical exertion of performance, there is a heavy mental taxation. As I mentioned earlier, I think most of my mistakes in performance come from focus—either it wasn’t aimed in the proper direction, or there wasn’t enough left in the tank. I can deal with a bit of physical exhaustion toward the end of a performance, but if my mental strength wanes, I notice a more substantial drop in quality.  

Next time you are practicing your instrument (or while performing if you are really brave), notice when your focus veers away from the task at hand. You might notice yourself thinking of what groceries you need to get, or an awkward conversation you had recently. Make a note of this. You might be surprised how often you could be more engaged in the moment of music making. 

Lutz, A., Slagter, N. B., Francis, A. D., Greischar, L. L., Davidson, R. J. (2009). Mental Training enhances attentional stability: Neural and behavioral evidence. J Neurosci, 29(42), 13418-13427. doi: 10.1523/jneurosci.1614-09.2009