Try to remove yourself from mind-based listening for a few minutes each day. Start to notice when when you are analyzing sounds, but not listening to them. Listening is not analyzing, it is being with a sound fully without the distraction of the mind.
One of the problems we have when hearing a guitarist is that we analyze the performance mentally - the tone, speed, phrasing, technique, etc. There is a lot for the mind to chew on. This has it's place and is important, but even more important is the art of listening without the mind being active.
Walk in the place you live and listen without any judgements. Hear every sound clearly, but without analysis. Be full of the sounds you hear - as if they are coming from inside of you. The world is rich in sound color. Now listen to the spaces between each sound. Listen to how empty the spaces are. Notice how the space feels. Now listen to both sound and silence. If the mind interferes, listen to that as well, and then go back.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Bringing the "Yes" into the "No"
This concept is so close to my heart that it may be difficult to write about it. It's completely revolutionary for those who get it. If you don't get it, don't worry - you will with time. For those interested in reading more, I would suggest Eckhart Tolle's classic "The Power of Now" - particularly the last chapter called "Surrender".
I'm learning as I get older to welcome my difficulties, my fears, my struggles - whether it be with the guitar or with life. It's completely natural to want to avoid fear, but eventually it keeps coming back until we learn how to deal with it. Fear and limitations are great teachers.
In the practice of an instrument, we can fear fast tempos, difficult repertoire, high positions, certain fingering combinations, understanding harmony, what people think of our playing, etc. etc. Try to notice whatever it is you avoid or hide from. What do you fear? Awareness is key - most people don't know what they fear. Be curious about what you avoid in your playing and for that matter, your life. It's a fascinating study.
When you avoid something, you bring a psychological "NO" to it. It is basically the avoidance of pain. For example, if someone fears playing at fast tempos, they will avoid fast pieces and passages, they will slow down unconsciously when a fast passage appears, they might even look through a collection of music and avoid pieces with too much "black" in them. Ultimately, they are reacting to the fear of playing fast by avoiding the situation in some way. By not dealing with the fear, it is allowed to grow until "I can't play fast" is believed. Once you believe the fear, it becomes part of you.
So how do we deal with the fears and weaknesses we have? As I've learned, we must accept the fear - make friends with it. Say "YES" to what you fear - embrace it completely.
Fear can only stay strong if we keep reacting or fighting against it. If we embrace our fear, it will dissipate. This is bringing the YES into the NO.
For example, if a person fears playing fast, he or she can say "OK, I fear playing fast - that's fine. Let me play fast and I will welcome the fear. I won't complain about missing notes, tensing up, not feeling comfortable, etc. Instead, I'm going to welcome all of that and keep my mind calm. I will allow the fear to come and I will play fast anyway".
So then the person plays fast and gets tense, misses tons of notes, has a bad tone etc. However - unlike before, there is no reaction to any of this. The person keeps the mind calm and allows it all to be as it is. He or she welcomes the fear. As the fear is welcomed, it lessens because it is not strengthened through a negative reaction (the NO). This is the state of mind we want to cultivate for our difficulties. That doesn't mean you don't go back and work on the difficult passages. It doesn't mean that you ignore them. You just work on them without a negative reaction to them. You want to always say YES to your difficulties, to your fears.
With time, the fear lessens and you'll find that you can do what you used to fear. Why? Because only what you resist persists. Keep putting yourself into the situation you fear and say YES to the discomfort. As we do this again and again, the fear and discomfort will go away.
The great Eckhart Tolle talking about this concept.
I'm learning as I get older to welcome my difficulties, my fears, my struggles - whether it be with the guitar or with life. It's completely natural to want to avoid fear, but eventually it keeps coming back until we learn how to deal with it. Fear and limitations are great teachers.
In the practice of an instrument, we can fear fast tempos, difficult repertoire, high positions, certain fingering combinations, understanding harmony, what people think of our playing, etc. etc. Try to notice whatever it is you avoid or hide from. What do you fear? Awareness is key - most people don't know what they fear. Be curious about what you avoid in your playing and for that matter, your life. It's a fascinating study.
When you avoid something, you bring a psychological "NO" to it. It is basically the avoidance of pain. For example, if someone fears playing at fast tempos, they will avoid fast pieces and passages, they will slow down unconsciously when a fast passage appears, they might even look through a collection of music and avoid pieces with too much "black" in them. Ultimately, they are reacting to the fear of playing fast by avoiding the situation in some way. By not dealing with the fear, it is allowed to grow until "I can't play fast" is believed. Once you believe the fear, it becomes part of you.
So how do we deal with the fears and weaknesses we have? As I've learned, we must accept the fear - make friends with it. Say "YES" to what you fear - embrace it completely.
Fear can only stay strong if we keep reacting or fighting against it. If we embrace our fear, it will dissipate. This is bringing the YES into the NO.
For example, if a person fears playing fast, he or she can say "OK, I fear playing fast - that's fine. Let me play fast and I will welcome the fear. I won't complain about missing notes, tensing up, not feeling comfortable, etc. Instead, I'm going to welcome all of that and keep my mind calm. I will allow the fear to come and I will play fast anyway".
So then the person plays fast and gets tense, misses tons of notes, has a bad tone etc. However - unlike before, there is no reaction to any of this. The person keeps the mind calm and allows it all to be as it is. He or she welcomes the fear. As the fear is welcomed, it lessens because it is not strengthened through a negative reaction (the NO). This is the state of mind we want to cultivate for our difficulties. That doesn't mean you don't go back and work on the difficult passages. It doesn't mean that you ignore them. You just work on them without a negative reaction to them. You want to always say YES to your difficulties, to your fears.
With time, the fear lessens and you'll find that you can do what you used to fear. Why? Because only what you resist persists. Keep putting yourself into the situation you fear and say YES to the discomfort. As we do this again and again, the fear and discomfort will go away.
The great Eckhart Tolle talking about this concept.
Monday, May 12, 2008
A Sense of Direction
In the book "The Inner Game of Tennis" by Tim Galloway, he mentions the fact that most tennis students are so concerned with hitting the ball properly (with the right swing, footing, etc.), that they actually forget to think about where they want to the ball to go. They are overburdened with directions on how to hit the ball, so they forget about the result - getting the ball over the net. Once they concentrate on where they want the ball to go, many technical problems go away because the body engages the muscles naturally to achieve a visualized result.
I've been noticing this in my students as well. They know the fingering, have good hand positioning, are able to visualize the notes, etc. but they don't actually see clearly where they have to put their fingers. They KNOW the fingering - have it memorized in fact - but often they don't really see clearly where they need to put their fingers. When i say "see clearly" I mean to see it as clearly as you would any object you were reaching out to pick up. This is so fundamental to playing that it can be overlooked easily.
Take a piece of music and play it VERY slowly. As you play each note, see clearly the string and fret of the next note you are about to play. Stay very focused - your mind will probably want to wander because it won't be used to this. See the next note (or notes) exactly where it will be on the fretboard. Try to feel what those next notes will feel like. In other words, you are executing and looking/feeling ahead at the same time for every single note. If you notice that you can do this at a slow tempo, then increase the tempo. Keep going faster until you've reached the tempo you like.
Notice how your body starts to prepare for the next notes naturally. You don't have to "try" to get the body to be more accurate - all you have to do is be clear where you want to put your fingers - and then let the body do what it needs to do to get there. That is exactly what we do when we pick up a pen or some other object. We don't "try" to pick it up - we just move the hand to the pen and pick it up. However, if we don't see the pen clearly, we may not pick it up accurately.
This is Effortless Doing - the mind directs and the body does. There is no "trying". Don't put any stress or strain into this. This is not hard work - it just takes focus and clarity. If you miss a note, just go back and refocus. Focus is the key - stay present in the now and clearly direct where you want to go - then see what happens.
I've been noticing this in my students as well. They know the fingering, have good hand positioning, are able to visualize the notes, etc. but they don't actually see clearly where they have to put their fingers. They KNOW the fingering - have it memorized in fact - but often they don't really see clearly where they need to put their fingers. When i say "see clearly" I mean to see it as clearly as you would any object you were reaching out to pick up. This is so fundamental to playing that it can be overlooked easily.
Take a piece of music and play it VERY slowly. As you play each note, see clearly the string and fret of the next note you are about to play. Stay very focused - your mind will probably want to wander because it won't be used to this. See the next note (or notes) exactly where it will be on the fretboard. Try to feel what those next notes will feel like. In other words, you are executing and looking/feeling ahead at the same time for every single note. If you notice that you can do this at a slow tempo, then increase the tempo. Keep going faster until you've reached the tempo you like.
Notice how your body starts to prepare for the next notes naturally. You don't have to "try" to get the body to be more accurate - all you have to do is be clear where you want to put your fingers - and then let the body do what it needs to do to get there. That is exactly what we do when we pick up a pen or some other object. We don't "try" to pick it up - we just move the hand to the pen and pick it up. However, if we don't see the pen clearly, we may not pick it up accurately.
This is Effortless Doing - the mind directs and the body does. There is no "trying". Don't put any stress or strain into this. This is not hard work - it just takes focus and clarity. If you miss a note, just go back and refocus. Focus is the key - stay present in the now and clearly direct where you want to go - then see what happens.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
perfection
The emperor ordered the most beautiful women on earth be sought so that he could finally marry. Thousands of women were presented before him but each one was turned away. Many days passed and it seemed that the emperor would not pick a wife.
Finally, an envoy appeared with a woman from a distant land. Her beauty was so perfect, that the emperor decided to make her his wife.
One night, while gazing at the naked body of his new wife while she was sleeping, the emperor noticed a tiny mole on her hip. That image stayed with him from then on. Whenever he saw her, he could only see that imperfection. Seized by madness, he sought advice from his royal doctors. They prepared an ointment which would erase the blemish forever.
The treatment was successful. The following evening, the emperor was able to gaze at the perfect beauty of his beloved for the last time, as she lay lifeless beside him.
Finally, an envoy appeared with a woman from a distant land. Her beauty was so perfect, that the emperor decided to make her his wife.
One night, while gazing at the naked body of his new wife while she was sleeping, the emperor noticed a tiny mole on her hip. That image stayed with him from then on. Whenever he saw her, he could only see that imperfection. Seized by madness, he sought advice from his royal doctors. They prepared an ointment which would erase the blemish forever.
The treatment was successful. The following evening, the emperor was able to gaze at the perfect beauty of his beloved for the last time, as she lay lifeless beside him.
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.
Monday, February 25, 2008
our perceptions - our realities
When you are walking or speaking, there is an effortless in your psychology. You aren't trying to do those things - you just do them. We don't see those acts as difficult, so we do them without thought. They become automatic. We do thousands of acts like this - all of them requiring complex body movements - and yet, we percieve them as easy.
In terms of playing the classical guitar, many of us perceive playing as "difficult". We may even have teachers or collegues who like to encourage this idea. The interesting point is - because we perceive it as difficult, we tend to make it more difficult than it actually is. Our bodies tense up for passages that are no more complex than typing fast or speaking. However, our perceptions are programmed to see great difficulty in it.
If we think that moving our hands/fingers is "easy" (like walking, speaking, or driving), it lightens the psychological "weight" of the act and we can move much more freely. We might still miss the passage for now, but the psychological and physiological freedom that is attained far outweighs the mistake. In fact, we will begin to play better much more rapidly if we start to see playing as "easy".
However, if we add heavy psycological weight to the same action (with thoughts like - "this is difficult, i never get this part, i want to get this perfect", etc.) then the act becomes overly dramatic - full of tension and fear. The hands and body tense up. It becomes more difficult to play because your body is reacting to your thoughts. Your thoughts are basically telling the body "this is a difficult situation" - and the body simply agrees with you.
While walking, talking or doing any other act that is natural to you - notice your mental state. Notice how easy it is and how you feel. Feeling is everything. Notice how you flow. It feels good in the body AND the mind. The same goes for playing. If you feel good psychologically while you play, you must inevitably play better. Don't wait to get the passage right first to feel good - feel good NOW - regardless of how things sound. Believe the passage is easy in your mind no matter how difficult it may seem. You'll notice with time how it gets easier - your body begins to react to your mind.
The body (hands epecially) represents your mental state. You can work on relaxing the body or hands as much as you want, but if you don't relax your psychology while playing, the body will keep slipping back into tension and difficulty.
The body mirrors our psychology. Feel good now.
In terms of playing the classical guitar, many of us perceive playing as "difficult". We may even have teachers or collegues who like to encourage this idea. The interesting point is - because we perceive it as difficult, we tend to make it more difficult than it actually is. Our bodies tense up for passages that are no more complex than typing fast or speaking. However, our perceptions are programmed to see great difficulty in it.
If we think that moving our hands/fingers is "easy" (like walking, speaking, or driving), it lightens the psychological "weight" of the act and we can move much more freely. We might still miss the passage for now, but the psychological and physiological freedom that is attained far outweighs the mistake. In fact, we will begin to play better much more rapidly if we start to see playing as "easy".
However, if we add heavy psycological weight to the same action (with thoughts like - "this is difficult, i never get this part, i want to get this perfect", etc.) then the act becomes overly dramatic - full of tension and fear. The hands and body tense up. It becomes more difficult to play because your body is reacting to your thoughts. Your thoughts are basically telling the body "this is a difficult situation" - and the body simply agrees with you.
While walking, talking or doing any other act that is natural to you - notice your mental state. Notice how easy it is and how you feel. Feeling is everything. Notice how you flow. It feels good in the body AND the mind. The same goes for playing. If you feel good psychologically while you play, you must inevitably play better. Don't wait to get the passage right first to feel good - feel good NOW - regardless of how things sound. Believe the passage is easy in your mind no matter how difficult it may seem. You'll notice with time how it gets easier - your body begins to react to your mind.
The body (hands epecially) represents your mental state. You can work on relaxing the body or hands as much as you want, but if you don't relax your psychology while playing, the body will keep slipping back into tension and difficulty.
The body mirrors our psychology. Feel good now.
Monday, February 4, 2008
the dissolving of fear and judgment
Lately, I have been applying some of my philosophical studies to my practicing and teaching. Probably one of the most overlooked concepts in playing well is the removal (or at least the taming) of fear and judgment. When a great player performs, there is a confidence, a radiance, a certain type of grace which only shines through when fear and judgment is let go.
Ask a great player what it feels like to be on stage when everything is going smoothly and they say something like "it feels free, fun, I'm just one with the music". That is to say - there is no fear, no judgment. When things are REALLY going well - there's no thinking at all.
As students (especially guitarists who see themselves as inferior musicians many times) we learn to fear and judge most of what we do. If the tone isn't quite right or if we miss a note, we get upset and judge ourselves harshly. When a difficult passage creeps up, our natural tendency is to tense up - a reaction of fear. We rarely enjoy what we do - instead we expect one day we will get better, and THEN we can then enjoy it. But I'm afraid that this keeps us "chasing our tail", because as we DO get better, our bar for perfection also rises. Thus we are always one step away from where we want to be - and fear and judgment continues no matter how far we've progressed.
There are two ways to deal with this fear and judgment when playing.
The first way is the way that most are taught (myself included). Practice a technique or piece/passage so much that eventually the body relaxes, the mind calms down, you start to enjoy the playing, and eventually confidence begins to come. You "know" the piece - and fear and judgment begin to melt away. On some days they totally disappear and you play great. On other days, they show their ugly heads and you play worse. We've all experienced this.
There's nothing wrong with this approach, however, it's incomplete.
The second way to deal with fear and judgment is even better in my opinion, because it deals with our mental state. You practice the mental and physical attitude of mastery and allow yourself to make mistakes - completely and with enjoyment.
This means, when you practice, you completely allow the mistakes - make them on purpose, with joy, with confidence. The whole time you are doing this, feel confident and enjoy whatever arises out of the chaos. Don't in any way think about the inaccuracy of notes or tone. Pluck multiple strings at once, enjoy your "bad" tones, make shifts fast without caring about accuracy, and push the tempo to what you feel like it should be regardless of current physical limitations. Practice with complete abandon and freedom regardless of what comes out. Imagine that the piece is written this way and you are playing it perfectly.
For people who obsessively judge their mistakes and fear imperfection in playing (most of us), this will seem weird, and if their mind is not open to this idea, they will think it's stupid and a waste of time. However, remember that playing well is much more mental than physical - we want to practice the mental state of playing with freedom, without fear, and with unconditional love.
So you want to focus on the state of effortless, free motion regardless of what happens. Will you make mistakes? - yes, and please make many....haha. Enjoy it, relax, laugh at the mistakes - don't let them intimidate you at all.
When you go back to practicing accurately, remember the feeling of freedom you had when you dropped your fear and judgment. Try to feel like that when you are then focusing on accurate playing. If you make a mistake, enjoy it and "allow" it as you did before. With this mentality you'll end up making less mistakes and build your courage and confidence. With time, you'll notice more freedom, more accuracy, more relaxed technique, bigger tone, and more joy.
When we do not fear and judge, we are free to be creative and happy. This is a major key to great playing (notice the word - "playing"). It may sound crazy to some, however it is based on the wise principle of "what you resist, persists". If you resist making mistakes (aka - try not to) you actually will continue to make them over and over again.
The key word is "allow". Allow yourself to be free. Music is free - be like music.
NYC - Feb 4, 2008
Ask a great player what it feels like to be on stage when everything is going smoothly and they say something like "it feels free, fun, I'm just one with the music". That is to say - there is no fear, no judgment. When things are REALLY going well - there's no thinking at all.
As students (especially guitarists who see themselves as inferior musicians many times) we learn to fear and judge most of what we do. If the tone isn't quite right or if we miss a note, we get upset and judge ourselves harshly. When a difficult passage creeps up, our natural tendency is to tense up - a reaction of fear. We rarely enjoy what we do - instead we expect one day we will get better, and THEN we can then enjoy it. But I'm afraid that this keeps us "chasing our tail", because as we DO get better, our bar for perfection also rises. Thus we are always one step away from where we want to be - and fear and judgment continues no matter how far we've progressed.
There are two ways to deal with this fear and judgment when playing.
The first way is the way that most are taught (myself included). Practice a technique or piece/passage so much that eventually the body relaxes, the mind calms down, you start to enjoy the playing, and eventually confidence begins to come. You "know" the piece - and fear and judgment begin to melt away. On some days they totally disappear and you play great. On other days, they show their ugly heads and you play worse. We've all experienced this.
There's nothing wrong with this approach, however, it's incomplete.
The second way to deal with fear and judgment is even better in my opinion, because it deals with our mental state. You practice the mental and physical attitude of mastery and allow yourself to make mistakes - completely and with enjoyment.
This means, when you practice, you completely allow the mistakes - make them on purpose, with joy, with confidence. The whole time you are doing this, feel confident and enjoy whatever arises out of the chaos. Don't in any way think about the inaccuracy of notes or tone. Pluck multiple strings at once, enjoy your "bad" tones, make shifts fast without caring about accuracy, and push the tempo to what you feel like it should be regardless of current physical limitations. Practice with complete abandon and freedom regardless of what comes out. Imagine that the piece is written this way and you are playing it perfectly.
For people who obsessively judge their mistakes and fear imperfection in playing (most of us), this will seem weird, and if their mind is not open to this idea, they will think it's stupid and a waste of time. However, remember that playing well is much more mental than physical - we want to practice the mental state of playing with freedom, without fear, and with unconditional love.
So you want to focus on the state of effortless, free motion regardless of what happens. Will you make mistakes? - yes, and please make many....haha. Enjoy it, relax, laugh at the mistakes - don't let them intimidate you at all.
When you go back to practicing accurately, remember the feeling of freedom you had when you dropped your fear and judgment. Try to feel like that when you are then focusing on accurate playing. If you make a mistake, enjoy it and "allow" it as you did before. With this mentality you'll end up making less mistakes and build your courage and confidence. With time, you'll notice more freedom, more accuracy, more relaxed technique, bigger tone, and more joy.
When we do not fear and judge, we are free to be creative and happy. This is a major key to great playing (notice the word - "playing"). It may sound crazy to some, however it is based on the wise principle of "what you resist, persists". If you resist making mistakes (aka - try not to) you actually will continue to make them over and over again.
The key word is "allow". Allow yourself to be free. Music is free - be like music.
NYC - Feb 4, 2008
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