Mental strategies to improve playing from memory.

For many musicians, performing from memory is expected. Thanks to romantic virtuosos such as Clara Schumann, Franz Liszt and Niccolo Paganini, it is conventional for musicians at all levels to perform from memory. This demand places even more pressure on already highly stressed musicians. Memory lapses occur, and audiences are typically sympathetic. Nonetheless, the fear of forgetting the music while performing on stage lingers in the back of many artists' minds. For some, this fear may even become debilitative.

If you require your students to perform from memory, you have doubtless trained them how to memorize their music and lectured them on the benefits of playing from memory. You probably included theoretical analyses, encouraged kinesthetic awareness, and made students conscious of the aural qualities of their recital piece. Perhaps you even encouraged mental training strategies such as mental rehearsal, used an imagery script or tried relaxation techniques. Despite all this, one of your students still cannot successfully perform from memory in front of an audience. You are convinced that her intellectual abilities are not the limiting factor, because she can play the piece at home while practicing. Also, she knows the piece inside and out, can describe its form, state the chord progressions and has memory pillars. Yet, anxiety while on stage prevents her from playing anything memorized.

Concentration as a Limiting Factor

Virginia Marks, distinguished teaching professor at Bowling Green State University, once stated that one's focus, or concentration, during a performance played a significant role in one's ability to perform from memory. (1) Within psychology, the concept of concentration is discussed as a construct of attention. While several definitions of attention exist, psychologists often quote William James's 1890 statement regarding attention:

      Everyone knows what attention
   is. It is the taking possession
   by the mind, in clear and vivid
   form, of one out of what seem
   several simultaneously possible
   objects or trains of thought.

   Focalization [and] concentration ... are
   of its essence. It
   implies withdrawal from some
   things in order to deal effectively
   with others. (2)

This idea of ignoring certain information to process other information is described as selective attention by psychologists. This is exactly what Marks was referring to when she said a performer must concentrate on the music and avoid letting the mind wander elsewhere. (3) Were one always able to successfully select the preferential information for detailed processing in a performance setting, memory lapses would probably be more infrequent.

Unfortunately, students and artists alike fail to do so. Instead, other things occupy the performer's mind: butterflies in the stomach, a cell phone ringing in the audience, bright stage lights, unfamiliar recital clothes, a note or two that were just missed or a difficult passage yet to come. Even worse is when thoughts of unrelated things invade performers' minds, such as unfinished housework, finances, errands to run and so on. For students, worries about their teacher's comments, grades, homework assignments, tests and other performance-related tasks are common. According to the various scientific theories about attention processing, these extra thoughts interfere with one's ability to concentrate on the music. (4)

Moreover, psychologists have long recognized that humans have limitations in their ability to perform two or more tasks simultaneously. Because performance while under stress on stage clearly demands much attention, especially when performing from memory, any irrelevant cues that a performer attends to will take away from available attention resources. Then, when demand exceeds supply, performance will suffer. (5)

Performance Enhancement Skills Training for Musicians

Sport psychology offers suggestions for improving one's ability to concentrate or stay focused. The techniques developed for and used by athletes worldwide are readily applicable to musicians. The application of sport psychology findings within the music performance domain is not new, and career opportunities are expanding for sport psychologists into other domains such as the performing arts. (6) Musicians interested in pedagogy also are becoming aware of its potential. Lesley Sisterhen wrote about its applications with respect to dealing with performance anxiety in a 2004 article in the American Music Teacher. (7)

Keeping with the call to emphasize positive psychology, to seek to understand positive emotion, and build one's strengths and virtues, (8) adaptations of mental-skills training specific to musicians performing from memory are offered here. The listed techniques are not meant to be an exhaustive list of the possibilities and recommendations for training concentration skills. Rather, they expand upon the list of possibilities that you are probably most familiar with already from earlier readings. A select few have been chosen for helping students to prepare for performances, to use while giving performances, and for developing coping plans. Furthermore, they are relatively easy for a creative teacher to include in lessons and structured practice sessions. Readers interested in learning about applying mental imagery, mental rehearsal, scripts, and relaxation techniques in the music studio are referred to Sisterhen's article.

Preparation Strategies

Strategy 1: Dress Rehearsal 

The dress rehearsal is a familiar concept for musicians, actors, dancers and other performing artists. As performance professionals, music teachers already know that trial run-throughs of the music beforehand are beneficial for familiarizing a performer with foreign stage surroundings. It is standard practice to hold dress rehearsals for larger ensembles, bands, choirs and orchestras. It should also be standard practice to hold dress rehearsals for solo performances, especially those that have to be done from memory. The main guideline to follow is to try to simulate the actual performance as closely as possible.

The dress rehearsal should entail what its name suggests. Before the actual performance students should practice in the clothes they plan to wear. Performance clothing, while visually stunning, is usually not the common choice of attire for everyday life or practice. Men do not practice at home in their tuxedos, nor do women typically wear high heels while practicing. In fact, the constrictive clothing worn for performances actually alters the biomechanics of playing--compare pedaling on the piano in sneakers to high heels, or compare playing leaps and arpeggios with a jacket that is tight in the shoulders with a tee-shirt.

Other important benefits of a dress rehearsal are many, including experiencing the acoustics of the room, visualizing the people in the seats of the auditorium and becoming familiar with the stage instrument and its idiosyncrasies. Without practice, these things can occupy the attention capacity, which is deleterious to performance. Yet, they are also possibly the easiest to avoid. This simple idea is based on Pavlovian conditioning. The novelty of the performance environment, compared to the practice environment, tends to reduce performance. Psychology has shown that this phenomenon can be minimized with practice. (9)

Strategy 2: Rehearsal of Simulated Performance Experiences

This idea, originally intended for training pilots and astronauts in simulation machines, is also very applicable to musicians. The concept and reasoning behind it is similar to the purpose of holding a dress rehearsal. However, its purpose is to teach the student how to cope with less than ideal conditions. As a teacher, you can prepare your student to handle the unexpected by providing simulated practice of worst-case scenarios. (10)

With a little imagination, teachers can plan scenarios for unsuspecting students to experience. For example, have a student play from memory in front of other students, parents or teacher, while a cell phone rings in the quietest part of the piece. Other simulations may include loud talking, coughing, babies crying or even the electricity failing. You can use this idea during lessons as well. A simple technique I use is to walk around the piano while the student is playing, or I fiddle with the keys and change in my pocket. This appears to be a convenient way to teach the student how to deal with auditory distractions.

Performance Strategy

Strategy 3: Centered breathing

This technique, developed to help athletes deal with physiological arousal, is perfect for performing musicians experiencing excessive stage anxiety. Centering is simply the process used to adjust weight about one's center of mass to feel centered. Alterations of breath and tension levels in various muscle groups are used to achieve this. (11) While several relaxation techniques exist to help control arousal levels, centered breathing is perhaps the easiest to learn. For musicians with experience singing or playing wind instruments, this technique should fast become second nature, because it entails diaphragmatic breathing. It can also be applied in several settings: as part of the pre-performance routine, immediately before playing on stage, between pieces and even while performing.

To teach centered breathing to students, first have them sit comfortably in a chair. Ask them to become aware of how they are feeling, arousal levels, if there is any muscular tension somewhere, and the like. Perhaps they will want to close their eyes. Explain that they are to take slow, deep breaths in through the nose to the count of five, hold the breath for two and exhale to the count of five (the count can be varied as desired), and that these deep breaths should come from the diaphragm (again, this should be automatic for vocalists and wind players). They should be aware of the expansion of their abdominal and lower back regions, the rising and falling of the chest and the resulting feelings of relaxation in all their muscles. After three to five of these centered breaths, ask your students to assess and compare their feelings from after the breaths with before the breaths. They will probably relate that they feel more relaxed, calm or focused.

After having learned this simple breathing technique, have students practice applying it in the situations mentioned above. Try having your student perform this short routine, or your own variation of it before playing. First, have the student sit with hands on her knees and eyes closed. Then, she should perform one centered breath as previously learned. Have the student focus on her posture, feeling relaxed through the shoulders, arms, forearms and hands especially. Third, have the student open her eyes, place her hands on the keyboard, continue to breath, think the tempo and finally play. This entire process will not take more than five or six seconds, is beneficial for regulating physiological arousal levels of the student, and enhances the audience's experience by creating a delightful anticipation. A modified version of this technique--with eyes open and mind and body still active--can be used to reduce tension and regain focus while playing a piece. At points of repose, such as during rests or between movements, have the student breathe deeply, relax and continue. Breaths while playing should be planned to coincide with the breaths and phrasing in the music.

Just as one practices notes and phrasing of a musical composition, this technique should be well-rehearsed. It will be impossible to execute under pressure in performance unless the student has planned this into her performance. Indeed, attempting to do so without having deliberately practiced may become a distraction, which is what this technique ultimately helps a student avoid. It should assist the student to ignore unwanted internal distractions, thereby freeing attention resources that can be used to stay focused on the music being performing from memory.

Dealing With The Unexpected

Strategy 4: Develop A Coping Plan

It is helpful to develop a coping plan to use in case of a real mental block. (12) Actors can forget lines, dancers can step falsely, athletes can choke under pressure and musicians performing from memory can experience mental blocks. Having a back-up plan just makes sense. If at all possible, the student should be well-versed enough in the theoretical structure of the piece to improvise an ending. However, there may be times when the student simply freezes up and cannot continue.

At times like this, a student may be prepared to address the audience; some persons are natural comedians and can successfully engage the audience with a well-phrased line, gesture or facial expression. He can then calmly place the music before him, employ you or another student as a page turner and continue with the performance using the manuscript.

For students who feel more comfortable having a security blanket, you or a fellow student can sit offstage with the music, following along in the score. The performing student is then reassured that very little time will pass should anything happen, and she will not have to find her location in the composition. At any rate, I highly recommend that the music be near the performer. This will aid in the student's recovery, enabling her to continue more musically than in an otherwise highly awkward situation.

In the end, performing music in front of an audience from memory seems to be more about mental fortitude than anything else. The student must be able to maintain his focus on the music, play in the moment, and ignore all external and internal distractions. Some ideas, such as holding a dress rehearsal, are already familiar to musicians. Others, such as using centered breathing during a performance, should be taught and practiced. These ideas hopefully either reinforce current methods, suggest ways to modify routines or inspire new approaches for helping students learn this skill successfully and enjoyably.

NOTES

(1.) Virginia Marks, Personal contact, 1995-1999.

(2.) William James, Principles of Psychology (New York: Holt, 1890), 402-404.

(3.) Marks, Ibid.

(4.) James, Ibid.

(5.) Bruce Abernethy, "Attention," Handbook of Sport Psychology, 2nd edition, Eds. Robert N. Singer, Heather A. Hausenblas, Christopher M. Janelle. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001), 53-85.

(6.) Jean M Williams and William F. Straub, "Sport Psychology: Past, Present, Future," Applied Sport Psychology, 5th edition, Ed. Jean M. Williams (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2006), 1-14.

(7.) Lesley Sisterhen. "Enhancing Your Musical Performance Abilities." American Music Teacher 54 (1), (2004): 32-35, 109.

(8.) M. Seligman and M. Csikszentmihalyi "Positive psychology: An Introduction." American Psychologist 55, (2000): 5-14.

(9.) Vietta E. Wilson, Erik Peper and Andrea Schmid, "Strategies for Training Concentration," Applied Sport Psychology, 5th edition, Ed. Jean M. Williams (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2006) 404-422.

(10.) Ibid.

(11.) Robert M. Mideffer and Marc-Simon Sagal, "Concentration and Attention Control Training," Applied Sport Psychology, 5th edition. Ed. Jean M. Williams (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2006), 382-403.

(12.) Wilson, "Strategies."

David L. McKinney is director of keyboard studies at Santa Fe Community College. Active as a solo performing artist, collaborative pianist and ensemble accompanist, he also maintains a private piano studio and teaches courses in general music studies.