Does there exist a "virtuoso mood"?

[ranjit]

Listening to Cziffra playing a Dohnanyi etude, I realized that there is a point where it feels like he gets into a flow-like state, in which he "surpasses himself" in terms of technique. That got me thinking. Do you have a certain feeling where you somehow instinctively know at that moment that you'll be able to surpass your own technique?

I'll share my personal experience. There have been times when I was "inspired" (for lack of a better word), when a certain piece of music was ringing in my ears and wouldn't let go, and I almost couldn't resist the urge to play it on the piano. And to my surprise, I would often find that I was able to play things well which I normally wouldn't be able to. As if I suddenly realized how to play very fast octaves, scales, arpeggios, etc. by channeling certain a kind of feeling. Almost as if my hands would move of their own accord.

Like, for example, listen to the "quivering" part starting at 1:38, which then explodes. I'm convinced there's some interesting phenomenon going on here. https://youtu.be/2EHfTDnZIto?t=98

[mrcreosote]

I would say yes.  "Visualizing" the event works to improve things.  I know a couple pro basketball players and visualizing your free throws is almost standard practice.

Sometimes, the mind is clearer.  Why?  Diet? Sugar?  Caffeine? Sleep/rest? Emotional state?  Bio Rhythm?  Whatever the cause, I haven't been able to identify it, much less control it.

I have experienced ability far above my base line - and believe it or not, I usually play better after not playing for a day or two.  My thought on that is it allows my brain to clear of "background noise", tension, habit, etc. things that detract from the Here and Now.

Technique is opposite of Creativity.  Practice of technique pounds Creativity to smithereens.  Practicing Creativity?  I suppose that is how a Psychopath mimics emotion, but a Creative person uses meditation of a form to channel The Creative - can that actually be practiced?  ... hard to say.
 
Lawrence Olivier said every time he took to the stage, he was absolutely terrified because he had no control of his genius and never knew it was present until he performed.

[j_tour]

Yeah.  I wouldn't call it a "virtuoso mood," but that seems as good a name as any other.

For me, it's just a combination of having the complete conception of a piece in my ear, and no distractions. 

I'm not saying it turns me into a virtuoso, which I'm not, but having the several aspects of a given piece or style of music going in the head is liberating.

I wouldn't say it's luck, really:  I mean, there's a reason we practice so much and learn things inside and out and sleep and dream music, and read scores when people are playing Angry Birds.

Can it be switched on and off?

Yeah, I think a basic professional standard can be achieved, but I don't know how to get in that groove where the once-difficult becomes possible, even if for an hour.

So, I would say, sure that mood exists, but I don't know what conditions are needed. 

[ranjit]

I have experienced ability far above my base line - and believe it or not, I usually play better after not playing for a day or two.  My thought on that is it allows my brain to clear of "background noise", tension, habit, etc. things that detract from the Here and Now.

I've experienced the same. I think sleeping on it somehow consolidates everything. After a day or two, you internalize your experiences, and now you don't have to think about them so hard while playing, which frees you up.

Technique is opposite of Creativity.  Practice of technique pounds Creativity to smithereens.  Practicing Creativity?  I suppose that is how a Psychopath mimics emotion, but a Creative person uses meditation of a form to channel The Creative - can that actually be practiced?  ... hard to say.

I think the true nature of creativity just isn't talked about often enough. In my experience (I have tried to write, solve difficult problems, among other things), discipline turns out to be the antithesis of creativity. Once everything is too structured, you stop thinking out of the box. Of course, if it's too unstructured, you end up doing nothing. It's a balancing act. This is what I think the people who think about the number of hours they spend a day end up doing wrong. Creativity (or any difficult intellectual ability really) doesn't work like going to the gym.

I incorporate a decent dose of improvisation while practicing "technique", which I feel still helps me still stay creative. But I've never had formal classes and stuff, so maybe the way I go about it is inefficient, who knows?

[ranjit]

I wouldn't say it's luck, really:  I mean, there's a reason we practice so much and learn things inside and out and sleep and dream music, and read scores when people are playing Angry Birds.

Can it be switched on and off?

Yeah, I think a basic professional standard can be achieved, but I don't know how to get in that groove where the once-difficult becomes possible, even if for an hour.

So, I would say, sure that mood exists, but I don't know what conditions are needed.

It's pretty rare that I get into that mood (maybe once a month or so). As you keep progressing, your baseline keeps improving, but there is that occasional feeling when you feel like you can surpass yourself, and inexplicably play considerably better than you usually would. Many things which were previously difficult become easy. I'll suddenly manage a perfect tremolo, or an unusually soft pianissimo with great control, or come up with cool chord changes, or play a 3-octave scale or arpeggio ridiculously fast. Any number of things, really. But it is the same mood: your mind is racing, you know you've got it in you at that moment, and you don't feel conscious about what you're playing.

I think a possible gateway to get into that mood is to be overwhelmed, completely moved by a piece of music. But it's not as if that can be controlled either.

[mrcreosote]

Listening to Cziffra playing a Dohnanyi etude

Listening to Cziffra playing a Dohnanyi etude, I realized that there is a point where it feels like he gets into a flow-like state, in which he "surpasses himself" in terms of technique. That got me thinking. Do you have a certain feeling where you somehow instinctively know at that moment that you'll be able to surpass your own technique?

I'll share my personal experience. There have been times when I was "inspired" (for lack of a better word), when a certain piece of music was ringing in my ears and wouldn't let go, and I almost couldn't resist the urge to play it on the piano. And to my surprise, I would often find that I was able to play things well which I normally wouldn't be able to. As if I suddenly realized how to play very fast octaves, scales, arpeggios, etc. by channeling certain a kind of feeling. Almost as if my hands would move of their own accord.

Like, for example, listen to the "quivering" part starting at 1:38, which then explodes. I'm convinced there's some interesting phenomenon going on here. https://youtu.be/2EHfTDnZIto?t=98

ir own accord.

Like, for example, listen to the "quivering" part starting at 1:38, which then explodes. I'm convinced there's some interesting phenomenon going on here. https://youtu.be/2EHfTDnZIto?t=98

THANK YOU SO MUCH for this amazing piece performed by Cziffra - I was unaware of his work even though a huge Cziffra fan. 

Trying to explain Cziffra is difficult, but from that youtube: "CZIFFRA ATTENDED DOHNANYI'S MASTER CLASSES WHEN HE WAS A CHILD PRODIGY AT THE LISZT ACADEMY IN BUDAPEST."

Cziffra does not "surpass his own technique" - it just seems that way to us Lower Beings.  Cziffra's technique is unparalleled but his "limits" are difficult to detect - they happen so quickly.

For years I've been awed by Cziffra's Grand Gallop Chromatique in that while he plays at an impossible tempo, he embellishes with bursts of greater-than-super-human speed. 

These bursts are no anomalies since he is usually note-perfect at his "base" speed.  The speed where his accuracy starts to suffer is much greater and is used sparingly if at all.  It is very difficult to detect this limit.

His brain speed must be unique - like Secretariat's 22 lb. heart.