PERFECT PRACTICE II: VISUALIZATION

(c)1988, David Humes

In the last issue, we went over the importance of practicing perfectly, emphasizing the "quality" rather than the "quantity" of practice time. In addition to the techniques previously discussed, a technique that is used by highly respected and successful musicians, professional athletes, Olympic super stars, and in virtually all professions, even though they may not realize it when they're doing it, is called "visualization."

Rather than use this space to convince you of the value and impact visualization can have on your musical career and your life, I suggest you read a book called "Psycho-Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz.

We have to practice in our mind, playing our respective instruments exactly the way we want to perform. Hopefully that is clean, relaxed and as perfect as humanly possible. How you "see" and "hear" yourself playing in your mind, is how you perform.

In addition to "seeing and hearing" yourself performing perfectly in your mind, you must also bring other senses into your mental visualization. The more senses you can bring into you mental "vision," the more effective it will be.

Time must be invested visualizing if you want positive results. Anywhere from five to thirty minutes a day will produce incredible results. To do this, you must set aside a time where you'll be uninterrupted. It must be in a place where you can relax and be by yourself.

Find a comfortable position: 1) sitting upright in a chair with your back straight, palms facing upwards resting on your knees with your thumb and first finger touching; 2) sitting on the floor "Indian style" with your back straight, palms resting on knees with your thumb and first finger touching; or 3) lying down on a bed or the floor with your hands at your side, legs uncrossed. One of these three ancient meditative positions should be used for maximum results. It's important to keep your arms or legs uncrossed.

Here is an example of visualization: "See yourself looking great on stage and your performance being impeccable! See the audience looking at you in awe while you're performing, and see them applauding and cheering enthusiastically after each performance. Actually feel your body touching your instrument. Feel the hand shakes of people coming up to after a performance and hear them congratulating you on your excellent performance. Smell the colognes, perfumes and smoke filled room (most bars and concert halls are smoky) you are performing in. Taste the sweat rolling off your face during and after your exhilarating performance. Taste the catered food being supplied back stage to you now because you are super successful and you now get treated with lots of respect. See yourself with relatives and/or close friends in your vision to put it into perspective and bring it closer to reality. Bask in the feeling of this success for a few moments. Know and feel that you are deserving of this success because you have persisted and put in the physical and mental work necessary to produce such a harvest. You almost have a feeling of deja vu because you've practiced this so many times before in your mind."

Remember, thoughts are things. Your present actual physical performance level (the effect) is exactly the way you see yourself performing in your mind (the cause). Practice in your mind as often as possible. It is stupendously more important than actual physical practice!

Once you have specifically defined the player you desire to be and clearly "see" it in your mind with laser like precision, with as many senses you can incorporate into it, you will be there.

Again, your mind has to be fine tuned in order for you to be accurate in your assessment that your "mental picture" is a perfect one. Your ability to keep time is an important factor. How do you know how to gauge your ability in this area?

By practicing the painfully slow method (PSM) as described in the last article and by practicing PSM in your mind. Practice PSM mentally with an imaginary metronome going on in your head. See yourself hitting each note, in the particular scale or rudiment, perfectly. Then practice PSM mentally with a real metronome going, and again see yourself hitting each note, in the particular scale or rudiment, perfectly. After you have mastered the particular scale or rudiment in your mind, then practice physically with a real metronome. The results will astound you.

If you don't like the way you are currently performing, check out how you are seeing and hearing yourself perform in you mind. All you have to do is simply change your currant mental vision of yourself performing into the performer you would like to be. Do it now!