do you think when you play

[drazh]

hi
after learning a pieace and playing it by memory do you think when you play ?
or just play .because when I want to think about the notes and fingering i have mistakes .but when everythings continue automatically the result is better.

[thalbergmad]

When i am learning a piece, i tend not to think, as much of my attention is used in ensuring correct fingering and reading the score.

Once learned and my mind is free of the learning process, i tend to think more and my mind fills with scenes and pictures appropriate to the music.

Thal

[dr. j]

Think or focus?  It seems you are talking about focus.  Staying focused on the music and not letting your mind wander into other areas brings about the best results when playing by memory.

Dr. J - The More You Play the Better Your Day

[birba]

In performing, it's a fine line between not-thinking and concentration.  Probably "focusing" as dr.j puts it.  And I like Thalberg's idea of filling the mind with pictures and images that depict the music being played.  This also tends to take your mind off "performance"  and worries of memory slips, etc. You certainly don't want rational thinking while you're playing in pubblic.  That comes  BEFORE in the preparation of the music.  Of course, you need time before a piece is completely "digested" and you can count on your memory without "thinking" about it.

[appassionata91]

i concentrate on what i'm doing, but i don't necessarily 'think' about what i'm doing (if that makes any sense.) Yes, i pay attention to where i'm at in the song, but i dont really pay any mind to what my fingering is. i play however i'm comfortable, and it usually turns out fine.

[soitainly]

 When I am really playing well, I find that I am just hearing the music in my head and the fingers just follow. But you really have to have certain key points to rely on to be able to have a fall back when your concentration wanders a bit. Concentrating and avoiding memory lapses has been the bane of my musical life, but finding a way to both be focused and relaxed is the key. I have made progress lately by not letting my mind wander too much, but you can never force yourself to play the notes right.

[nia_kurniati]

what would you do then if you suddenly make a mistake or blank when you play a memorized song?

[birba]

What do you mean by "song"?  A piece?  They say Liszt, when he made a glaring mistake, would make a chord under the false note (probably a diminished one) and modulate back to the right one.  For us common mortals, we would just ignore it and go on.  When you go blank, that's another story.  I've never actually gone blank, but I have gotten stuck a few times.  One of my worst nightmares was the rondo in op. 78 of Beethoven.  That's why it's best to establish "points of reference".

[go12_3]

Say, sometimes I think and sometimes I don't think, it depends upon how I feel throughout the day. Some days I truly focus upon the sections of a piece, if it is lengthy.  Learning a piece is a process whenever I practice---I think or focus as I come to an understanding of a piece. But, when I play for enjoyment, then I don't think as much, the music flows through me as my fingers automatically go where they need to.  Playing a piece varies each day and that is what makes music come alive within me, whether I feel good or bad, I may interpret the piece or sections differently than the day before.  Learning a piece requires thinking and feelings, focusing and interpretation, concentration and desire. 

best wishes,

go12_3

[birba]

Say, sometimes I think and sometimes I don't think, it depends upon how I feel throughout the day. Some days I truly focus upon the sections of a piece, if it is lengthy.  Learning a piece is a process whenever I practice---I think or focus as I come to an understanding of a piece. But, when I play for enjoyment, then I don't think as much, the music flows through me as my fingers automatically go where they need to.  Playing a piece varies each day and that is what makes music come alive within me, whether I feel good or bad, I may interpret the piece or sections differently than the day before.  Learning a piece requires thinking and feelings, focusing and interpretation, concentration and desire. 

Couldn't have been said better!

go12_3

[birba]

sorry about that...

[go12_3]

sorry about that...

sorry about what?

[birba]

That my commentf "couldn't have been put better" was included in the quote

[go12_3]

That my commentf "couldn't have been put better" was included in the quote

Oh, I see now.  Yes, I used to do that when I first joined PS.  Just make sure you place your comment under the word *quote* and then it will be separate from the original comment.  And thanks for agreeing with me on what I've posted earlier.   

best wishes,

go12_3

[invictious]

I tend to think about how I can make myself look more impressive on stage by making a passage look extremely difficult.

[birba]

Like Lszt, himself!  Bravo!

[artsyalchemist]

I think a lot when I'm first starting a piece, then progressively shut my mind.  However, during a performance, I do tend to think a lot.  It has saved me from what could be terrible slip-ups and frustration.

[turayza]

I think, but about the piece. Sometimes when you're counting on muscle memory (which is not a good thing to rely on XD) it works to let your mind wander, but then you're screwed if you slip up. Usually when performing there are a lot of little details in your piece that you have to think ahead about to make sure you play. It's easier for me to concentrate on tone quality and shaping rather than fingering or the next note I have to play because that usually messes me up.

[rasteen]

I feel it is important to be focused when playing.  But we must be focused when practicing!! Often, I have seen students/performers who could play through a piece in practice, fumble or crash on stage, because suddenly they were "focused" and began to think about things and hear things they had never noticed before; this can bring confusion, mistakes and sometimes the collapse of a performance.  I think it was Abby Simon (but I can't swear to it) who said you should never even practice a scale without being "involved" in what you are doing, because it is negative practice.

That being said, I think we all realize that in a performance you cannot focus on every small detail. From  a purely practical point, the music goes too fast for "conscious" attention to every part; I think that in performance we focus on the architecture, the longer lines and the colors we are painting with sound. The details have to worked out in the practice room--then the music is released in performance.

Like Horowitz said, "Performance requires focus, but not too much."

[smartassmusic]

Focus in practice and focus in performance are very different things indeed.

In slow practice you need to be aware of  much of the "mechanics" of playing and learning the notes but the goal should always be to be guided by sound only.

You need to reach the level of clearly hearing in your head exactly what you want to play and associating the correct movements with the correct sound.

When you "play" or perform you must only hear (internally and externally) the sound....... but this art, in itself, needs to be practised.

Glenn Gould used to think about the dog hairs on his suit....but that's another story :-)

[lau]

well only when the peice is well learned of course. yeah sometimes i just daydream and then i realize im at the end of the peice. I think thats when i play the best to. Maybe not, but maybe.