When it comes to concentration, we’ve got it all wrong. The great performers know that intuitively, and value FLOW over concentration. Here’s a LIVE video I did on facebook this morning that explains this.

So… do you want to learn how to LET GO AND ENTER THE FLOW when you make music? Who doesn’t!

But HOW do we do that?

First of all, get clear on what you’re already doing. If you’re like most people, you believe heartily in the need to “concentrate”.

When you aren’t present, it can feel scary and out of control. You are more easily distracted, your mind is all over the place, you worry about difficult passages coming up, you worry about what people think, and you criticize yourself for anything that goes wrong.

So you wrench your mind back to what you’re doing and you force yourself to TRY TO CONCENTRATE! Right?

The problem is… that doesn’t work.

When we concentrate the way we’ve been taught, that act of concentration itself creates a lot of tension.

We narrow our focus and make THE OBJECT of our attention (for example: the sheet music, our fingers, the conductor, somebody in the audience…) into a “center” of greater importance than our Self (whole self: mind-body-soul-spirit).

When you give something greater importance than yourself in a way that causes you to narrow your attention, you exclude other things from your awareness and that causes a general tightening in your system.

That compression hurts your performance, plain and simple. It can even cause physical pain over time.

Concentration that narrows, tightens, and blocks the FLOW of music is not TRUE concentration.

TRUE concentration flows from YOU as a center. When you practice real concentration, you are opening and expanding, including other points of interest (or focal points) in your expanding field of awareness.

True concentration is INCLUSIVE, not exclusive.

It leads to flow of creativity and great artistry. And it FEELS GREAT!

So… you might be wondering… how can I learn to do this?

Glad you asked.

STEP 1: Download my FREE checklist and guide, “7 Keys to Make Your Music Sing!” from the red box on this page.

STEP 2: Join the Mind-Body Practice Tribe, my FREE facebook group.

STEP 3: You’ll know what to do next, and if you don’t, send me an email and ask me! 🙂

ENJOY!

Love,
Jennifer

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