Thinking Ahead

 A couple posts ago, I discussed the need for chunking, especially if your playing has a "stop-start" quality to it. Being able to chunk is also essential in the process of thinking ahead, since it frees up mental resources to consider what's next. This process is like driving a car; you can't just focus on what's directly in front of you, but rather you have to divide your mental energy between what you're doing (controlling the car) and what's coming up. On the other hand, if you focus too far in front of you, you won't have enough mental energy left to focus on what's coming up or on controlling the car itself. Its an issue of mental resources and timing.  

The same applies to playing music. You have to focus just a bit in front of what you're doing, but not so far in front that you spread yourself too thin. This requires that you're able to put at least some of what you're currently playing on "auto-pilot". Just like like you can't think about every single detail of how to steer while driving, you can't focus 100 percent of your mental energy on one passage at the expense of what lies ahead. 

There's a simple way to test this autopilot. Take a half-measure or measure of something you're working on, and practice it with complete concentration. Then divert your attention away and see if you can play that section while reading a book, checking the time of a clock, etc. If you're able to divide your attention like this, you'll certainly be able to think/listen ahead to what is coming up. 

It's also interesting to note that if you try doing this with a longer stretch of music (say while reading a book), you'll probably stumble every few seconds--either with the reading or with the playing. With each stumble, you'll have to apply a "jolt" of conscious energy to whatever was lagging to keep things going. So its an interesting example of how the mind is handling information in chunks. Could it be that getting into a flow is also an issue of correctly timing these "jolts" of mental energy?

Comments

[Nicole]

Nice tips! I'm gonna give this a try. Thanks!

[Duane McGuire]

I hope you'll write more on this subject, taking it to a more practical level. I am curious about how you see the chunking concept relates to the memorization of a complete piece. As someone who was trained to play by "reading the notes", I find memorization fascinating. After I have committed a piece to memory - through countless repititions - I really have no concrete concept of how it all works. Interesting stuff!

[Piano]

Chunking isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. I've been playing for years and I have tons of trouble doing this.

I think its one of those things, either you are a great sight-read musician or not.

Ended up just playing by ear.

[Piano]

Love your blog. It is very informative as always.

[Richard - ComposersJourney.com]

I think the final goal when learning any piano piece should be to play it from memory. It's so much easier to think ahead when you don't have to read notes AND play at the same time... and you are less likely to be distracted. I suppose some people may like the safety of reading printed music, though, especially if they cannot memorize music easily.

[piano technique]

The secret is in the balance of how far you think ahead and how you divide your mind energy and power.

If you memorize the piece, it also depends on how you memorized it.

[Matt]

I agree - and there are elements to memorizing correctly that can aid in correctly thinking ahead. If you chunk inefficiently when learning the piece, you are less likely to recall it efficiently!

[Matt]

Richard - I agree with you, at least to an extent. I think thorough memorization is the true test of whether you have assimilated a piece and made it yours.

[Matt]

Nicole - Good luck! Let me know how it goes and if there's anything else you'd like me to post on.