We must be careful in our study to be interested in what helps us and not what hurts us. Often, when we practice we become focused on what is negative in our playing. There's nothing wrong with noticing what needs improvement, but we want to make sure that we are interested in what makes us better - and not focus on the problem. By this, I don't mean to just ignore mistakes, but to make sure we are continually focusing on what we want.
For example, let's say we have two students practicing a fast scale at 120bpm and both of them are having problems with part of it. Student #1 may think "I can't play this scale this fast - this is hard!" while Student #2 may think "I made a mistake, but that's ok - I want to play this scale fluidly"
In both mental attitudes, the students may slow down and work on the scale, but with Student #1, the interest is now on the difficulty, while Student #2's interest is on playing the scale fast and fluid.
This might seem trivial to some, but understand the fact that "The only thing that can grow is the thing you give energy to" (Emerson). Both students may physically work on the scale in the same way, but because one is looking at the difficulty while the other looks for the solution, the results will be different. Student #1 may keep thinking about how hard it is and tense up every time the scale is played, thereby making it harder to play and reinforcing his belief that "this is hard!". Student #2's search for fluidity gets him to eventually relax and enjoy the feeling of speed. As he keeps relaxing, he builds the belief that "this is easy".
I know this example is black and white. Often, we have a mix of emotions while we practice. For example, there are probably days where Student #2 feels that the scale is too difficult and doubts his abilities. But if he can keep the majority of his thoughts on what he wants, and continually imagines what he wants, and keeps interested in only what he wants, with time, what he wants will start to appear.
Showing posts with label focus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label focus. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Clever Salesman
This is a interesting topic, as my mind can trick me into focusing on what I don't want. Today, I realized that I fell into the same trap yet again. I had to laugh out loud when I saw it.
We want to focus on what we want. What do we want? To play faster, louder, more fluidly, more confidently, with more joy. What do we focus on? - not making mistakes, not getting tense, not cracking notes by playing too loudly. You cannot get what you want by focusing on what you don't want. It may seem to be a subtle difference in language, but in terms of results, the difference is tremendous.
Children don't seem to have these issues as much as adults. Many people think children pick up music quickly because of certain physical attributes, but I believe it's because most children have less critical minds. They make mistakes and it doesn't distract them from feeling good when they play. They don't take the mistakes personally, so they are not fearful of making mistakes while they go for what they want. This is incredibly important to understand.
We adults tend to think that we can have joy in playing only when we are playing well. This is the critical mind at work. The paradox is this - to play well we must feel well inside. If you want to play open and freely, you must feel that way inside. As my teacher has told me many times - go after what you want and feel well no matter what befalls you. How simple, and yet how easy it is to forget this.
The critical mind is a clever salesman, but for today, I will not buy.
We want to focus on what we want. What do we want? To play faster, louder, more fluidly, more confidently, with more joy. What do we focus on? - not making mistakes, not getting tense, not cracking notes by playing too loudly. You cannot get what you want by focusing on what you don't want. It may seem to be a subtle difference in language, but in terms of results, the difference is tremendous.
Children don't seem to have these issues as much as adults. Many people think children pick up music quickly because of certain physical attributes, but I believe it's because most children have less critical minds. They make mistakes and it doesn't distract them from feeling good when they play. They don't take the mistakes personally, so they are not fearful of making mistakes while they go for what they want. This is incredibly important to understand.
We adults tend to think that we can have joy in playing only when we are playing well. This is the critical mind at work. The paradox is this - to play well we must feel well inside. If you want to play open and freely, you must feel that way inside. As my teacher has told me many times - go after what you want and feel well no matter what befalls you. How simple, and yet how easy it is to forget this.
The critical mind is a clever salesman, but for today, I will not buy.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Furthur use of the Will
“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for power equal to your tasks.” - Phillip Brooks
If we want things to change, we must study the use of the will. If you have excellent will power, you can accomplish whatever you want.
Practicing the will can be done every day. Notice when you want or need to do something, but you find excuses not to do it. This is where the will can be practiced.
Practice it on little things at first - washing the dishes now instead of waiting for them to pile up, cleaning your apartment even though you don't feel like it, writing an email to someone even though it's going to take time and effort, going to the gym even though it's freezing out (like this morning in NYC) or - writing practice goals on an index card and then doing them one by one. All of this strengthens the will. Make it into a game - play with this idea.
With time, your will will become very strong. You'll begin to face challenges straight away and take action even though you may not feel comfortable with them. We are using the will to get out of the comfort zone. This is how we grow and learn.
In the following days I will write about efficient action.
If we want things to change, we must study the use of the will. If you have excellent will power, you can accomplish whatever you want.
Practicing the will can be done every day. Notice when you want or need to do something, but you find excuses not to do it. This is where the will can be practiced.
Practice it on little things at first - washing the dishes now instead of waiting for them to pile up, cleaning your apartment even though you don't feel like it, writing an email to someone even though it's going to take time and effort, going to the gym even though it's freezing out (like this morning in NYC) or - writing practice goals on an index card and then doing them one by one. All of this strengthens the will. Make it into a game - play with this idea.
With time, your will will become very strong. You'll begin to face challenges straight away and take action even though you may not feel comfortable with them. We are using the will to get out of the comfort zone. This is how we grow and learn.
In the following days I will write about efficient action.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Discipline
"Discipline is being able to give yourself a command and then follow it" - Bob Proctor
It's very easy to play the guitar, but practicing is something else. We want to know exactly what we are reaching for in our practice sessions.
Since learning this new program for Portugal, I write down exactly what I'm going to work on during the day. I put the session's work on an index card which is placed in clear view on my music stand. Since I'm practicing 3-4 hours per day, the list usually consists of 5-6 ideas I want to accomplish that day.
I used to write goals for the day in a note book, but invariably, the goals wouldn't be within clear view at all times, and I would easily forget what I wanted to accomplish. With the index card right in front of my eyes at all times, this does not happen.
Every task is clearly written so that I don't fall into the trap of simply "playing" all day. There's a time to play through the repertoire, but while I'm learning music, practice is the top priority.
For example
Sunday, Jan 11, 2009
1. Right Hand arpeggios - working on speed, volume and fluidity (30 - 45 minutes)
a. Tremolo technique and Pami arpeggios
b. Villa Lobos Etude 1 arpeggio
2. Left hand Technique -
a. Chromatic Scale in slurs
b. Scale bursts working on 431 patterns
3. Right hand fingering for Conde Claros. Write in fingering for all difficult sections and drill.
4. Decide left hand fingering for B section of Movement 3 / Sonata Romantica - write in fingering
5. Work on phrasing for Kreneck Suite Movements 2 and 3. Write in ideas.
6. Memorize opening of Sor Fantasia Opus 7. Circle areas which are not clear in memory and drill them.
If I don't get something done that day, it goes onto the next days list. Notice how much writing is done in the session. The reason I write everything down is because I want to record the idea and anchor the idea clearly in my mind. It has been proven that writing ideas down become fixed in the memory far more easily than not writing them down.
This practice list is a lot for most people, but I'm used to this kind of work load. Make sure that you choose goals which you feel you can accomplish in that day - no matter how small. You might decide to solve the fingering for 1 measure - that's fine. If you accomplish that, you've succeeded. If you don't get everything done - just put it on the next days list. Eventually you will get a feel for the amount of work you can do in one day.
It's vitally important that you walk away from the guitar feeling like you've gotten some work done no matter how small it is. Every feeling of success in your practice leads to larger successes. It cannot be any other way.
It's very easy to play the guitar, but practicing is something else. We want to know exactly what we are reaching for in our practice sessions.
Since learning this new program for Portugal, I write down exactly what I'm going to work on during the day. I put the session's work on an index card which is placed in clear view on my music stand. Since I'm practicing 3-4 hours per day, the list usually consists of 5-6 ideas I want to accomplish that day.
I used to write goals for the day in a note book, but invariably, the goals wouldn't be within clear view at all times, and I would easily forget what I wanted to accomplish. With the index card right in front of my eyes at all times, this does not happen.
Every task is clearly written so that I don't fall into the trap of simply "playing" all day. There's a time to play through the repertoire, but while I'm learning music, practice is the top priority.
For example
Sunday, Jan 11, 2009
1. Right Hand arpeggios - working on speed, volume and fluidity (30 - 45 minutes)
a. Tremolo technique and Pami arpeggios
b. Villa Lobos Etude 1 arpeggio
2. Left hand Technique -
a. Chromatic Scale in slurs
b. Scale bursts working on 431 patterns
3. Right hand fingering for Conde Claros. Write in fingering for all difficult sections and drill.
4. Decide left hand fingering for B section of Movement 3 / Sonata Romantica - write in fingering
5. Work on phrasing for Kreneck Suite Movements 2 and 3. Write in ideas.
6. Memorize opening of Sor Fantasia Opus 7. Circle areas which are not clear in memory and drill them.
If I don't get something done that day, it goes onto the next days list. Notice how much writing is done in the session. The reason I write everything down is because I want to record the idea and anchor the idea clearly in my mind. It has been proven that writing ideas down become fixed in the memory far more easily than not writing them down.
This practice list is a lot for most people, but I'm used to this kind of work load. Make sure that you choose goals which you feel you can accomplish in that day - no matter how small. You might decide to solve the fingering for 1 measure - that's fine. If you accomplish that, you've succeeded. If you don't get everything done - just put it on the next days list. Eventually you will get a feel for the amount of work you can do in one day.
It's vitally important that you walk away from the guitar feeling like you've gotten some work done no matter how small it is. Every feeling of success in your practice leads to larger successes. It cannot be any other way.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Wanting vs Having
Over the last 2 years I've emphasised how important it is to visualize. The inner vision must be clear if we want to alter any present unsatisfactory results. In the mental sciences, it's often said that one must "have something before one can get something" - in other words, you must have it in the mental/spiritual world before it will manifest for you in the physical world.
Most of us fall into the trap of mentally "wanting" something as opposed to "having" it. If you think of your playing (or life) in terms of "wanting" to get better but don't ever see yourself playing or living in that way, then you are communicating to your subconscious mind that you don't "have" it - and that means, you probably won't get it on the physical plane.
If however, you visualize yourself playing the way you want to play regardless of the present circumstances, see it in the present tense, feel the sensations of playing well now, then you begin to "have" the idea. The subconscious mind will start to act on that image and help you create it on the physical plane.
Remember that our relationship with the guitar has been entrenched into the subconscious mind over many years. Changing the programming of the subconscious takes time and discipline - it's a muscle which must be exercised as any other.
For the next 90 days, when you wake up (before you read the news or talk to anyone), take 15 minutes to visualize how you really want to play. Make the image as detailed as possible - feel the strings with both hands, notice the lighting in the imagined room, listen to the sound, see the audience enjoying your playing, feel the fluidity of the hands and body, notice how good everything feels and how free it is.
Keep thinking about how well you are playing in this imagined scene. You can use affirmations as well such as - "My technique is fluid and effortless", "I'm playing with ease and beauty", etc. It might feel like a lie at first, but keep doing it regardless. You just need to get comfortable with this new idea.
Make sure you feel as if it is happening NOW - not in the future, but right NOW. I can't emphasise this enough. You have to feel and see the image NOW for the subconscious to "have" it. Do this same visualizing at night before bed. Remember to make the image as detailed as possible and feel how easy and beautiful your playing is in the NOW.
Also, use the amazing resource of youtube to watch great performers everyday. You don't have to watch many - even one or two favorite performances will do. Notice how the performer plays and imagine what that would feel like - again, in the NOW. Don't let your mind tell you "I can't do that" - just observe and imagine what it would feel like to play that way with your hands. During the day, let these thoughts simmer inside you. You don't have to force the thoughts - just let them come when they come and enjoy them while they last.
Lastly, have faith and expect what you imagine to begin to come. Look for results, but with patience. Ideas are mental seeds, and all seeds have a gestation period. The seed grows roots (the unseen part) before it grows into the tree (the seen part).
Do this mental work for 90 days - let's say until Jan 1, 2009. I guarantee you will start to see results if you are faithful. You will gain new insights, and notice techniques you've struggled with will suddenly start to come. This is the power of the subconscious mind. We really do create our world.
Most of us fall into the trap of mentally "wanting" something as opposed to "having" it. If you think of your playing (or life) in terms of "wanting" to get better but don't ever see yourself playing or living in that way, then you are communicating to your subconscious mind that you don't "have" it - and that means, you probably won't get it on the physical plane.
If however, you visualize yourself playing the way you want to play regardless of the present circumstances, see it in the present tense, feel the sensations of playing well now, then you begin to "have" the idea. The subconscious mind will start to act on that image and help you create it on the physical plane.
Remember that our relationship with the guitar has been entrenched into the subconscious mind over many years. Changing the programming of the subconscious takes time and discipline - it's a muscle which must be exercised as any other.
For the next 90 days, when you wake up (before you read the news or talk to anyone), take 15 minutes to visualize how you really want to play. Make the image as detailed as possible - feel the strings with both hands, notice the lighting in the imagined room, listen to the sound, see the audience enjoying your playing, feel the fluidity of the hands and body, notice how good everything feels and how free it is.
Keep thinking about how well you are playing in this imagined scene. You can use affirmations as well such as - "My technique is fluid and effortless", "I'm playing with ease and beauty", etc. It might feel like a lie at first, but keep doing it regardless. You just need to get comfortable with this new idea.
Make sure you feel as if it is happening NOW - not in the future, but right NOW. I can't emphasise this enough. You have to feel and see the image NOW for the subconscious to "have" it. Do this same visualizing at night before bed. Remember to make the image as detailed as possible and feel how easy and beautiful your playing is in the NOW.
Also, use the amazing resource of youtube to watch great performers everyday. You don't have to watch many - even one or two favorite performances will do. Notice how the performer plays and imagine what that would feel like - again, in the NOW. Don't let your mind tell you "I can't do that" - just observe and imagine what it would feel like to play that way with your hands. During the day, let these thoughts simmer inside you. You don't have to force the thoughts - just let them come when they come and enjoy them while they last.
Lastly, have faith and expect what you imagine to begin to come. Look for results, but with patience. Ideas are mental seeds, and all seeds have a gestation period. The seed grows roots (the unseen part) before it grows into the tree (the seen part).
Do this mental work for 90 days - let's say until Jan 1, 2009. I guarantee you will start to see results if you are faithful. You will gain new insights, and notice techniques you've struggled with will suddenly start to come. This is the power of the subconscious mind. We really do create our world.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The comfort zone
When practicing, make sure your mind is clear on what you want. Often we practice with an unclear mind, and this becomes the norm. I've noticed myself and my students perform a phrase numerous times. When it finally reaches a point of clarity and brilliance, we move away from it immediately. This is actually the point in which the repeats should begin - not stop.
The mind has a tendency to want to stay comfortable, and comfortable can be a state of clarity or confusion. Whatever it is used to, it will want to return to. If a guitarist with an unfocused approach suddenly gains clarity, the mind will want to move away from that state - it will want to get back to its "comfort zone of confusion". This is very common. We want to watch the mind, notice when it is urging us to move forward hastily, and calmly bring it back. We want to repeat the clarity we've attained so that it becomes the norm.
The mind is like a record with grooves. The grooves we want to firmly entrench involve clear ideas - what notes are we playing, what fingering, what tone, etc. etc. Get your idea clear before you start to drill a passage, otherwise you drill vagueness. Either way, we reap what we sow.
The mind has a tendency to want to stay comfortable, and comfortable can be a state of clarity or confusion. Whatever it is used to, it will want to return to. If a guitarist with an unfocused approach suddenly gains clarity, the mind will want to move away from that state - it will want to get back to its "comfort zone of confusion". This is very common. We want to watch the mind, notice when it is urging us to move forward hastily, and calmly bring it back. We want to repeat the clarity we've attained so that it becomes the norm.
The mind is like a record with grooves. The grooves we want to firmly entrench involve clear ideas - what notes are we playing, what fingering, what tone, etc. etc. Get your idea clear before you start to drill a passage, otherwise you drill vagueness. Either way, we reap what we sow.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Archer
The champion arrived at the competition to prove once and for all that he was the greatest archer in the land. All the other competitors were intimidated by his presence and the audience assumed he would be the clear winner.
Surprisingly, each time the champion took the field, his arrows were inaccurate and his technique clumsy. His performance was no better than a beginning archer.
Perplexed by his performance, an audience member asked the Zen Master what he thought was wrong with the champion.
"His need to win drains him of power" said the Zen Master.
Surprisingly, each time the champion took the field, his arrows were inaccurate and his technique clumsy. His performance was no better than a beginning archer.
Perplexed by his performance, an audience member asked the Zen Master what he thought was wrong with the champion.
"His need to win drains him of power" said the Zen Master.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
internal = external
One of the main problems we have with learning the classical guitar is performing pieces by memory. Students tend to watch the notated music as they play, and their mind is busy looking at notes and fingerings. Most of the time very little listening is done.
Most young rock guitarists can memorize many songs per week with very little effort. What is their secret? Very simple - they play along with the album they want to learn until they can anticipate every chord change. Then, without the album playing, they can hear the song inside their mind and follow it.
Many classical guitar students perform pieces in the same way they watch TV - completely detached from the action. They watch the music on the stand, they watch their hands, they might even memorize the fingering in a few passages, but they never actually hear the piece they are playing. Everything becomes external - that is, everything is happening outside of them. There is no internal guide, and therefore, nothing to follow.
For a long time I would tell my students to know their harmony, analyze the piece, visualize the fingering, etc. and yes, all these techniques do help - but you can do all of that and still not know how the tune sounds. The easiest way to memorize music is simply - sing the tune as you play it.
Remember, we want to build a strong foundation inside as well as outside. When we sing and play, we are actively involved in memorizing the piece. We are connecting the inner tune to the outer manifestation (the physical performance). Don't worry in any way if you can't sing in perfect tune, or that you can't sing every single voice independently - none of that matters. Just sing what you can, however you can.
Within a short time, you may sing the tune away from the guitar, and you'll notice that the fingerings just seem to "pop" into your mind. Why? Because your mind has developed an association between the tune, and what it "looks" like. The mind now literally thinks of the tune as a physical act being done by your hands. At that point you've merged the internal and external worlds and memorizing becomes far easier. Give it a try and see.
Most young rock guitarists can memorize many songs per week with very little effort. What is their secret? Very simple - they play along with the album they want to learn until they can anticipate every chord change. Then, without the album playing, they can hear the song inside their mind and follow it.
Many classical guitar students perform pieces in the same way they watch TV - completely detached from the action. They watch the music on the stand, they watch their hands, they might even memorize the fingering in a few passages, but they never actually hear the piece they are playing. Everything becomes external - that is, everything is happening outside of them. There is no internal guide, and therefore, nothing to follow.
For a long time I would tell my students to know their harmony, analyze the piece, visualize the fingering, etc. and yes, all these techniques do help - but you can do all of that and still not know how the tune sounds. The easiest way to memorize music is simply - sing the tune as you play it.
Remember, we want to build a strong foundation inside as well as outside. When we sing and play, we are actively involved in memorizing the piece. We are connecting the inner tune to the outer manifestation (the physical performance). Don't worry in any way if you can't sing in perfect tune, or that you can't sing every single voice independently - none of that matters. Just sing what you can, however you can.
Within a short time, you may sing the tune away from the guitar, and you'll notice that the fingerings just seem to "pop" into your mind. Why? Because your mind has developed an association between the tune, and what it "looks" like. The mind now literally thinks of the tune as a physical act being done by your hands. At that point you've merged the internal and external worlds and memorizing becomes far easier. Give it a try and see.
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