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.

freedom

Study freedom. Freedom of movement, freedom of imagination, freedom from fear. This is what is in great playing of all kinds. The irony of course is that freedom is already within us, but we block ourselves from it more often than not.

When most people being to play music, it's a joyous challenge. We feel free to explore it, to make mistakes, to try new things. Over time, we learn rules, and they begin to constrict our freedom. We learn what is so-called "bad" and "good" and focus on judgement rather than playing. Let yourself play and don't worry about what happens - just play. Practice that mental state. When I see the children play in the park near me, they play freely. If they fall, they fall - and then get up and keep playing just as hard as before. That is freedom.

Photos of my Studio

I took some photos of my teaching studio and put them on flickr. I coudn't help take a few extra photos of the beautiful painting by Paula Nizamas, a Chicago artist that I greatly admire. The painting is called "Oasis of Visions" - a wonderful title for my little studio.

Classical Guitar Teaching Studio in New York

Playing Meditation

Great playing and deep meditation is the same. The mind goes quiet, and observation of the self deepens. Notice this artist - not his hands, but his mind. Is his mind busy making judgements about his playing? Is he worried about what other people will think of his playing? Or is he simply observing his hands peacefully?



Now the real question is - Does his mind become quiet and focused because of his awesome physical technique? Or - Does his awesome physical technique come from a quiet and focused mind?

From the Mountains

I finally took a vacation and the only place I wanted to be was in the woods. The nature here is stunning. I can't help but to spend hours doing little more than look at the beauty here.

The natural world really is the best teacher. The trees are alive but silent. They do not worry about having more leaves than the next, or being closer to the lake than another tree. They are not concerned if the birds have or have not built nests in their branches.

In looking at them, I also can't help to notice how they don't organize themselves. There is a supreme beauty in the natural chaos. Nothing is totally worked out like in the manicured parks of New York.

It reminds me how in playing music we can fall into the trap of having all our ideas planned - every musical idea, every color, every rhythmic nuance. Our minds want security by knowing exactly what will happen next. This can be helpful as we learn the craft of playing, but eventually we see the Joy in NOT having everything worked out. You let the details come through present inspiration, not through formulaic planning.

At first it may seem hard to let go of the musical control you've fought so hard to attain, but if you consciously let go a little each time, you'll see that it isn't so scary. In fact, it's quite liberating when you are comfortable with not knowing all the details of your interpretation. In this way, a classical guitar performance becomes free and improvisatory in nature.

The Practice

We must understand that the practice is a simple game of attention - what you pay attention to will grow in your reality. If you react negatively to your mistakes, you are giving the mistakes more power because you are giving them more attention. Notice them, but don't react to them. Any negative reaction feeds them and gives them more power.

When you are playing well, your attention is on playing and listening. When you don't play as well, your attention is divided - you're paying attention to HOW you are playing the guitar, or how other people think you are playing the guitar, or what just happened in that passage, or what will happen in the upcoming passage, or any number of things. This mind activity takes power away from where the attention needs to be - playing and listening in the now. The zen story of the archer demonstrates this point very well.

When you notice your mind chattering - acknowledge it, and then bring it back to playing and listening. Every time you make a mistake, bring the mind back to playing and listening. Be courageous. Don't let any mistake distract you. The mistakes can only win by allowing them to bother you.

Keep focusing your attention on what you want to grow - not on what you don't want to grow. This is the practice. All else will fall into place with time.

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.