We often forget just how much of the quality of a performance is based on our ability to maintain focus. Music is a mental game. Just like a chess champion trains to out maneuver their opponent, we must train to out maneuver our minds. The mind is a fickle thing. If we are constantly concerned about our "shoulder angels" telling us what to do or think, we can easily be distracted from maintaining our focus on what we are physically doing here and now. I've always found Yoda from the Star Wars franchise to be a particularly apt music teacher. Before agreeing to train Luke in "The Empire Strikes Back," he comments on how "All his life has he looked away...to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing." This is a perfect example of how our minds are prone to wandering. We worry incessantly about superfluous things instead of focusing on what we are playing this moment. Our shoulder angels are constantly whispering to us as we perform: Damn! I missed that again!, I always have trouble with that passage, Don't screw up!, and so on. This stream of discouragements force us to avert our concentration away from what we are actually doing in each moment of a performance.
I am the last person to advise any kind of micro management of muscles as we play because it will only lead to getting so tangled up in ourselves that we cannot move. Analysis paralysis can be fatal to any performance when too much thinking occurs. The kind of focus that I am referring to pertains to concentrating on only one thing at a time, such as: allowing your body to stay relaxed, concentrating solely on what your air is doing, ensuring that your fingers are moving at the appropriate speed, etc. The busy society in which we live has convinced us that we must multi-task in order to be considered successful. Smart phones, tablets, and other electronic devices are supposedly designed to streamline our lives so we have more time for other pursuits. Unfortunately, they also have taught us to depend on a constant stimulus. It seems to be increasingly more difficult for people to be comfortable with concentrating on only one thing at a time. Instead we listen to music, while using an e-reader, while talking on the phone, all while we drive from one life event to another. We are determined to find success by our ability to check things off of our to-do lists, regardless of the quality of the work we perform. Focusing on one thing at a time, and being comfortable with focusing on only one thing, is a skill that requires us to work our mental muscles in the same way we work our embouchures, arms, fingers, and voices when we perform. Focus must be practiced daily in order to stay in shape.
Tips for finding your ability to focus
1. Turn off the TV/Phone/Computer/Tablet/E-reader.
Yes. All of those little (or not so little) devices have an on/off switch. Use it. Many of us fall into the comfortable trap of watching TV while we practice. Warm up routines are almost perfectly built for distraction, especially if it is a routine that one has used for years. We get to a point where we go through the motions simply because that's the way we've always done things. It's so easy to turn on the baseball game, the DVR, or Netflix to help pass the time while we go through those motions. Then we finish our warm up and we're in the middle of a movie or TV show. Rather than turn off the TV we decide to leave it running while we "practice" our solos, etudes, or excerpts. Instantly, our attention is divided. How are you supposed to actually pay attention to your breathing when you're more concerned with how the Cardinals/Pirates game is going (go Cards!)? The answer is, you can't. Our minds are not designed to be able to concentrate fully on two different activities at once. The moment you try to multi-task, your attention is divided in half for each activity. Not only did you just play through a piece without actually fixing anything, but you still have no idea what is going on in the game anyway. Turn off the electronics and give your practicing a fighting chance.
2. Set immediate and attainable goals.
There was a spectacular article written for The Bulletproof Musician last month here: http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/two-things-experts-do-differently-than-non-experts-when-practicing/
The article discusses two things that experts do differently than non-experts while practicing. The author cited a study done by two researchers at the City University of New York that compared basketball players, specifically the best free throw shooters to the worst. The study found that the top free throw shooters set specific goals for everything they practiced, such as keeping their elbows tucked in while shooting, instead of their weaker counterparts who set much broader goals along the lines of simply making the shot. We can and should do the same thing in our own practice. Rather than telling yourself, "Don't mess up," decide how you are actually going to not "mess up." Set the goal of cleaning the movement of your valves. Work on the the coordination between your tongue and your air so they work together. Play with a drone pitch to concentrate on improving your intonation. There are countless goals that you can set to improve your ability to perform any piece of music. Choose one at a time and clean, clean, clean. If you continually miss something, determine the specific reason why you miss. If your answer is just that you suck, you'll always be stuck playing the same thing the exact same way, always missing. Break things down and use the process of elimination. Was my tongue getting in the way? Were my fingers coordinated? Did I choke off my air supply? How was my air speed? Find the specific source of the problem and set about fixing it.
3. Leave yourself reminders.
The sticky note. My favorite practice tool. Sometimes I'm convinced that I single-handedly keep the Post-It company in business. Pick your favorite color of sticky note and be prepared to use them. You may laugh at yourself when you open a book to find your lime green sticky note reminding you to breathe, but I can guarantee that you will definitely be focused on your breathing when you work on that etude. Sometimes we just need that external prodding to do something, even if we have to do it ourselves.
4. Get physical.
Start running. Do yoga. Take up Tai Chi. Sign up for a Zumba class. Physical activity is a fantastic way to teach yourself to focus on one thing at a time. I do actually recommend against the gym setting for achieving this. Most of your gyms have televisions all over the place and are designed to entertain the gym users who are easily bored by working out. Running outside or taking a group class gets you away from the TVs and does not give you a choice but to focus on what you are doing at that moment. Leave the phone at home and find an activity that clears your mind and doesn't allow for the multi-tasking that leads to distraction.
These are only a few suggestions of things you can use to rediscover your ability to focus, or help you find it in the first place. Don't be afraid to try new exercises, techniques, or activities to find what works for you. While I am a runner who loves to do yoga every morning, I know plenty of people who cannot stand doing either activity because they get frustrated and angry instead of clearing their minds. The biggest thing to remember is that we perform how we practice, so we must practice how we wish to perform. If you allow yourself to be distracted while you practice on your own, you will never be able to achieve the level of focus required to attain perfection in a performance.
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