Comments

Karen, isn't it paradoxical that one can be less stressed out when performing for a greater cause than playing in her practice room. Practice can be harder than non-competitive performance and I got this confirmed from my new teacher yesterday. I think one reason for this is that, while the stake of music-making is higher during the performance than during private practice, the externalized reason for performance help us to feel less stressed out because we let go of the ego. When this happens, we are more capable of quieting the internal “gossip” and be completely focused on music. We get into the “zone” more readily, so to speak. The book called “The Inner Game of Music” by Barry Green with Timothy Gallwey discussed at length on the similar issue. I see it differently. It's not about balancing "me" and "my listening audience." It's about the music. If you can lose yourself in the music, the music will reign supreme, and the experience will be better for everyone. I'm not sure I agree, Pauline, because to be honest, I usually don't have that much trouble losing myself in the music, whether I'm playing or listening. In fact, it's easier for me to do that than not. However, losing myself doesn't necessarily result in a transcendent experience--sometimes for me, but not necessarily for my listeners, if I'm playing. And if I'm the listener, when I lose myself, often where I end up is sort of wordless and tongue-tied, with nothing to say or write about, no opinion at all to be able to express when someone asks me "how did you like the concert?" I'd love to be able to write concert reviews the way Buri and others on this site do, but I can't. I don't *think* enough . . . I sort of emerge at the end with a feeling and nothing more. I think I do have to work on that aspect of things, and balance it somehow, with the feeling of losing myself.