The date is Saturday, February 23, 1991. Violinist Isaac Stern is in the midst of performing a Mozart concerto with the Israel Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta conducting, only to be interrupted by air raid sirens signaling a Scud missile attack.
The orchestra leaves the stage to put on protective gear; the audience remain in their seats wearing gas masks. Stern returns to the stage sans gas mask, and proceeds to play the Sarabande from Bach’s D minor Partita.
Most of us will never perform under conditions like this, but for a moment, just imagine. How could one continue to focus on one’s performance when the possibility of a missile attack is so very real and imminent?
Attentional focus
Our ability to focus – to direct our attention where we want it, when we want, and for how long we want — is a critical ingredient not just in conquering stage fright (or focusing past an impending missile attack) but in optimal and peak performances.
Beta waves
Unfortunately, when we get on stage and the adrenaline kicks in, our attention becomes like a hyperactive puppy on caffeine. For one, our brain goes into overdrive and literally speeds up. Hook your brain up to a device measuring brain wave activity, and under stress you’ll see your brain begin to produce brain waves known as Beta waves which oscillate at 13-30 cycles per second. Makes sense, since if you were in danger, it’d be good to be able to think faster, process more information in less time, and make decisions more quickly. Of course, it’s the slower 8-12 cycle per second Alpha waves that studies suggest are more conducive to creativity and high-level performance.
Senses enhanced
Not only is your brain going faster, but your senses get kicked up a notch under pressure too. You’re more likely to be sensitive to all sorts of irrelevant stimuli around you, whether it be movement offstage or in the audience, candy wrappers being scrunched, or how your shoes are suddenly feeling too tight. This can be distracting, to say the least, and now you are left with fewer resources available to process the important music and performance-related details.
Rude awakening
Contrast this with what we are accustomed to. The practice room and rehearsal hall are very controlled environments where external factors are mostly controlled. Temperature is neither too hot nor too cold, the lights are neither too bright nor too dim, the room is quiet and the acoustics are familiar. The conditions are ideal, and our brain is processing information at a normal rate. It’s a pretty cushy setup, which sets us up for a rude awakening when we step out on stage and everything is suddenly different.
With so much competing for our attention in auditions and performances, how can we train ourselves to be more focused on what matters and remain immune to these external distractions?
Television.
Heh?
TV is bad
TV usually gets a bad rap from the media, from parents, and from educators. Some say it shortens our attention span, others say watching TV increases our risk of dying, and that it is the worst invention in the history of mankind. Well, all that aside, TV is pretty engaging. It can be difficult to ignore the TV when it is on. Don’t believe me? Try having a deep, meaningful conversation with someone while sitting in front of the TV.
We can use the attention-sucking power of the TV to our advantage. TV is going to be your new attention training buddy.
TV is your friend
Here’s the exercise.
- Select a piece that you know well and can play at a pretty high level.
- Turn on the TV, volume pretty low at first
- Standing in front of the TV, center, and proceed to perform the first few minutes of your piece, treating the entire mock performance as if it were a real concert.
- How well were you able to stay focused on your performance? When did your attention wander? See if you can figure out why — what led you to shift your attention from your playing to the TV? Keep in mind that if you don’t know what to pay attention to, the TV will win by default. Review the post on clear intentions for ideas on what to focus on.
When this exercise becomes too easy for you, start tweaking things a bit by turning up the volume on the TV, putting on a favorite show or a particularly distracting one (for instance, a DVD of your favorite artist playing a different part of the same piece). You could also try playing pieces you are less familiar with, or ones where you are more likely to be distracted.
Use the TV as a training tool, and you’ll find that you’ll be able to focus past any on-stage distraction like it was nothing.
The one-sentence summary
“Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.” ~Albert Einstein
6 Responses
Hi thanks for this great blog site! The Canadian pianist Glenn Gould commented sometimes in interviews how he used noise from various sources to get things done in the practice rooms. A radio and a vacuum cleaner together was apparently his favorite. He may have been more focused doing that but always commented how stressed he felt on stage.
Jon,
Great story – thanks!
I have done this before!!!!! It really helps, and I’m glad I’ve seen someone back up my method…. 🙂
Good to hear from you, Michael – thanks for the comment!
I have read many of your articles, and I was wondering what your thoughts are regarding the difference between practicing for overall improvement of your musicianship versus practicing for peak performance of a given piece. How are they the same or different.
If I understand the question correctly, I think most greater artist/teachers would say that they’re one and the same. A student once asked Leon Fleisher how much time one ought to spend on technique. And his answer was something to the effect that you only need as much technique as is necessary to say what you’re trying to say. So musicianship and technique don’t get practiced in isolation, but the musicianship dictates what technique is necessary and how much time is required to get where you’re trying to go.