Performance Development: Positive Thoughts
[Originally Posted on December 2, 2010 by Richard Matteson]
Hi,
One often overlooked factor of performance development is the role of positive thoughts and having a positive outlook. In this blog we’re going to look at “thoughts that are put in the subconscious mind” and the “conscious competence” theory.
Here are some critical areas for positive thoughts:
1) The thoughts that are put in the subconscious mind.
2) The thoughts we think about our audience
3) The thoughts we think about ourselves
4) The thoughts we think about our performance situation. Aaron Shearer called them “concerns.”
5) The thoughts about “sharing music.”
To better understand 1) The thoughts that are put in the subconscious mind we can look at Maslow’s “conscious competence theory” also called for the “Four Stages of Learning.”
The Four Stages:
1) Unconscious Incompetence: You don’t understand or know how to do something and you don’t know that you don’t understand. It’s been called “ignorant bliss.”
2) Conscious Incompetence: You don’t understand or know how to do something, but now you realize that you don’t know how to do it. This is “awakening or awareness” stage.
3) Conscious Competence: You understand or know how to do something. To do this requires a great deal of conscious concentration.
4) Unconscious Competence: You have practiced the skill until it becomes “second nature” and can be performed easily without concentrating too deeply. The skill is now part of the subconscious mind.
Let’s look at an example, say, tying your shoelaces. When you were very young you didn’t know you needed to tie your shoe laces (Unconscious Incompetence). After you tripped on your shoelace your mother told you needed to be able to tie your shoelaces (Conscious Incompetence). You learned to tie your shoelaces and with great difficulty and could tie them (Conscious Competence). After tying them hundreds of times you no longer needed to think about how to tie them- you just automatically did it (Unconscious Competence).
We can see by this process, information about playing the guitar or any instrument is stored in the subconscious and gradually we become “unconsciously competent” with certain musical skills.
What is less obvious is the role of the subconscious mind accepting positive thoughts and having these thoughts become “unconsciously competent.”
If you understand that your goal is to “share music” with other people, it takes repeated effort to have this goal part of the subconscious mind and become “unconsciously competent.” It just doesn’t happen because you think about it once or twice.
As a performer you want to “feel good” about performing. The thoughts of enjoyment and excitement about performing need to reach the “unconsciously competent” level. You want to have positive thoughts about yourself and your performance experience.
Telling yourself this (I love playing the guitar or I love performing for people or I love my audience) consciously while you are performing is necessary but it won’t work until it’s reached and is part of the subconscious.
Learn to use positive thoughts until they become “unconsciously competent” and you will become “unconsciously competent” as a performer.
More to come———–
Richard Matteson
Monday, May 9, 2011
ADM And Visualization During a Performance
ADM And Visualization During a Performance
[Originally Posted on December 2, 2010 by Richard Matteson]
Hi,
Today we’ll look at the role that ADM (Aim Directed Movement) and visualization play during a performance. Aaron Shearer talked about ADM and also about visualization but he never said they were the same- for a reason.
They use similar mental processes. ADM is used to see in advance a single movement form of a series of movement forms. You can use visualization to see, in advance, movement forms (ADM) and/or visualize the melody line (silent solfege) or the rhythm.
So ADM is a subset or a function of visualization- they are not the same.
It’s important to note that both ADM and visualization are products of the conscious mind even if they are part of the subconscious mind. This distinction is important, for the conscious mind should direct the subconscious mind during a performance.
Let’s say you consciously use ADM to learn a piece. This is the best way to learn. You slowly play each movement form with continuity and accuracy (we’ll look at the steps involved in another blog). After several correct repetitions the information is now stored in the subconscious mind. Soon the piece can be played entirely by the subconscious mind much the same way you can drive to work or walk to class and never know how you got there- you’ve done it so many times that the subconscious can perform the task.
If you use ADM consciously at the same time your subconscious mind is playing the piece, you’re reinforcing and directing information that you already know. If something goes wrong or if you want to add expressive phrasing or tone colors, you’re able to do this because your conscious and subconscious are one.
This is especially important when dealing with mistakes during a performance. Your conscious mind has a procedure for the best way to handle mistakes (see my blog: Mistakes During a Performance) and it directs the subconscious so the performance will be the best it can be.
If the conscious mind is not focused on the music and using ADM when something happens- a mistake or a distraction- the subconscious mind will be unable to recover once once the series of connected movements is interrupted.
You’ll be like the driver on autopilot that suddenly realizes another car had lost control and is going to hit him. Too late, too late, too late. The conscious mind was not paying attention.
One of the most important uses of visualization occurs during a *performance before you start playing a piece or suite or sonata. Not only must you use ADM to mentally play through the first movement forms but you’ll need to silently solfege the melody, firmly establishing the first several measures in your mind. Before you begin, you place your fingers to play the very first movement form, then after establishing the correct tempo by gently feeling the pulse with your right toes, you begin.
Too often performers start on shaky ground, not really knowing what they are going to play. Or, in their excitement, they begin playing at a tempo that is much too fast and they’ll never be able to accurately play the piece at that tempo.
More to come—-
Richard
*In many recitals the performers memorize the music and do not have the sheet music they are playing on the stage.
[Originally Posted on December 2, 2010 by Richard Matteson]
Hi,
Today we’ll look at the role that ADM (Aim Directed Movement) and visualization play during a performance. Aaron Shearer talked about ADM and also about visualization but he never said they were the same- for a reason.
They use similar mental processes. ADM is used to see in advance a single movement form of a series of movement forms. You can use visualization to see, in advance, movement forms (ADM) and/or visualize the melody line (silent solfege) or the rhythm.
So ADM is a subset or a function of visualization- they are not the same.
It’s important to note that both ADM and visualization are products of the conscious mind even if they are part of the subconscious mind. This distinction is important, for the conscious mind should direct the subconscious mind during a performance.
Let’s say you consciously use ADM to learn a piece. This is the best way to learn. You slowly play each movement form with continuity and accuracy (we’ll look at the steps involved in another blog). After several correct repetitions the information is now stored in the subconscious mind. Soon the piece can be played entirely by the subconscious mind much the same way you can drive to work or walk to class and never know how you got there- you’ve done it so many times that the subconscious can perform the task.
If you use ADM consciously at the same time your subconscious mind is playing the piece, you’re reinforcing and directing information that you already know. If something goes wrong or if you want to add expressive phrasing or tone colors, you’re able to do this because your conscious and subconscious are one.
This is especially important when dealing with mistakes during a performance. Your conscious mind has a procedure for the best way to handle mistakes (see my blog: Mistakes During a Performance) and it directs the subconscious so the performance will be the best it can be.
If the conscious mind is not focused on the music and using ADM when something happens- a mistake or a distraction- the subconscious mind will be unable to recover once once the series of connected movements is interrupted.
You’ll be like the driver on autopilot that suddenly realizes another car had lost control and is going to hit him. Too late, too late, too late. The conscious mind was not paying attention.
One of the most important uses of visualization occurs during a *performance before you start playing a piece or suite or sonata. Not only must you use ADM to mentally play through the first movement forms but you’ll need to silently solfege the melody, firmly establishing the first several measures in your mind. Before you begin, you place your fingers to play the very first movement form, then after establishing the correct tempo by gently feeling the pulse with your right toes, you begin.
Too often performers start on shaky ground, not really knowing what they are going to play. Or, in their excitement, they begin playing at a tempo that is much too fast and they’ll never be able to accurately play the piece at that tempo.
More to come—-
Richard
*In many recitals the performers memorize the music and do not have the sheet music they are playing on the stage.
Goal of DigiMusiCam
Goal of DigiMusiCam
[Originally Posted on November 22, 2010 by Richard Matteson]
My mentor, Aaron Shearer, on park bench studying his manuscripts.
Hi,
In our blog our administration members can post news items, goals of the company and technical and educational views of our company.
I welcome all enrolled music teachers and want to encourage you to build up your schedules by enrolling new students. We are in the process of determining a marketing strategy and will be signing up many students in the days to come.
If you have questions please call us at the company number 502-410-2123.
We are in the process of organizing our community page- this blog is the first step. I’ll be posting information about my musical projects as well as company activities. Our goal is to improve music education by creating a global network of teachers and students.
Look for posts about my mentor Aaron Shearer and his teaching methods which I’ll be sharing with you.
Chordially Yours,
Richard Matteson
[Originally Posted on November 22, 2010 by Richard Matteson]
My mentor, Aaron Shearer, on park bench studying his manuscripts.
Hi,
In our blog our administration members can post news items, goals of the company and technical and educational views of our company.
I welcome all enrolled music teachers and want to encourage you to build up your schedules by enrolling new students. We are in the process of determining a marketing strategy and will be signing up many students in the days to come.
If you have questions please call us at the company number 502-410-2123.
We are in the process of organizing our community page- this blog is the first step. I’ll be posting information about my musical projects as well as company activities. Our goal is to improve music education by creating a global network of teachers and students.
Look for posts about my mentor Aaron Shearer and his teaching methods which I’ll be sharing with you.
Chordially Yours,
Richard Matteson
Goal of Learning Music
Goal of Learning Music
[Originally Posted on November 23, 2010 by Richard Matteson]
Hi,
Today we’re going to explore the fundamental goal of learning to play music.
Many teachers and students don’t really examine the underlying psychological drives that motivate us to learn and excel.
If the only place you could practice or play an instrument (or sing) was in a soundproof room and no one could ever hear you- there would be no motivation to practice and excel.
The reason we learn is to perform for others. It’s the drive to share music with others and recognition of our personal accomplishments playing the music we have learned that motives us.
Simply- the reason we learn to play is to perform. This fundamental concept is often overlooked. Our goal is to learn how to perform. That’s not in many cases how we’re taught. Few teachers actually understand and have a plan to teach students how to perform. They are thrown in the water and must learn how to swim.
Fortunately there is a system to learn how to perform. It’s one that I’ve developed from Aaron Shearer who I worked with in the 1980s on his “Learning the Classic Guitar” books.
I’ll be sharing my thoughts in this blog and have started a video series “Secrets of Learning the Guitar” which will cover some of the information.
So the goal of learning an instrument is performing and the goal of performing is sharing music.
More to come—–
Richard Matteson
[Originally Posted on November 23, 2010 by Richard Matteson]
Hi,
Today we’re going to explore the fundamental goal of learning to play music.
Many teachers and students don’t really examine the underlying psychological drives that motivate us to learn and excel.
If the only place you could practice or play an instrument (or sing) was in a soundproof room and no one could ever hear you- there would be no motivation to practice and excel.
The reason we learn is to perform for others. It’s the drive to share music with others and recognition of our personal accomplishments playing the music we have learned that motives us.
Simply- the reason we learn to play is to perform. This fundamental concept is often overlooked. Our goal is to learn how to perform. That’s not in many cases how we’re taught. Few teachers actually understand and have a plan to teach students how to perform. They are thrown in the water and must learn how to swim.
Fortunately there is a system to learn how to perform. It’s one that I’ve developed from Aaron Shearer who I worked with in the 1980s on his “Learning the Classic Guitar” books.
I’ll be sharing my thoughts in this blog and have started a video series “Secrets of Learning the Guitar” which will cover some of the information.
So the goal of learning an instrument is performing and the goal of performing is sharing music.
More to come—–
Richard Matteson
Performance Development: Sharing Music
Performance Development: Sharing Music
[Originally Posted on November 23, 2010 by Richard Matteson]
Hi,
One of the concepts Aaron Shearer stressed in his performance development classes at North Carolina School Of The Arts was “sharing music.”
By focusing on “sharing music” a performer takes his or her mind away from some of the concerns about performing and focuses on the act of sharing- what a great concept.
This focus on sharing takes the emphasis off the performer’s ego and places it instead on the music- where it should be anyway. The ego is concerned about being the center of attention and with the performance situation (the audience,
the perceived importance of the performance, the difficulty of the music, the preparedness) as well as performance excitement.
Learning to focus the conscious mind isn’t easy in a performance situation- you have to practice.
What is just as important is that the concept of “sharing music” is embedded firmly in the subconscious mind. To do this you must diligently remind yourself that sharing music is your goal.
By focusing on sharing music, and thinking positively about yourself and your audience you are developing the mental tools to become an excellent performer.
More to come—
Richard Matteson
[Originally Posted on November 23, 2010 by Richard Matteson]
Hi,
One of the concepts Aaron Shearer stressed in his performance development classes at North Carolina School Of The Arts was “sharing music.”
By focusing on “sharing music” a performer takes his or her mind away from some of the concerns about performing and focuses on the act of sharing- what a great concept.
This focus on sharing takes the emphasis off the performer’s ego and places it instead on the music- where it should be anyway. The ego is concerned about being the center of attention and with the performance situation (the audience,
the perceived importance of the performance, the difficulty of the music, the preparedness) as well as performance excitement.
Learning to focus the conscious mind isn’t easy in a performance situation- you have to practice.
What is just as important is that the concept of “sharing music” is embedded firmly in the subconscious mind. To do this you must diligently remind yourself that sharing music is your goal.
By focusing on sharing music, and thinking positively about yourself and your audience you are developing the mental tools to become an excellent performer.
More to come—
Richard Matteson
Role of the Subconscious Mind
Role of the Subconscious Mind
[Originally posted on November 24, 2010 by Richard Matteson
Hi,
This is one area that Aaron Shearer didn’t write about- the role of the subconscious mind during a performance. Aaron was too practical to give too much credence to the unseen and unknown. I had several fascinating conversations with Aaron in his condominium in Winston-Salem in the 1980s about the subconscious mind but he wasn’t interested in including the topic in his books.
The unconscious or subconscious mind governs most of our daily activities- we don’t know how we talk, we don’t know how we walk, we don’t know how we drive our cars- yet we do. These are activities performed by the subconscious mind.
Different parts of the brain process different bits of info but it’s easier to understand if we simplify it to two parts: the conscious and subconscious.
After the subconscious mind gets the information from the conscious mind on how to play a new piece of music, the info is processed and soon becomes part of the vast storehouse of information the subconscious mind.
When we play music, we have little conscious understanding of what we are doing. Even our reading skills- like our walking and talking skills- are seated in the subconscious.
So if we learned and/or memorized the music correctly or if we are reading the music correctly the subconscious mind will play it correctly- unless- unless the conscious mind interferes.
This happens frequently during performances- the conscious mind has nothing to do and starts thinking about the wrong things- “Oh, there’s my music teacher- I’ll never be able to play this in front of him/her.”
It’s how we use our conscious mind to properly direct our subconscious mind that is the issue. We can learn to focus our minds on the music using mental solfege and ADM (Aim Directed Movement). By learning to aid the subconscious mind instead of hindering it we become able to truly perform and bring the music to a new level.
We need to carefully explore the relationship of the conscious mind and subconscious mind and the steps we need to take to provide the best direction for the subconscious mind.
More to come———
Richard Matteson
[Originally posted on November 24, 2010 by Richard Matteson
Hi,
This is one area that Aaron Shearer didn’t write about- the role of the subconscious mind during a performance. Aaron was too practical to give too much credence to the unseen and unknown. I had several fascinating conversations with Aaron in his condominium in Winston-Salem in the 1980s about the subconscious mind but he wasn’t interested in including the topic in his books.
The unconscious or subconscious mind governs most of our daily activities- we don’t know how we talk, we don’t know how we walk, we don’t know how we drive our cars- yet we do. These are activities performed by the subconscious mind.
Different parts of the brain process different bits of info but it’s easier to understand if we simplify it to two parts: the conscious and subconscious.
After the subconscious mind gets the information from the conscious mind on how to play a new piece of music, the info is processed and soon becomes part of the vast storehouse of information the subconscious mind.
When we play music, we have little conscious understanding of what we are doing. Even our reading skills- like our walking and talking skills- are seated in the subconscious.
So if we learned and/or memorized the music correctly or if we are reading the music correctly the subconscious mind will play it correctly- unless- unless the conscious mind interferes.
This happens frequently during performances- the conscious mind has nothing to do and starts thinking about the wrong things- “Oh, there’s my music teacher- I’ll never be able to play this in front of him/her.”
It’s how we use our conscious mind to properly direct our subconscious mind that is the issue. We can learn to focus our minds on the music using mental solfege and ADM (Aim Directed Movement). By learning to aid the subconscious mind instead of hindering it we become able to truly perform and bring the music to a new level.
We need to carefully explore the relationship of the conscious mind and subconscious mind and the steps we need to take to provide the best direction for the subconscious mind.
More to come———
Richard Matteson
Conscious and Subconscious
Conscious and Subconscious
[Originally Posted on November 24, 2010 by Richard Matteson]
Hi,
An iceberg is a good metaphor for the mind. The subconscious is the large section underwater. The surface of the water is the connection between the two parts of the mind.
Understanding the role of both parts of the mind is important in developing ourselves as people and musicians. The subconscious mind carries out the majority of tasks including playing an instrument or singing. The thoughts our conscious mind feeds into the subconscious determine how the subconscious mind operates.
The mind is constantly transmitting thoughts which are vibrations that penetrate space and time and effect matter and other thoughts.
Thoughts are physical things- if you don’t like your audience- they know it on a subconscious level. Developing a positive attitude towards your audience and yourself is important and is a critical part of the performance situation that is often overlooked.
Positive thoughts are an essential ingredient in successful performances. if you have no control over your conscious mind and you’re sending negative thoughts while you’re performing, your performance will surely suffer and performance anxiety will be the result.
The focus should be on sharing music and on sending positive thoughts to your subconscious mind.
We’ll look at concrete steps to take in another blog,
More to come——–
Richard Matteson
[Originally Posted on November 24, 2010 by Richard Matteson]
Hi,
An iceberg is a good metaphor for the mind. The subconscious is the large section underwater. The surface of the water is the connection between the two parts of the mind.
Understanding the role of both parts of the mind is important in developing ourselves as people and musicians. The subconscious mind carries out the majority of tasks including playing an instrument or singing. The thoughts our conscious mind feeds into the subconscious determine how the subconscious mind operates.
The mind is constantly transmitting thoughts which are vibrations that penetrate space and time and effect matter and other thoughts.
Thoughts are physical things- if you don’t like your audience- they know it on a subconscious level. Developing a positive attitude towards your audience and yourself is important and is a critical part of the performance situation that is often overlooked.
Positive thoughts are an essential ingredient in successful performances. if you have no control over your conscious mind and you’re sending negative thoughts while you’re performing, your performance will surely suffer and performance anxiety will be the result.
The focus should be on sharing music and on sending positive thoughts to your subconscious mind.
We’ll look at concrete steps to take in another blog,
More to come——–
Richard Matteson
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