Have you ever noticed that certain students play with confidence and ease some days while other days they seem to struggle? I’m not talking about students who you know don’t practice with any degree of regularity or who lack the technical or musical ability to perform certain works. I’m talking about the students who work hard, are capable, practice faithfully, who can sound absolutely fantastic, but who sometimes seem to lose the connection between their brain and their fingers and lack consistency and confidence in their performances.
I was this student. As much as my inconsistent playing bothered my teachers, it frustrated me even more and I was determined to figure out why this happened. What I’m sharing with you here is the result of over a decade of professional research and personal development that has revolutionized my own playing and that of my students. I discovered that my problem was this: the communication between my mind and body was not strong. When I practiced, I was relaxed and my mind and body behaved in certain ways, but when I was under pressure, my mind and body behaved differently and I had no idea how to control what happened.
Through my research, I discovered that there is a very simple, effective concept that develops awareness and communication between a musician’s mind and body: relaxed concentration. In a musical context, this means developing the ability to be fully present in each moment of playing while maintaining just the right amount of energy, muscular control, and focus that enables musicians to play with a high level of consistency and confidence. While there are a variety of approaches to developing the art of relaxed concentration, below are four techniques which are particularly effective for students that can be incorporated into their daily routine from their first lesson: breathing, progressive relaxation, meditation, and mindfulness.
Breathing
Did you know that researchers have discovered that the type of breathing a person engages in directly reflects the level of tension carried in their body?1 Musicians who have an awareness of their breathing possess the ability to determine the state of their mind and body and to change their breathing patterns to create a desired state of relaxed concentration. Deep breathing also encourages mental calm and enhances concentration, which is beneficial for all musicians, especially ones who perform by memory.
The technique is simple: take a deep, long, slow breath in through the nose, and exhale through the mouth. As you inhale, imagine your lungs filling up from the bottom to the top. Have a little fun with the exhale and make it as loud as you can—kids love that! Repeat 3-5 times, each time adding an extra second to the length of your inhalations and exhalations.
Progressive Relaxation
After developing an awareness of their breathing, students can extend the idea of awareness to include their physical body. Developed by Dr. Edmund Jacobson, progressive relaxation is the intentional creation and release of muscular tension, moving from one muscle group to another throughout the body.2 The goal of this skill is to train the mind to recognize when and where tension is present in the body, and how to release it. Our bodies and minds can do strange things when we’re under pressure and if we are not prepared, this can be surprising or difficult to know how to handle. Some students experience unexpected muscular rigidity or perhaps the opposite: the feeling of their arms or legs turning to jelly. As with the breathing, there is a simple technique that develops an awareness of excess or insufficient tension and promotes strong communication between the mind and body. Once students gain mastery of this skill, they can use it in moments of pressure, to create or relieve tension in specific areas of the body as needed.
First, remember to breathe. Then find a comfortable place to sit or lie still. Take a moment to do a quick head-to-toe muscular scan to determine where there is excess or insufficient tension. Pinpoint the exact area of tension and label the feeling. Be as creative as you like, but only use one word or image. Now, scrunch up that muscle (and only that muscle, don’t involve secondary muscles in this exercise) as tightly as you can and hold it for 10 seconds. Label this feeling as well. Finally, fully and completely release that muscle. Again, focus only on that muscle, no others. Label this feeling. This exercise can be conducted with each muscle group that is uncomfortable either due to excess or insufficient tension. It is important for the student to name each feeling as this naming manifests a connection between their body and mind that makes it easier for them to access in times of stress.
For an audio version of this article, listen to Episode 2 of the Mindful Music Pedagogy Podcast.
Read this article for more tips on incorporating breathing into your daily practice.
Read here for further exploration of progressive relaxation.
For even more strategies, check out the comprehensive Mindfulness for Musicians Workbook.
—Written by Jessica Koebbe, published on August 9, 2020.
1Edmund J. Bourne, The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, 5th edition (Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc., 2010), 82.
2Edmund Jacobson, Progressive Relaxation: A Physiological & Clinical Investigation of Muscular States & Their Significance in Psychology & Medical Practice (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1931).