How Your Brain Works: The Power of Attention

An illuminating exploration of the role, limits, challenges, and Power of Attention… all with transformational implications for your future success.

Table of Contents

---

Prerequisites

LOVE of music and the discipline to study and practice the right things the right way.

---

Lesson Goal

To appreciate the significance of focused attention in the learning process so deeply that it elevates your study and practice habits accordingly.

back to… Table of Contents

---

The Role of Attention

The role of Attention is perhaps the least appreciated aspect of intentional learning. The capacity to intentionally direct our attention really really matters, not just in music but in life in general. In short, we consciously learn what we pay attention to… and we do not consciously learn what we don’t pay attention to.

Danger! Unconscious learning is another and deadly serious matter. In short, when we are not paying attention we are extremely vulnerable to learning certain things unconsciously. When we are not paying attention, we are at the mercy of another form of learning: conditioning… And we are as vulnerable to being trained as Pavlov’s dogs and Skinner’s pigeons.

---

back to… Table of Contents

---

The Challenges of Attention

Directing our attention to the right things is tough in a world were we are conditioned to be passive consumers of information.

Paying attention to the right things is one of the most difficult things we can do with our brains… for at least three reasons:

1. There are lots of distractions vying for our attention: external sights and sounds, bodily sensations, and internal thoughts, memories, emotions.
2. It takes experience and insight to know what to pay attention to.
3. Focused attention requires lots of mental energy and can be absolutely exhausting.

back to… Table of Contents

---

The Limits of Attention

We are only human. And our attention, like all of our other capabilities, has its limitations:

1. Our attention is always selective. There is always far more information available to us than we can attend to at one time.
2. Our capacity for paying attention has two aspects: 1) the amount of stuff we can attend to and 2) the amount of time we can maintain our concentration.
3. Our attention can be viewed as having two dimensions: breadth and depth. Our attention can be wide and shallow or narrow and deep or anything in between. In other words, we can trade breadth for depth and vice versa but we can never maximize both.
4. If we pay attention to many things at once, we have less capacity to attend to the details about each individual thing.
5. If we pay attention to one thing at a time, we have the capacity to attend to it in more detail, but lose the capacity to notice other things.

back to… Table of Contents

---

A Fascinating Example of Attention

A must-see, eye-opening demonstration of the power of attention…

---

The critically important, and deeply humbling point regarding the limits of our attention: We “see” with our brains, not just with our eyes…. so much so that our brains can render us blind to what is right in front of us despite the fact that light is hitting our retinas!

back to… Table of Contents

---

The Power of Attention

When it comes to studying and practicing music, the ability to direct your own attention is like a superpower with the following implications:

1. Always have a clear goal in mind: What am I going to pay attention to today?
2. You are what you pay attention to. So, pay attention only to things that are true and constructive.
3. Focus on learning one thing at a time.
4. Be extremely specific. For example: Focusing on an appropriate choreography for the left hand on the third beat in measure eleven of Bach’s Two Part Invention #8.”
5. Focused attention is hard mental labor that cannot be done properly when you are tired, stressed, or distracted. Take a break when you get tired in order to recharge your batteries.
6. Years of mindless mechanical practice is worthless compared to one minute of focused, meaningful attention.
7. Focused attention is a choice available to anyone at this very moment.

Sidebar: The value of finding a great teacher cannot be overstated. Because a great teacher knows how to direct your attention to things you might not otherwise ever even consider or notice.

back to… Table of Contents

---