An introduction to the mind-blowing reality of “musical mind”–something that should be the very first lesson for each and every piano student…
Table of Contents
A Fundamental Failure of Music Education
Unfortunately, most piano students begin and end their musical careers struggling to play notation, not music. The solution is introduce all students to the notion and reality of playing using their “musical mind”.
Introduction to “Musical Mind “( YouTube)
Musical Mind Video Highlights…
This still needs lots of editing by Frank, but he wanted to post it anywhere because the content is still worth reading.
Experiment #1. Play “Are You Sleeping” with your eyes open (starting on middle C).
Now ask yourself: What were you thinking about (or not)? What were you experiencing (or not)? What were you paying attention to (or not)? What was your brain doing (or not) as you did this?
BTW, if you’re not sure, that’s ok.
Experiment #2. Play “Are You Sleeping” but this time play it and sing along. Try to sing what you are playing.
Again, ask yourself: What were you thinking about (or not)? What were you experiencing (or not)? What were you paying attention to (or not)? What was your brain doing (or not) as you did this?
Experiment #3. Now, without playing, sing it out loud.
Again, ask yourself: What were you thinking about (or not)? What were you experiencing (or not)? What were you paying attention to (or not)? What was your brain doing (or not) as you did this?
Experiment #4. Now before playing, sing the melody out loud exactly like you would like it to sound on the piano, then play it exactly like you are singing it!
Again, ask yourself: What were you thinking about (or not)? What were you experiencing (or not)? What were you paying attention to (or not)? What was your brain doing (or not) as you did this?
Experiment #5. Without playing, close your eyes and “sing” it in your mind’s ear, but this time DON’T sing it out loud. Just imagine playing it in your mind’s ear exactly like you would like it to sound and feel on the piano.
Again, ask yourself: What were you thinking about (or not)? What were you experiencing (or not)? What were you paying attention to (or not)? What was your brain doing (or not) as you did this?
You might find this to be a strange experience like you’ve never had before… and it may take a bit of concentration to do it, but I assure you it is quite doable.
Experiment #6. Now “sing” the melody in your mind’s ear exactly like you would like it to sound on the piano and at the very same time, hen play it exactly as you are “singing” it! Crucial that you allow the sound in your mind’s ear to be the leader of the band!
Not to sing what you are playing, but to play what you are imagining in your mind’s ear!
Again, ask yourself: What were you thinking about (or not)? What were you experiencing (or not)? What were you paying attention to (or not)? What was your brain doing (or not) as you did this?
And notice how your body motions respond to your musical intention.
THIS is what’s going on in your brain and THIS is what it feels like to play using your MUSICAL MIND!
THIS should be the very first music lesson that every student gets and should never be allowed to forget.
A Closer Look
Let’s take a closer look at what IS and IS NOT happening here when you are playing with your MUSICAL MIND—that is, allowing your mind’s EAR to lead…
Are you thinking “Hmmm… Let’s see… Where’s middle C?” NO!!!
Are you thinking “Hmmm… Let’s see… G-clef… Every Good Boy Does Fine”? NO!!!
Are you thinking “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 &” ? NO!!!
Are you thinking “Thumb on middle C, index finger on middle D, middle finger on middle E? NO!!!
Are you thinking “Play C. Stop. Think. Count 32 milliseconds. Play D. Stop. Think. Count 32 milliseconds. Play E. Stop. Think. Count 32 milliseconds”? NO!!!
Are you thinking “Sit up straight. Keep your hand still. Lift your fingers high!” (all of which is horrible technique, btw)? NO!!!
The Musical Valley of Death
Unfortunately, almost all music “education” has students struggling with notation and counting and naming things and “doing things the right way” [deliver all in a very serious tone] rather than enjoying the process of creating beautiful sounds.
In fact, they are so overwhelmed fussing over every little detail that there is no room left to even HAVE a musical intention or to really hear what they are playing.
And so, most piano students begin and end their musical lives without ever experiencing the joyous reality of making music with their musical minds… and so they eventually quit—because they mistakenly believe that they are UN-talented… that they don’t have what it takes.
How do I know this? Because I almost used to one of them.
More Experiments
Now let’s have some fun using our musical minds by playing “Are You Sleeping” in a few different ways.
- Sing it a little bit slower in our mind’s ear. [out loud, then silently]
- A little bit faster. Important point here: Not just thinking “I am going to play AYS faster, but actually “sing” it in your mind’s ear at the actual tempo.
- Whispering. Important point here: Not just thinking “I am going to play “Are You Sleeping” softer, but actually “sing” it in your mind’s ear like you are whispering [actually whisper].
- Deep bass profundo.
- Staccato!
- Now let’s have even more fun by intentionally playing it badly.
Now a thought experiment. Sing it like you want to play it, but try to play it differently… in other words, try to intentionally NOT follow your musical intention.
Try playing it faster and slower, louder and softer than you are singing it.
That’s right, It’s impossible!
The Zone…
Getting into this meditative state where you allow your mind’s ear to lead is something you can practice!
This is accomplished by “singing” the music in your mind’s ear using the audio recorder that is already there inside you.
And if you study and practice the right things the right way, that musical intention playing in your mind’s ear will automatically trigger the appropriate muscle memory–guaranteed.
A few comments regarding being in “the zone”…
#1. This meditative state is cultivated not by passively listening, but by actively playing/singing the music in your mind’s ear.
#2. I have to warn you: This can be a shocking experience that might freak you out… because you will get into a state of mind where you literally forget you are playing… and you become the music! THIS is what performing like a real artist feels like.
#3. When you have a clear musical intention and play the music in your mind’s ear, something magical happens: EVERYTHING—the pitches, notes, rests, articulations, dynamics, phrasing, rhythm, and choreography… All expertly performed by your subconscious mind without having to fuss over every little detail.
#2. An artistic performance is not a sequence of tens and hundreds of precisely timed digital movements triggered by a clock, but is a unified, integrated, coherent EXPRESSION that is guided by the sounds and feelings you are imagining in your mind’s ear.
Amazing!!!
Notice that in each case, there is no gap, no delay, no critic, no math–nothing that gets in the way between your musical intention and your physical execution.
You can hear the music in your mind’s ear! THIS is the meditative state of mind – what I call MUSICAL MIND–that you want to cultivate in ALL your playing!
Caveats
By the way, I am not saying all this is easy… that all you need to do just “let yourself go” and “feel the music”. No. A lot of studying and practicing goes into the craft of piano playing.
The reason you study things like form, meter, rhythm, scales, chords, chord progressions, solfege, and roman numeral analysis, ear training, and technique is so that you can go beyond these things when you perform… (if you study and practice the right things the right way) that you can abandon the names and counting and analysis like training wheels… just like you go beyond your ABCs and phonics and grammar and vocabulary for language when you speak English.
Beethoven Rocks!
How Musical Mind Works
Let’s talk about what’s going on here…
When you imagine a musical sound bite in your mind’s ear, the part of your brain that processes sound lights up… and if you studied and practiced the right things the right way, this automatically and immediately lights up the part of your brain that stores and controls physical motions (what some people call muscle memory). In a nutshell, simply “play” [gesture wheels turning] the music inside your head. If you study and practice the right things the right way, your body [gesture playing] must follow. If you allow your ear to lead, your body will follow. It can’t help but follow.
The Benefits
Let’s take a moment to talk about the benefits of studying, practicing, and performing using your musical mind. Besides taking your playing to the super genius level, there are at least four huge fringe benefits of playing with your musical mind:
- The image of the sound in your mind’s ear is an incredibly reliable memory you have.
- When you allow the music to lead, there is no psychic capacity left to do anything else. And so, playing with your musical mind crowds out all negativity and leaves no space for performance anxiety to seize your consciousness!
- Transforms your music-making from mindless mechanical drudgery to big time FUN! You want your performance to be a joyous expression, not some cumbersome, stressful ordeal.
- Self-motivating because you are going to see the results! You cannot help but get excited about studying and practicing when you experience playing music with your musical mind.
The Takeaways
Four big takeaways…
- If you want to play like an artist, you must learn to how study, practice, and perform using your MUSICAL MIND.
- If you want to play like an artist, you must store the music in your brain not as a sequence of data, but as a unified, integrated intention of SOUND in your musical mind.
- If you want to play like an artist, you must allow your mind’s ear to be the leader!
- If you study and practice the right things the right way, your body must obey your musical intention… a physical choreography stored in you muscle memory that reliably expresses that musical intention.
And so, the ultimate goal of studying and practicing is to establish a crystal-clear musical intention. And another goal is to discover and practice an appropriate choreography that expresses that musical intention.
- Developing a clear intention in your musical mind of how you want the music to sound and feel.
- Training your brain to move your body in a way that reliably expresses that musical intention—muscle memory.
Learning to play piano like an artist really is THAT simple… and THAT hard.
In summary, allowing your musical mind to be the leader integrates EVERYTHING. When my time is off, when my phrasing and dynamics suck… it’s because I am not playing the music in my head!
