Concentration in the performance of Music Ideally you will be "lost" in the performance, however the world is not "ideal" and most performers find themselves transitioning betwen two distinctly different types of consciousness during a performance. Here is a suggested checklist of items which you can apply "relaxed attention" to in performance, when you transition back into a "thinking" type of consciousness, as opposed to a "flowing" type of consciousness. Teacher's Notes These considerations should influence the priorities in teaching the instrument. For example, the learning of note locations on the instrument, reading ability and the programming of scales and arpeggios as "ballistic motions" should be among the first priorities. What should I think about during Performance? The tune. The reflected sounds of the ensemble (or your own instrument) The ensemble, for example paying attention to the bass part, whether it is unison or counterpoint to your own part. The conductor, or leader of the ensemble, his/her gestures and body language. The printed music, if reading.. you willl be reading a number of measures ahead. The relationships of your head-neck-torso. As you can see there is precious little mental resource left for monitoring questions such as of finger and arm motion... let alone finding the notes on the instrument! This is an excerpt from "Scales and Arpeggios and How to Play Them - 1998" This book was superceded in August 2003 by the publication of "Guitar Playing and how it works". I will leave these pages on-line as they still contain useful information.
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