Practice and/or “mindfulness”

[markjazzbassist]

I agree in a general sense that to maximize performance in anything we do we have to establish a sense of flow where we’re thinking of nothing else but the thing we’re doing. But also that we can’t be thinking too specifically about what we’re doing. I guarantee that the more I think about the lick that’s coming up, the less chance that I’ll play it right.

Just read a pretty good book about separating mindfulness from conscious thought called Don’t Believe Everything You Think. It’s less about maximizing performance quality and more about not torturing ourselves with counterproductive thoughts. But I do recommend.

Thank you I’m gonna get that book.

To the OP, I try to practice “being present” when I play. I try and have fun, enjoy myself, and focus on music not life/issues/guitar is too loud/etc.

 

[micguy]

You're looking for unconscious competence. There are 4 stages of learning (according to this thinking), and you're at stage 3 - where you can do something, but you have to pay attention, which means you haven't REALLY learned it fully - from your description, that is precisely where you are. Once you get to stage 4, you can perform a task (in this case, playing a piece of music) without a lot of conscious effort - you just "know" it.

If you think about it, you may know a tune or two where "you got it" - you can play it without thinking. There are two reasons why that piece of music is at that state - either its easy, or you have played it some many times that you have achieved stage 4. Assuming that's the case, you know how to get where you need to get, it's just a matter of time.

How do you get there? LOTS of practice. I memorize everything for my gigs, and then polish the hell out of it - that's what gets you there. I do use other learning theory concepts to help - new tunes, if you practice them just before going to bed (plus a few other times in a day), your brain will consolidate that data better than if you didn't do that last run through in the evening, I also learn things in bursts - if I have 2 new songs, I'll run through one 3 or 4 times, then switch - too many times in a row, you get lost in the arrangement. So, tune 1 a few times, then tune 2, then back to 1, then on to 2 again, and they I'll do something else for a bit, and come back and do it all over again.

Doing this, I sometimes get into a real "flow state" when I play - it's almost out of body-ish in that you're there, but you're almost a spectator - I remember a couple times, playing and wondering how I fingered a certain passage, so I look down and just take it in as it happens - no self consciousness about it, my "fingers were playing", and I got to observe how I did something. One gig recently, I had a wave of goose bumps on one tune - maybe a minute where I was just having one goose bump/chill wave after another - the coolest feeling. I went back and watched the Youtube of that performance later - until I did that, I really couldn't tell you for certain afterwards if I was playing at that part or not - I was, and I did just fine.

The point of all this is your focus when playing should be on those around you - the other musicians, the audience. Music is a team communication sport - if you don't know what the other players are doing (you hear and see tings that help you understand that), you're not really part of the team. If you're unaware of what's happening in the audience, likewise, you're not seeing if what you're doing is getting through.

There's an old saying - amateurs practice until they get it right, pros practice until they can't get it wrong. Same concept, just different words.

Four stages of competence - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[mambo4]

it really means attention and focus.

This is why I am never bored on stage, no matter the material.
Always stuff worth my attention at a gig.

The better prepared I became, the better I could quit overthinking it and play well.

I have found this to be true as well.
When I have been able to really give my awareness over to the music, it has always been something I have practiced so much that execution does not require any conscious thinking. Someone said "you should only be thinking about playing"
but I'm with those who disagree: you should be playing without thinking about it at all.
Aware but not consciously wrapped up in the mechanics or theory or song form.
Just listening and reacting from a deeper place - that's the bets I can put it in words.

There are 4 stages of learning

I like Anthony Wellington's description of this

 

[micguy]

This is why I am never bored on stage, no matter the material.
Always stuff worth my attention at a gig.



I have found this to be true as well.
When I have been able to really give my awareness over to the music, it has always been something I have practiced so much that execution does not require any conscious thinking. Someone said "you should only be thinking about playing"
but I'm with those who disagree: you should be playing without thinking about it at all.
Aware but not consciously wrapped up in the mechanics or theory or song form.
Just listening and reacting from a deeper place - that's the bets I can put it in words.



I like Anthony Wellington's description of this

Last weekend, on a gig, things went really well - flowing along in a tune I'd played a bazillion times before, just enjoying the vocalists take on it (I work with different vocalists all the time). The vocalist took a slight detour late in the song arrangement wise. I unconsciously went with her, but some of the other musicians stuck with the arrangement that was on the mp3 we all practiced with. That disparity half woke me from my flow state - i was thinking "this is interesting". The whole thing resolved without a major hitch - it was just a bit different, but it was interesting to experience the transition from full flow (just playing without thinking) to half flow (reacting instinctively in terms of my playing, but also observing how it went in a third person kinda way at the same time).

 

[AgostoMortal]

Mindfulness to me is simply awareness without judgment and being in the moment. Internalization is when you practice the material enough that is second nature and you don't have to think about, like using a fork. Who thinks about "making a mistake" when using a fork..grabbing a door knob or riding a bike? That is internalization. Mindfulness will inform you of what you feel, who you really are and what you need to practice!! Practice Mindfulness or meditation consistently and you will sooner or later start finding the answers to problems (musical or otherwise) including making silly mistakes on a gig, how to practice more effectively and what to practice. That does not means that it will happen quickly or effortlessly but all the answers are inside of ourselves. Enjoy the ride!

 

[logdrum]

I have been meditating for a long time and I also am a follower and practitioner of spiritual jazz / raga and spontaneous improvisation.

Focus or focusing on a goal like executing musical parts - I would call that concentration. Focus is counter to mindfulness, which I see as being aware of everything else around you - and what people fail to realize that even in the midst of chaos or hyper stimuli, there is a pervasive tranquility as well. But to get to this mindfulness, you have to actually start by withdrawal or simplification and then focusing

 

[Camarillo]

It seems like the term "mindfulness" is floating around right now because of a meditation practice of the same name. I can't say that I've ever experienced it. But it seems to be a much more elaborate thing than just paying attention.

For me, the times when I've been disciplined about practicing are also when I've been able to let my mind wander during gigs without messing up. If you have to think about what you're doing, it's too late. Thinking can be for the higher level aspects of playing, such as interpretation, the overall sound of the ensemble, interacting with band mates and the audience, etc.

Admittedly I'm skeptical about anything that's a substitute for practice and technique. I've got a gig 2 weeks from now, that will require all of my technique, plus practice, just to play the parts. If I haven't gotten the parts down, no amount of concentrating on the gig is going to help me.

Mindfulness - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I didn't mean to say the a mindful approach can substitute practice and technique, but I think it's as important. And yes, mindfulness it's a little more elaborate than paying attention. I would define it as the ability to focus and be aware to notice when the mind looses the focus and wanders, to get back on the object of your focus, being present in the here and now.

 

[Camarillo]

I've found that mistakes made while recording are much worse than those made in live performance

While recording they can be corrected...

 

[Camarillo]

To play your best you need to be thinking of nothing but playing.

Exactly, that extreme focus a mindful mind can reach when it's able to stay here and now.

 

[Camarillo]

I guarantee that the more I think about the lick that’s coming up, the less chance that I’ll play it right.

That's because when you think about the next lick your mind is in the the future, so not focus on here and now. The same thing when you don't play right and think about you're mistake your mind is in the past, so again, not focused on here and now.

 

[Camarillo]

Don't need a new age word or new definition to describe what's been around and known to most professional players forever.

"Mindfulness" is not a "new age" word. Is a concept well known since 2500 years or so...

 

[dbflats]

What is consciousness other than an endless stream of extremely short -term memories?

 

[MuseChaser]

"Mindfulness" is not a "new age" word. Is a concept well known since 2500 years or so...

Understood....and yet the use of the word has increased a hundredfold in the past 5-10 years, preceded by "wellness"... That's all I meant.

 

[Iridescentone]

Pretty sure John Lennon once said that for every 1 hour played in concert, it required 100 hours of rehearsal. I take that to mean being able to play well on auto-pilot, no matter what's happening around them. Imagine playing a ball field with 2000 crazed fans spilling over the walls and rushing the stage. That's a whole 'nuther level of mindfulness.

 

[Sam versus]

...and I won't deny that ^^^that sounds like a load of New Age fru-fru baloney.

It does, and in meditation circles there is some disagreement on what is desirable, thinking of nothing or being deeply focused on one thing. That hasn't been answered with hundreds of years of thought on the subject, I doubt we'll answer it here.

 

[Camarillo]

I can see a lot of meditation practitioner here....no surprise, bassists are always the coolest guys in a band.