How to increase my concentration and the duration of my concentration

[bernadette60614]

As an adult, the priority has always been:  As much as possible as quickly as possible.

In piano, slower is better...at least when it comes to practicing difficult pieces.

I find my attention wandering and keeping my concentration truly "present" is a challenge.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Thank you, all!

[dogperson]

My disclaimer:  I am an adult re-starter, certainly older than average.  But here is what works for me: - I set very defined goals for the practice:  i.e., tempo in measures 1-4.  followed by dynamics in XXX.
- I do not extend practice sessions when my concentration is no longer effective.  If I notice my mind wandering, I give myself one chance to forget about the nasty work project and concentrate--- sometimes that might involve working on a goal for a different score.   if that refocus is not effective,  I leave the piano and return later   

I know you want to hear that you can extend your concentration from xxx minutes to xxxx minutes... sorry, but I don't have a formula to make that happen for you.  I work with the concentration I have at the moment... and give up when it isn't there.   

Concentrated, relatively small segments of time and goals works for me.  The length of time will vary but the trigger is to stop when the practice is no longer effective.

[pjjslp]

I believe our situations are different, so I don't know whether my response will be helpful at all. (If I recall correctly, you are taking lessons with a fairly demanding teacher? I am an adult returning pianist without a teacher at the moment but hoping to have the money and time soon.)

When I can't focus, it's usually one of two things: either I'm bored by what I'm playing, or there is too much going on in my "real life" to focus appropriately.

When it's the former, I either stop playing that piece for that session, or maybe put it away for a while if I've had too many practice sessions in a row where my attention was wandering. My practice time is too limited to spend it on pieces I'm not enjoying.

When it's the latter, I get out one of my books of pop/Broadway arrangements and play some easier stuff just for fun, or I stop playing and go knock a couple of things off my to do list. I find that if I keep practicing with poor focus, I end up learning errors that are then very difficult to unlearn.

If it's a chronic issue for you or you find other areas in your life where focus and attention are a challenge, I'm probably no help at all

[hardy_practice]

According to David Mamet you can't.  You're just not into it enough!

[louispodesta]

As an adult, the priority has always been:  As much as possible as quickly as possible.

In piano, slower is better...at least when it comes to practicing difficult pieces.

I find my attention wandering and keeping my concentration truly "present" is a challenge.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Thank you, all!

This question needed to be asked for centuries.  That, in my opinion, is just how important it is.

Do the phrases:  "harder and smarter," "no pain, no gain," sound familiar?

My coach is Dr. Thomas Mark (www.pianomap.com) who teaches that, if after two days of playing a particular passage it does not improve, then you strip it down to its basic parts and then start again.

This means, once and for all, that the centuries old tradition of playing a particular passage over and over again, is a complete/huge waste of time.

In terms of your attention span, I am 65 years old.  I have ADDHD, ASD, and I have Psoriatic Arthritis to boot!

My late teacher, Robert Weaver (whose close friend and mentor at UT Austin was the late Dalis Franz).  He was a student of Rachmaninoff and taught his students that it is not mentally possible for a human being to concentrate for more than two hours at a time.

Further, like Chopin and Hummel before him, he did not recommend that anyone practice for more than two hours at a time.  That means the traditional conservatory method of hours and hours of practice is completely against the neurobiology of the human brain. 

Andre Watts has stated in print that it takes the better part of two years to learn a piece and then have it ready for performance.  In my opinion, he is totally correct.

Accordingly, do not sweat the conservatory BS that you and I have been taught all of our lives in terms of how and how long to learn a piece of music.  With my level of neurobiological disabilities, "Baby Steps' are a daily part of my regimen.

[tenk]

My late teacher, Robert Weaver (whose close friend and mentor at UT Austin was the late Dalis Franz).  He was a student of Rachmaninoff and taught his students that it is not mentally possible for a human being to concentrate for more than two hours at a time.

Further, like Chopin and Hummel before him, he did not recommend that anyone practice for more than two hours at a time.  That means the traditional conservatory method of hours and hours of practice is completely against the neurobiology of the human brain. 

Of course, you have a source for this from one or several neuroscientists? Rachmaninov, Chopin and Hummel were certainly not. But you don't, since you frequently pass off anecdotal evidence and appeals-to-authority arguments as if they were fact.

To the OP: if your mind begins to wander, consider why: do you feel like you aren't making progress? do you actually like the piece you're working on? are you stressed in your life outside of your piano practice? These are far more likely to affect your concentration than some mythical two-hour limit, and can be addressed more directly.

[louispodesta]

"Of course, you have a source for this from one or several neuroscientists? "

And, correspondingly, you do?

However, I do know several neurobiologists, and in terms of future projects there is serious interest in this subject.

To offer half-arse traditional half-baked advice is not something that the OP could use because I ain't God and neither or you.

All I know is that Thomas Mark's suggestion that:  after two days if it does not get any better, then break it down to its individual parts and start over.

I have posted these individual parts, in regards piano technique, and they are available through this website's search engine.

[tenk]

"Of course, you have a source for this from one or several neuroscientists? "

And, correspondingly, you do?

However, I do know several neurobiologists, and in terms of future projects there is serious interest in this subject.

To offer half-arse traditional half-baked advice is not something that the OP could use because I ain't God and neither or you.

All I know is that Thomas Mark's suggestion that:  after two days if it does not get any better, then break it down to its individual parts and start over.

I have posted these individual parts, in regards piano technique, and they are available through this website's search engine.

For a "musician/philosopher" I would expect you to have been more well-versed in making a logical argument.

You made the claim: "That means the traditional conservatory method of hours and hours of practice is completely against the neurobiology of the human brain." Generally the one that makes such a statement is the one to provide even a shred of evidence for it. You would expect me to prove a negative? For someone who claims to have sightread 47 piano concertos I'd think you would have more to offer.

There's a delicious irony in you calling anyone else's advice "half-arse"/"half-baked". Are you not seeing other posts mocking your style of pontificating ad nauseam about being a "musician/philosopher", name-dropping people that no one's ever heard of and claiming whatever they told you (whether personally or hearsay) is gospel, then linking to a six-year-old video of you blathering on about rolling chords? Spare me...

[bronnestam]

As an adult, the priority has always been:  As much as possible as quickly as possible.

In piano, slower is better...at least when it comes to practicing difficult pieces.

I find my attention wandering and keeping my concentration truly "present" is a challenge.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Thank you, all!

I second what others have written here.

From one adult amateur to another: we have to accept the fact that Real Life sometimes forces us to focus on other things than piano playing. Or, well, force and force, this is the choice we have made. I sometimes get annoyed by, sometimes envy those young piano students who claim they devote "12 hours a day" to piano playing (sort of). No, I don't admire their stamina and ambitions. I always wonder who is doing their household work, take care of their children, get their family an income etcetera.
But it is really not my task to judge the choices others make in life.  

I like to say that as an amateur you can practice just like a pro does, but not that often.  There are days when I cannot play the piano - either I get disturbed by people around me, or by things I simply have to do, or my mind wanders like you describe. If I know this lack of concentration has a certain cause which is important - like an issue with my children, for instance - then I accept it and leave the piano. If I don't play the piano for some days, or even longer, I find at the return that my playing has deteriorated which of course is annoying, but after some days of diligent work I often realize that I have not just come back to former "level", but also surpassed it a bit. Conclusion: it is good for you to take a break sometimes. (Unless you are not a pro who simply has to have this concert prepared for next Thursday.)

If there is no special reason for my lack of focus - if practicing NOW really is a good idea, and I still feel unmotivated (because that is what lack of focus really is about), I use a few little tricks. One is to spend more time listening to recordings of the piece I'm about to work with. When it starts to play on repeat in my head, when I go for a walk or do something else, when I feel the urge to explore it, "hum" certain phrases silently to myself, then I soon feel very motivated to go to the piano and work with it, because then it has begun to occupy my mind.
Another thing is to focus on just very small details in the piece. Explore some of the chords, really listen to them, break them down in note by note, press the sustain pedal, strike the chord and then listen to it when it fades away. Omit some parts of it and listen to the effect.
Or make up a little exercise to make a certain passage a bit smoother, borrow something from Hanon, look at your hand while it is moving and experiment with the angle of your wrist - WHATEVER. Just stay on the microscope level for a while and never mind the other 250 bars.

The reason is that these run-throughs we all are tempted to make, can be rather tedious in long terms. We start to wait for the end to come instead of enjoying the details in the present moment. And we get careless, make the same mistake for the 100th time and make the usual reflection: ok, I'll fix it later.  
Then we start playing the piece from the beginning once again, come to the troublesome spot and maybe it works better this time, maybe not ... but still you get the dissatisfying feeling that you are just scratching the surface and this is a great way to lose motivation. You don't feel you play this piece very well, you get disencouraged, you feel you are getting nowhere - of course your subconscious defence mechanism is to "lose your concentration".  

Well, I write "you" all the time. Maybe I should write "I" instead.

And sometimes I cannot focus because I AM TIRED. That happens too ... One question, if you just sit down in an armchair and do nothing, I mean NOTHING - not even meditate or actively try to "relax" - do you feel guilty? Do you feel that you really should use this time for doing breathing exercises, plan the dinner, memorize some music, clean the house, practice yoga or anything else that Successful People do? Then you are too stressed. I have been there far too often.    

[keypeg]

The two specific things that LouisPodesta has advised, as I read it are:
- Not to try to concentrate on something for a very long time straight, i.e. 2 hours straight
- break things down into smaller components
There is nothing controversial about either of these things, and I have been advised on both these things by more than one good teacher, as well as professional and semi-professional musicians.  I don't understand why there would be objection to either point.  In fact, where there was objection, I did not see any argument about why this advice would be wrong - only whether a neurologist could be cited.  I am thinking that if a good teacher advises me on how to practice, and if I see improvement in my practising by doing this, and especially if it makes sense to me - I won't want to check this out with a neurologist.  Well, maybe if the neurologist was also a musician who practised effectively.  Here I'm talking about the people I learned from, and the things I tried, rather than LP's experiences.
Perhaps the quoting of names, giving credentials or titles, stating that we are told to do bad things like repeating things for hours and practising for hours, when many of us have not been told such things --- maybe these rub the wrong way. But one has to differentiate between what you find irritating in the manner of delivery, and whether the advice itself is sound or unsound.

So are either of these two points bad?  If so, why?

[indianajo]

I consider myself to have a very long attention span.  Playing piano instead of watching sports on television is one bit of evidence.
But, I never practice more than about 90 minutes.  More often 90 minutes now that I am playing pieces that have a 70 minute duration even at full tempo.  But as a student, I practiced an hour. No more, I had too much homework, and 1962-68, bassoon also to practice.  
You may have previously seen my recommendation for slow, mistake free practice.  If I find one part of a piece takes a lot slower tempo to achieve no mistakes, then I practice only that part, not the easy parts.  If it requires one hand alone to make no mistakes, I do that, as many sessions as necessary.  
I don't set goals. I don't analyze chord structure on pieces that are written out fully.  I don't worry about the sonata theory or tha fugue theory or whatever.  That is necessary to pass some college level courses, but not to actually play the piano.  I just try to play the correct notes, until I am doing that successfully and can start thinking about emotion.  
when I am too distracted by life to concentrate, I just run through,  in about 15 minutes, my physical exercise.  Instead of Czerny or scales or arpeggios, I play three Scott Joplin rags. I do this 3 to 5 times a week as much as possible.   I feel this maintains the strength of my 3,4, 5 fingers, and stretches out all the muscles.  At age 66, use the muscles, or lose 10% a year the physicians report. Not just the major muscles, IMHO.  
It helps I enjoy the sound of my piano.  Even when drudging through a difficult passage at a crawl,  there are all those beautiful little pings.  I also don't play pieces I don't like.  Maybe one section of a suite, but nothing that I don't want to be playing.  Not having a teacher, this is a bit of a luxury.  there were pieces I didn't like when I was a student, and although I suppose I needed my horizon stretched, I mostly still don't like those pieces.  I don't re-investigate them.  
Perhaps if you are not making progress due to life, you should decrease the frequency of your lessons with the teacher.  Teachers are necessary to learn the physical tricks of piano, and they can impart musical education, but I mostly am concerned with the former these days.  
As far as my level if it worries you, I am slogging through Lyapunov Nuit de Noel one hand alone about mm 30.  It may not be ready by Christmas.  Oh well, the indigents at the charity dinner who are my intended audience never heard of it anyway.  They will be much more excited about Blue Christmas or Holly Jolly Christmas they heard in their youth.  Both those pieces are snaps. I don't have a recording of it, it will be a great pleasure to hear it again when I get it up to speed. I heard it once about 2 AM on WFMT FM service about 3 years ago, and I don't listen to U-tube. 
Hope this helps you.  

[vaniii]

Like Louis said, don't practise longer than 2 hours. Actual fact, 5 mins of good practice can beat mindless repetitionon for hours.

I can practice for hours, broken up in to 30 minute sessions; when my mind wonders, I get up and walk around the room. I perhaps get some water; in essence change stimulus. When I sit down, it amazes me how a fresh mind can increase workflow.


I would suppose the main difference is, I am working. Entertainment is not my goal, so it is simply irrelevant what I am playing, I approach it with the mindset of understanding the composers intention.

When I play (there is a difference playing and practising) I have no aim. There is no overall agenda, so little concentration is required. When I close the book, the music is disregarded.

Listen to your mind; drifting thoughts are a sign of mental boredom. Focus on your counting and listen to the sound.

Also, if I said it once, I'll say it 1 million times, learning to read it from the page first in time slowly builds muscle memory. The journey to that point helps prevent stray thoughts while playing.

Focus on the music; not how you look, or what you think you sound like; simply loose your self in the music.

[hardy_practice]

I don't analyze chord structure on pieces that are written out fully.  I don't worry about the sonata theory or tha fugue theory or whatever.  

Then you've missed some key features which will hold your interest.

[louispodesta]

As an adult, the priority has always been:  As much as possible as quickly as possible.

In piano, slower is better...at least when it comes to practicing difficult pieces.

I find my attention wandering and keeping my concentration truly "present" is a challenge.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Thank you, all!

In my opinion, this particular post proffers an interrogatory (in a succinct manner) that every pianist has pondered for hundreds of years.

Just today, I did something I do not normally do.  I finished my afternoon practice session with the Brahms Op.118 No. 2.  Normally, I just play sections of this, but today, I did the whole drill.

As stated before, with my ADDHD, I have a very difficult time continually focusing on every note and every measure.  And, today, it was no different.

However, as taught by my coach before Thomas Mark, learn the harmony of your music.  That means:  write the formal theory chord symbols (above the line) of every major chord in any particular piece you have learned.

What he didn't teach me (I learned myself) is, in regards most composers, most chords are written in a block chord structure and also a broken chord structure.

Therefore, per the OP, I suggest you memorize your music in this fashion.  That way, if your mind wanders (and it will), then you know the basic (one, three, five, seven) chord structure of 99% of the classical repertoire.

A couple of years ago Daniel Barenboim was asked before a performance cycle of the Beethoven Sonatas what happens when he has a memory lapse.  His answer was (paraphrasing) that if you truly know your music, it is no big deal to get yourself back on track.

Finally, there are no music gods, and no one is perfect.  That is a very well promoted myth!

As a recommendation, I suggest that any student with this problem learn the Mendelssohn "Spring Song Op. 62 NO. 6.  In its totality, it has 80 different chord changes and was a crowd favorite encore of Horowitz.

It is a great tune, which the entire world has heard, and most of all it teaches you how to learn and play your music harmonically.