Listen with all your concentration and devotion, and be especially aware of the final seconds of each sound as it thresholds into nothing.
This is an extract taken from The Mindful Pianist by Mark Tanner.
Before we can be creative, we need to be in tune with ourselves and at ease with our surroundings. Any tension that has built up during the day will act as a firewall to creative thinking and will quickly burn away any prospect of feeling inspired. Being creative requires the kind of energy we generally reserve for the more special moments in our lives, and piano practice ought to be among these.
Ironically, there can be times when our mental resources may have dwindled to a low ebb, yet we find ourselves functioning rather better than usual. It is as though the tiredness (or perhaps adrenaline) is enabling us to tap into reserves we would not normally be aware exist. Clearly we cannot depend on these intermittent quasi-dreamlike states to arise with any predictability. We would be better off building up a bank of more reliable ways by which we can feel centred and ready for doing some creative practising.
The following simple techniques aim to encourage you to savour the sensation of aligning your body, mind and inner ear in pursuit of sharpened focus.
- Sit upright at the piano and close your eyes. A darkened room should help you to feel calm and not distracted by your surroundings.
- Place both hands on the keys in random places around the middle register and slowly move your mind to the very tips of your fingers. Relax and try not to carry the weight of your arms in your shoulders; your fingers should feel almost supernaturally connected to the piano; they will not be required to play anything just yet.
- Breathe slowly and rhythmically as just described, and you will soon feel your heart rate drop a little. Just let yourself ‘be’ for a while and enjoy the sense of being in touch with the instrument you have grown to love.
- Prepare to take a long inhalation, and as you do so, physically lift your third finger quite high. Now play a note and try to make it the most poignant, perfect sound you have ever made. Even without first depressing the pedal you will hear it ring for maybe half a minute or more, depending of course on how fast you depressed the key.
- As it begins its very slow decay, ‘watch’ this note (you might imagine being at the top of a very shallow-inclined ski slope, hardly moving at first, just inching your way along), and as this happens, slowly begin to breathe out. The simple act of exhaling, slowly and fully, can be most effective as a means of relaxing. With a little practice, you should be able to coincide each exhalation with the precise striking moment of the note.
- See if you can do this whole process two or three times back-to-back, on each occasion allowing yourself to inhale a full, deep breath before the next leisurely ‘descent’.
The simple act of latching onto your breathing, sounding each long note and turning its audible sensation into something a little more visual, should soon transport you away from your room and make you feel more aware of the life each note lives. Listen with all your concentration and devotion, and be especially aware of the final seconds of each sound as it thresholds into nothing. It is when the real note has disappeared, but still lives on in your mind’s ear, that your focus has peaked.