Developing mental focus

[norbie2018]

I have been recording myself daily lately. Something I've noticed is it often takes a couple cycles of recording and listening until I get what want. I put the horn down and try again the next day, but the problems I cleaned up the day before can rear their ugly heads again.

I'm assuming part of the problem is poor mental focus. One method of keeping myself present, and their by avoiding mistakes, is to following the notes on the page intently. If you buy the inner game theory, this distracts self 1 to allow self 2 to figure things out. I actually think it works to some extent, but have not put enough time in on this method to know for certain. Another option is to tap the foot and coordinate things that way, but I find it uncomfortable to do standing.

What method do you use to improve your mental focus so that the product that comes out of the bell is correct the first time?

[norbie2018]

Any comments or suggestions?

[harrisonreed]

If you need excessive mental focus to play music, which should be instinctive and intuitive, then you need to get it all "under your fingers" more, so to speak.

Practice so that the things you think need mental concentration just become rudimentary and part of muscle memory.

[ghmerrill]

Yeah, I think Harrison is absolutely right. You need to take the "mental" out of it rather than putting more into it. I think your (somewhat odd in this context) phrase "keeping myself present" is something that you might find in existential or phenomenological philosophical literature, but that whole idea is just getting in the way of playing. You don't really want yourself to be present. You just want to play the music -- not reflect on it, or on what you're doing, while you're playing.

You've got way too much philo-psycho-babel theory in the way of your playing. And I think that you're kind of training yourself to interject a reflective process in the playing.

When (about 10 years ago) I came back to playing after a pretty lengthy absence, I encountered the same problem you mention. It was also pronounced when I switched to trombone a few years ago. I still have the problem at times (I think now partly as a result of age). The poor execution is always, in my case, the result of too much "attention" or "reflection" on what I'm doing instead of just practicing to the point where it's "eye to muscle" instead of putting some sort of thought process or self-attention or reflection in the way. Just like any sport.

[norbie2018]

I'll have to disagree with you. I WANT to be present while playing. I suppose there are other ways to enjoy something, but being in the moment while your playing trombone is sheer joy and satisfaction. With all respect, I wouldn't want it any other way.

[Doug Elliott]

Some people become obsessed with this idea of mental focus and getting in the zone. Yes, it's important.

Some people become obsessed with equipment, blaming their problems and inconsistencies on their mouthpiece or horn. Yes, it's important.

Some people become obsessed with their physical approach to playing. Yes, it's important.

If any of these things are lacking, the one you're focused on isn't going to make up for the others.

Inconsistencies in playing MIGHT be from lack of mental focus, but it can also be from a mouthpiece size that's not ideal for you, or mechanical issues you don't know about. Or both. Or all three.

[harrisonreed]

I'll have to disagree with you. I WANT to be present while playing. I suppose there are other ways to enjoy something, but being in the moment while your playing trombone is sheer joy and satisfaction. With all respect, I wouldn't want it any other way.

OK then, you need more practice time so you don't flub stuff the first time through. Don't forget that you pressed for a response.

I wasn't talking about checking out. You need your facilities focused on the sound in your head and having that come out without thinking. Flubbing notes means you don't have it under your fingers.

You might not like that, but there it is. That's why great soloists play concertos from memory.

[norbie2018]

Some people become obsessed with this idea of mental focus and getting in the zone. Yes, it's important.

Some people become obsessed with equipment, blaming their problems and inconsistencies on their mouthpiece or horn. Yes, it's important.

Some people become obsessed with their physical approach to playing. Yes, it's important.

If any of these things are lacking, the one you're focused on isn't going to make up for the others.

Inconsistencies in playing MIGHT be from lack of mental focus, but it can also be from a mouthpiece size that's not ideal for you, or mechanical issues you don't know about. Or both. Or all three.

You are correct. The key is to identify what is going on and then implementing the proper solution. That's where a good teacher can help tremendously.

[norbie2018]

I'll have to disagree with you. I WANT to be present while playing. I suppose there are other ways to enjoy something, but being in the moment while your playing trombone is sheer joy and satisfaction. With all respect, I wouldn't want it any other way.

OK then, you need more practice time so you don't flub stuff the first time through. Don't forget that you pressed for a response.

I wasn't talking about checking out. You need your facilities focused on the sound in your head and having that come out without thinking. Flubbing notes means you don't have it under your fingers.

You might not like that, but there it is. That's why great soloists play concertos from memory.

I neither like nor dislike your response. I agree I need to practice so that it comes out correctly the first time. I'm just wondering on an online forum what method others have used to increase their mental focus. I'm still waiting.

[AndrewMeronek]

One thing that is great for mental focus is to practice very precise time. Set a metronome to a slow tempo and play very short notes with it, with the goal being to exactly line up your note with the click. Do it right with very short notes, and you should 'hear' the click disappear into your attack. Slower tempos = tougher.

[harrisonreed]

You're focused on the wrong things, as you say "the notes on the page" and maybe fixing it by "tapping your foot". This is telling. Your original post said you assumed it was about mental focus. No. You can't bore your inner eye onto the page and suddenly music is there. Are you hearing the music? Could you sing it? Could you play it from memory?

"Don't just play the ink" is cliché, but usually things are cliché for a good reason.

[norbie2018]

The idea of choosing to place attention on the notes on the page is a common technique for those who follow the method of the Inner Game of Music. The idea is that there are 2 selves, self 1 and 2. Self one is the critical, sometimes demeaning self, while self 2 is the creative one. By distracting self 1 you allow self 2 to figure things out naturally. IOW, you don't try to fix it, you allow your body/mind to work things out naturally. Actually, the Inner Game of Tennis is a better read. I'm wondering if there are other techniques to allow this to happen. Other places to place your attention.

As for tapping the foot, see Charles Vernon and how he integrates for tapping as an essential part of what he does.

Different ways of getting to the same end.

[ghmerrill]

I neither like nor dislike your response. I agree I need to practice so that it comes out correctly the first time. I'm just wondering on an online forum what method others have used to increase their mental focus. I'm still waiting.

Maybe at this point the term "mental focus" isn't sufficiently clear to provide an answer acceptable to you. So at best you'll get a bunch of suggestions (each based on the respondent's own understanding of mental focus, which is probably similarly vague and idiosyncratic). Also, whatever you mean by "mental focus" seems to be a kind of intermediary concept that's designed to facilitate your real goal -- which is playing in a certain manner or with a certain quality or facility.

In short, by clinging to some idea you have of mental focus and its (even less clear) role in your playing, and insisting on phrasing your problem in those terms (and in terms of some theoretical model you've embraced), you may be excluding genuine solutions to what your real problem is. It's like going to a psychologist or therapist and saying "I know I have these problems with my behavior. Please give me some good suggestions for addressing them -- but only within a Freudian model." You're constraining the solution space by insisting on a particular problem description -- which may not be a good one at all.

So you end up saying that you know you need to practice, etc., and then turn back to a demand to "increase ... mental focus" and remark that you're still waiting on an answer to this, and refer to your "Inner Game" model again. But that seems to be a poor approach to achieving your real goal of developing a certain capability of practicing and performing. You have a practical problem, but you're phrasing it in a theory-laden way. Just a thought.

[norbie2018]

I neither like nor dislike your response. I agree I need to practice so that it comes out correctly the first time. I'm just wondering on an online forum what method others have used to increase their mental focus. I'm still waiting.

Maybe at this point the term "mental focus" isn't sufficiently clear to provide an answer acceptable to you. So at best you'll get a bunch of suggestions (each based on the respondent's own understanding of mental focus, which is probably similarly vague and idiosyncratic). Also, whatever you mean by "mental focus" seems to be a kind of intermediary concept that's designed to facilitate your real goal -- which is playing in a certain manner or with a certain quality or facility.

In short, by clinging to some idea you have of mental focus and its (even less clear) role in your playing, and insisting on phrasing your problem in those terms (and in terms of some theoretical model you've embraced), you may be excluding genuine solutions to what your real problem is. It's like going to a psychologist or therapist and saying "I know I have these problems with my behavior. Please give me some good suggestions for addressing them -- but only within a Freudian model." You're constraining the solution space by insisting on a particular problem description -- which may not be a good one at all.

So you end up saying that you know you need to practice, etc., and then turn back to a demand to "increase ... mental focus" and remark that you're still waiting on an answer to this, and refer to your "Inner Game" model again. But that seems to be a poor approach to achieving your real goal of developing a certain capability of practicing and performing. You have a practical problem, but you're phrasing it in a theory-laden way. Just a thought.

Perhaps there is a better way to explain mental focus. I don't think I ever demanded anything. Have you used the inner game methods of approaching practice? How can you label them poor unless you've tried them? I do have a practical problem, and working on fundamentals are/will help. I suppose I'm looking at other ways people have found to get what's in their head out onto tape (or binary code add the case may be).

[harrisonreed]

So, same questions. Can you sing it? Can you hear it?

You want to bring in Chalie Vernon, that'd be his first thing he'd have you do.

[norbie2018]

Yes & yes.

[norbie2018]

I brought Charles Vernon up because it seemed tapping one's foot was being poo-pooed.

[ghmerrill]

Have you used the inner game methods of approaching practice? How can you label them poor unless you've tried them?

See ... this misses the whole point and illustrates the difficulty I was getting at.

You're so committed to a particular abstract model that you feel the need to defend it even when it hasn't been attacked. I in fact nowhere labeled the Inner Game methods as poor. Nor did I even label a Freudian approach to psychotherapy as poor. What I labeled as poor (please reread the last paragraph of my prior posting) was YOUR approach to achieving what seems to be your true goal.

The whole dialog up to this point has seemed not to be an open request for insight and help, but a request to validate your commitment to the Inner Game Theory or a request for people to indicate how something like the Inner Game Theory can be applied in your case: How can you "focus your attention on what you're doing"? How can you "focus on the present"? How can you stop getting in your own way and "interfering with your learning process"? So these are just questions about how to apply the Inner Game Theory to your music. From your own perspective, you don't seem to be doing a good job of it.

So go with that. Take what people are offering you as an answer to these questions and see those answers as a broader answer to how to apply Inner Game Theory to your music.

But I don't think it's reasonable either to expect other people to embrace the Inner Game Theory in order to provide fruitful responses to the problems your facing, or to go out of their ways to demonstrate how their suggestions can be seen as fitting into the Inner Game Theory conceptual scheme.

Other than that, I won't say what I think of the Inner Game theory since I think that would be an inappropriate diversion here.

[norbie2018]

Have you used the inner game methods of approaching practice? How can you label them poor unless you've tried them?

See ... this misses the whole point and illustrates the difficulty I was getting at.

You're so committed to a particular abstract model that you feel the need to defend it even when it hasn't been attacked. I in fact nowhere labeled the Inner Game methods as poor. Nor did I even label a Freudian approach to psychotherapy as poor. What I labeled as poor (please reread the last paragraph of my prior posting) was YOUR approach to achieving what seems to be your true goal.

The whole dialog up to this point has seemed not to be an open request for insight and help, but a request to validate your commitment to the Inner Game Theory or a request for people to indicate how something like the Inner Game Theory can be applied in your case: How can you "focus your attention on what you're doing"? How can you "focus on the present"? How can you stop getting in your own way and "interfering with your learning process"? So these are just questions about how to apply the Inner Game Theory to your music. From your own perspective, you don't seem to be doing a good job of it.

So go with that. Take what people are offering you as an answer to these questions and see those answers as a broader answer to how to apply Inner Game Theory to your music.

But I don't think it's reasonable either to expect other people to embrace the Inner Game Theory in order to provide fruitful responses to the problems your facing, or to go out of their ways to demonstrate how their suggestions can be seen as fitting into the Inner Game Theory conceptual scheme.

Other than that, I won't say what I think of the Inner Game theory since I think that would be an inappropriate diversion here.

Did you read my original post? Do you in fact have anything to contribute to that discussion? Or do you merely enjoy reading your own responses when they get posted to the forum?

Contribute or stay out of it.

[paulyg]

See ... this misses the whole point and illustrates the difficulty I was getting at.

You're so committed to a particular abstract model that you feel the need to defend it even when it hasn't been attacked. I in fact nowhere labeled the Inner Game methods as poor. Nor did I even label a Freudian approach to psychotherapy as poor. What I labeled as poor (please reread the last paragraph of my prior posting) was YOUR approach to achieving what seems to be your true goal.

The whole dialog up to this point has seemed not to be an open request for insight and help, but a request to validate your commitment to the Inner Game Theory or a request for people to indicate how something like the Inner Game Theory can be applied in your case: How can you "focus your attention on what you're doing"? How can you "focus on the present"? How can you stop getting in your own way and "interfering with your learning process"? So these are just questions about how to apply the Inner Game Theory to your music. From your own perspective, you don't seem to be doing a good job of it.

So go with that. Take what people are offering you as an answer to these questions and see those answers as a broader answer to how to apply Inner Game Theory to your music.

But I don't think it's reasonable either to expect other people to embrace the Inner Game Theory in order to provide fruitful responses to the problems your facing, or to go out of their ways to demonstrate how their suggestions can be seen as fitting into the Inner Game Theory conceptual scheme.

Other than that, I won't say what I think of the Inner Game theory since I think that would be an inappropriate diversion here.

Did you read my original post? Do you in fact have anything to contribute to that discussion? Or do you merely enjoy reading your own responses when they get posted to the forum?

Contribute or stay out of it.

Are you here to troll people or to hear their thoughts constructively? If you're going to snap at people who are trying to offer an alternative way of thinking, that mindset probably has more to do with why you are having trouble playing than a lack of "focus." Focus on empathy, respect, the group before the self- that's what making music is about.

You're recording yourself. Maybe you need to stop focusing on the bad habits that you want to eliminate. Perform for others. Your family, friends, dog. That will be more instructive about what works and what doesn't in your playing than being your own worst critic.

[norbie2018]

Did you read my original post? Do you in fact have anything to contribute to that discussion? Or do you merely enjoy reading your own responses when they get posted to the forum?

Contribute or stay out of it.

Are you here to troll people or to hear their thoughts constructively? If you're going to snap at people who are trying to offer an alternative way of thinking, that mindset probably has more to do with why you are having trouble playing than a lack of "focus." Focus on empathy, respect, the group before the self- that's what making music is about.

You're recording yourself. Maybe you need to stop focusing on the bad habits that you want to eliminate. Perform for others. Your family, friends, dog. That will be more instructive about what works and what doesn't in your playing than being your own worst critic.

When a person offers no constructive thoughts re the subject at hand and instead posts esoteric nonsense I am entitled to call him/her out. That's not snapping, in my opinion it is holding people accountable.

As for recording, it is a well accepted technique for bettering one's playing. Have you tried it? I celebrate the good and seek to improve the bad.

[BGuttman]

**Moderator hat ON**

Hey guys, BACK OFF!! If this continues I'm locking this thread.

**Moderator hat OFF""

[norbie2018]

**Moderator hat ON**

Hey guys, BACK OFF!! If this continues I'm locking this thread.

**Moderator hat OFF""

I reviewed the discussion and it's difficult to ascertain what was stated that warrants such a warning. There was no foul language and no personal attacks. Some posters had relevant points that were replied to, others did not.

As I stated in my original post, I believe that part of my problem is mental focus. I'm wondering what others do to ensure what comes out of their bell is what they hear in their heads.

[imsevimse]

I have read "The inner game of tennis" as well as a lot of books of philosophy. All the books by Eckhard Tolle. I have also read a lot of books by Tony Buzan about mindpaps and memory training. This is interesting reading and personally I think I have learnt a lot from those books. I have learnt a lot about myself. I don't think that has helped my playing much though, but of course I can not be sure. What I know is I have made big leaps forward for a few other reasons I did not expect could help. I list a few things that has helped me more than I could forsee.

- I stopped playing trombone and only played trumpet for three years.
- I began to study computer science at 33 for three years and again later yet another four years at college level.
- I switched career from music teacher/tromboneplayer to computer programmer.
- I began to switch mouthpiece regularly and also started to collect trombones of all sizes, and tubas. I play and switch allmost every day back and forth. When I started it hurt my emboushure, but it doesn't anymore. It makes me stronger, and it makes it more fun. It is like when I was very young and to play the trombone was a child's play. What happened to that feeling as I grew up? The fun was not as intense, and there was a lot of pressure and competition. It destroyed the fun. When I switch I forget all about such things. I remember why I'm doing this. I turn into that 12 year old I once was

It is strange that I think this helps me to stay focused when I pickup my trombone to play. All these things build a mix that gives the energy I need, and the absence of playing when I do my regular work makes playing so much more intense when it happens. I guess if I did sports it would be even better, or gardening, or anything else that engages the other side of the brain. I think it is as important to relax from music as to be able to totally be focused and engaged in music. To relax does in this case not mean to do nothing, but to do something else. This is the only explanation to why I think I have made those giant leaps forward in my playing.

When I play I think just at the sound I'm making and nothing else, but it is not something I need to concentrate to do, it is just how it works when I pick up my horns. This does not prevent me from errors though.

/Tom

[SimmonsTrombone]

Maybe this relates. Years ago, I sustained a left brain injury in an automobile accident. I also injured my back which meant my trombone practice time was limited. I didn’t read anything - just practiced memorized exercises. A couple of months later I was called for a union July 4th gig. We were to play marches that I’d played at least 50 times before.

The conductor called the first march, I turned to it and looked in horror. I couldn’t tell you the names of the notes, what a key signature was, or what the time was. Luckily, the conductor counted off quickly before I panicked. I stuck the horn in my face and just played. I realized that if I didn’t think about what I was doing, I played well.

This sounds like the self1 and self2 above. My injured left brain couldn’t analyze, but my intact right brain created. I think that means you practice until it becomes automatic.

[ghmerrill]

I think that means you practice until it becomes automatic.

Which is what Harrison originally suggested. It seems to be the consensus -- if conventional -- view.

[AndrewMeronek]

I just realized the OP question can be looked at a different way:

Memory benefits from incorporating multiple senses into it and otherwise adding multiple contexts so there's more ways for the memory to 'stick'. In jazz, it's pretty standard to practice along with recordings, so to take that idea and run with, try recording yourself playing along with other recordings. Understanding the musical context of a piece of music outside of your part is a big piece of successful memorization, anyway.

[Wilktone]

As I stated in my original post, I believe that part of my problem is mental focus. I'm wondering what others do to ensure what comes out of their bell is what they hear in their heads.

For what it's worth, here are some thoughts.

Don't multitask, just try to do one thing at a time. Think about what you want to be working on before you put the metal to the mouth, not while you're doing it. Then make sure you're working on the correct things (a teacher can help here).

When you get distracted by something, don't freak out about it a dwell on the mistake it caused, just go back to what you were working on. It's more about noticing that you've lost focus and redirecting your attention then trying to keep your attention on one thing.

Rather than working on being "present" in your practice, make your practice fun. When it's fun, you'll be present without having to work at it.

Dave

[imsevimse]

As I stated in my original post, I believe that part of my problem is mental focus. I'm wondering what others do to ensure what comes out of their bell is what they hear in their heads.

Rather than working on being "present" in your practice, make your practice fun. When it's fun, you'll be present without having to work at it.

Dave

Yes

[lauriet]

Give 'self 1' a job: His job is to ONLY listen. He sits in the audience with his eyes closed and listens.
'Self 2' job is to blow, breath, buzz, and move his right arm.
'Self 1' must observe/listen ONLY until the end of your session......at that point you can ask him his opinion.

[lauriet]

At the end of the practice session the conversation should be:

Self 1: 'hey self 2 did you notice that at bar 36 you started thinking about taking the dog for a walk and missed the Bflat.
Self 1: Did you notice that if you keep the tension on your lips you can hit that high F.
Self 1: Did you realise that you ran out of breath on bar 54...take more air earlier.

Self 2 needs the space and time to learn these things.....self 1 can guide him in the right direction by giving feedback at the end of the session......NOT during it.

[lauriet]

Practice is for Self 2 to absorb the mechanics. It doesnt matter if you make mistakes. Thats how self 2 learns. (A baby learns to walk like this.....no judgement)
Playing is for self 2 to work on auto, while self 1 JUST listens.

[norbie2018]

Practice is for Self 2 to absorb the mechanics. It doesnt matter if you make mistakes. Thats how self 2 learns. (A baby learns to walk like this.....no judgement)
Playing is for self 2 to work on auto, while self 1 JUST listens.

Yes, but what are some other methods for concentration? Inner Game of Tennis mentions following the spirals on the ball, inner game of Music following the contour of the musical notes, and I know that foot tapping helps. Are there other methods?

I've been focusing on the exact sound I want in my mind (self 1) and allowing my brain/nervous system/body (self 2) to create it, without commentary from my mind while the practice is taking place. It's after, while listening back to a recording of myself that I add the needed corrections. Actually, it is from the recordings that my perception of my sound in the moment has improved. You might say I hear myself better.

It is the concentration - the lack of advice or commentary while self 2 is figuring things out - that I'm interested in exploring more and need help with.

[lauriet]

>> Yes, but what are some other methods for concentration? Inner Game of Tennis mentions following the spirals on >> the ball

So I think that's your answer:

Self 1 should focus on the sound. He should focus on listening to the attack of the note, is it the same on every note, does it coincide with the metronome. Then he should listen for the sustain, does the sustain waver or is it constant. Then listen to the end of the note, does it continue right up to the next note, is it a clean finish.
Is each note a clone of each other.

This should be enough to keep self 1 focused during your practice and play.
If you have issues when you listen back to the recording, that you cannot resolve, then some discussion with a teacher may help. If the teacher is not into the inner game, you can still take what he says and frame it in the inner game philosophy.

The other issue is the 10,000 hour rule. Are you expecting too much too soon. If not, then focus on the process, not the outcome. Enjoy the process of developing a new skill.

[harrisonreed]

If you go out into the mountains and train hard over the course of a 5 minute montage, especially if you have a shot of you meditating under a waterfall, apparently you will gain all kinds of abilities.

I also heard about one where you go into a chamber with adjustable gravity and where time flows differently so that you can train hard at 1000x earth gravity for a thousand years, but when you get out of the chamber only a month has passed. But your scouter reading goes up over 9000.

You could hire people to try to confuse you and attack you during your practice to increase your concentration. The goal being that you are able to defeat them during full on combat without missing any notes as you practice DeMeij.

Another tactic that might work is keeping the smart phone, metronome, tuner, AND sheet music locked up during a few practice sessions. Playing without any external inputs is a wonderful practice.

Another tactic is to just get work as a musician. A real gig will force you to shape up pretty fast mentally.

You could try asking a private teacher for advice during a lesson. They might be able to help.

Stop drinking soda or tea and coffee before you practice or perform.

Get off facebook and youtube.

excercise vigorously before you practice at the start of your day.

[ghmerrill]

If you go out into the mountains and train hard over the course of a 5 minute montage, especially if you have a shot of you meditating under a waterfall, apparently you will gain all kinds of abilities.

I'm pretty sure this approach has been discredited.

I also heard about one where you go into a chamber with adjustable gravity and where time flows differently so that you can train hard at 1000x earth gravity for a thousand years, but when you get out of the chamber only a month has passed. But your scouter reading goes up over 9000.

This reminds me a lot of a question I had once in a final exam in a course in special relativity. You have to be willing to do the math for the Lorenz transformations in order to accurately predict the result and make a good risk/benefit analysis. Also, the introduction of the excessive gravity requirement may introduce complications requiring the application of general relativity. Some musicians may lack the background to do this reliably. So I think it's not a realistic suggestion.

You could hire people to try to confuse you and attack you during your practice to increase your concentration. The goal being that you are able to defeat them during full on combat without missing any notes as you practice DeMeij.

This is the well-tested method employed by Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther films. I believe it was at least partly successful (and doesn't require a lot of arcane math).

Another tactic that might work is keeping the smart phone, metronome, tuner, AND sheet music locked up during a few practice sessions. Playing without any external inputs is a wonderful practice.

Sensory deprivation can be an aid to employing the "think system" favored by Prof. Harold Hill.

Another tactic is to just get work as a musician. A real gig will force you to shape up pretty fast mentally.

I believe that this suggestion involves a kind of chicken/egg problem.

You could try asking a private teacher for advice during a lesson. They might be able to help.

This MIGHT work. But it's not very innovative or spiritual.

Stop drinking soda or tea and coffee before you practice or perform.

This is ridiculous. I can tell you're not serious now. People can't live without caffeine. Studies have shown this.

Get off facebook and youtube.

And miss advice like this? Again -- obviously not a serious approach.

excercise vigorously before you practice at the start of your day.

Yeah, right. Then you're too tired to practice -- or have to drink more caffeine.

[Savio]

I read somewhere in a book that its surprising little time a grown up can concentrate very hard on one aspect. One minute before the brain flip a little out and then it can come back. But that was an example with a difficult math exercise. Trombone playing is a bit different.
I think when you perform, its music, feelings and emotions that should be in our brain. We have to practice performing in the practice room also, not only in front of the audience. Like Dave told, if we practice say legato, tonguing, or any other technical aspect, we should only focus on that specific aspect. One at a time. But women can multitask better than men they say?

Still I have to say I always try to have the music and sound in my ear no matter if its just an exercise.
Im sure everyone can focus if they want and are motivated. I dont believe in trying to hard either, it might go the opposite way and disturb. I believe in being prepared before a practice session. That you plan what to practice, how to practice and so one.

Not like me that just pick up the horn and just blow something. But sometimes thats ok also if its fun.

Leif

[norbie2018]

I think when you perform, its music, feelings and emotions that should be in our brain.

I think that's the whole concept behind the song & wind approach and is a basic concept of the Inner Game. Produce in your mind the product you wish to create, then allow the body to go about producing it.

Like Dave told, if we practice say legato, tonguing, or any other technical aspect, we should only focus on that specific aspect. One at a time. But women can multitask better than men they say?

Leif

That is something I'm trying in my own practice.

[ghmerrill]

Produce in your mind the product you wish to create, then allow the body to go about producing it.

Seems indistinguishable from Prof. Hill's (or perhaps more accurately, Meridith Wilson's) "think system" -- which has been around for over 60 years.

Here's a citation of that precedent from a professional trombonist:
https://www.jayfriedman.net/articles/the_think_system.

[imsevimse]

Not like me that just pick up the horn and just blow something. But sometimes thats ok also if its fun.

Leif

But wait a minute. If you are doing it all wrong, how come you sound so good?

/Tom

[lauriet]

Harrisonreed.

You need to write a book.
Your innovative and avantguard techniques need to be shared with the wider world, not just musicians.
I believe you my have struck upon a new paradigm in teaching/learning.
Have you tested these on any student ?
Do you incorporate them into your practice routine ?
I think a book, then a DVD and then a lecture tour would be the best way forward to spread the word.
I would definitly buy the book.
I look forward to learning more of your insights. Truly inspirational !
In the meantime I have booked some time at the large hadron collider to try out the 10000 gravity tip.

[harrisonreed]

I know, thank you. I keep saying these advices, but it is easier for a camel to forge an eye of a needle than for an adult to concentrate on anything for more than 24 minutes. Unless you meditate under a gentle waterfall, of course.

[norbie2018]

Produce in your mind the product you wish to create, then allow the body to go about producing it.

Seems indistinguishable from Prof. Hill's (or perhaps more accurately, Meridith Wilson's) "think system" -- which has been around for over 60 years.

The technique of natural learning - producing an image for the mind and trial and error practice to achieve it - has been utilized by successful musicians, both amateur and pro, for centuries. It is what the entire Suzuki method is based around. To compare it to the character of a scammer from a musical shows smallness of thinking in the very least.

[imsevimse]

Yoga is a serious suggestion. It helps breathing and does good to your brain (It seams) I don't do it myself but many do. I guess they get something out from it.

/Tom

[norbie2018]

Yoga is a serious suggestion. It helps breathing and does good to your brain (It seama) I don't do it myself but many do. I guess they get something out from it.

/Tom

I never thought of that, but the focus on breath might be helpful and applicable for playing. Thanks for the suggestion.

[BurckhardtS]

Something I have learned about focus through learning basic meditation techniques is that the harder you apply effort to 'focusing' the actually LESS focused you are, focusing is letting yourself to be single-minded about what is going on in the current moment only.

[ghmerrill]

I know, thank you. I keep saying these advices, but it is easier for a camel to forge an eye of a needle than for an adult to concentrate on anything for more than 24 minutes. Unless you meditate under a gentle waterfall, of course.

Now I can't get the image of a camel forging an eye of a needle under a gentle waterfall out of my mind. I think this indicates it is not smallness of thinking, but a brilliant allegory for focus of attention. You are wise.