The use of mental imagery in the creation of music goes back many generations. Composers such as Mozart, Schumann, Wagner and Brahms utilized mental processes in their compositions, often hearing works in the mind before putting them on paper. Olivier Messiaen claimed that harmonies evoked specific colors in his mind?s eye and the myriad of colors that he experienced influenced his innovative compositions for organ, piano, orchestra and other media. All musicians have experienced mental rehearsal and imagery of music, perhaps unknowingly, in some fashion. You may have had a teacher who incorporated analogies, evoking creative images, or remember a passage of music that persistently remained in your inner ear.
Over the past thirty years, there has been a surge of interest in mental imagery and rehearsal in a variety of fields. In various studies, the majority of research has shown that in learning and retaining a motor skill, mental rehearsal combined with physical practice is much more effective than physical practice alone. An organist may benefit from mental practice both in the initial and later stages of learning. In addition, beginning organ students may incorporate this process; however, it may be difficult for a new organist to imagine actions with which he/she is unfamiliar.
Mental rehearsal and imagery can have great benefits for performers. When incorporated consistently, mental rehearsal may heighten the efficiency of practice time while it also allows muscles to relax and decreases excess tension in the body. This in turn may reduce instances of pain and performance-related injuries. Mental rehearsal creates minute innervations in muscles; it programs and prepares the body by forming a mental blueprint. Mental imagery assists performers in coping with performance anxiety, thus providing a mechanism for increasing quality and consistency of performance.
Mental rehearsal requires consciously practicing sounds, motions and senses in the mind while simultaneously releasing unwanted tension in the muscles. This process heightens the awareness of sensory feedback, and it allows the mind to be in conscious control, thus directing physical actions rather than simply responding to them.
Mental imagery is the ability to develop an image without analyzing its contents. This involves seeing an image in the mind?s eye as if watching a movie. It is important to be able to imagine events from both an internal and external perspective. Mental rehearsal and imagery may be employed both at and away from the keyboard. Learners and performers may employ these techniques within practice sessions or during rest periods, walks, and other monotonous activities.
The most successful and vivid imagery employs all of the senses. Aural imagery can be strengthened by playing a passage, mentally hearing the music and then repeating this until the aural representation is as clear as the actual performance. Visual imagery involves the ability to see objects or events in the mind?s eye. This may entail experiences such as seeing the details of a score as a clear mental image to enhance memory, imagining watching one?s self perform as if sitting in the audience, or mentally visualizing the instrument and movement of the hands and feet from an internal perspective. Kinesthetic imagery indicates imagining the sensations involved in muscular movements. For example, you can employ kinesthetic imagery by thinking about what it feels like to play an exercise or passage of music, focusing on the muscle movements in the fingers, legs, arms and shoulders. If kinesthetic imagery does not come easily, alternate miming the movements of playing with mental rehearsal until the sensation of the muscle movements is vividly imagined. Involving the senses of taste and smell also heightens the imagery experience.
Relaxation
The first step to vivid imagery is learning to relax the body completely. Total relaxation allows you to eliminate external stimuli and become more aware of your inner state.1 Muscle tension is a common concern among organists at all levels. The demands of the instrument produce tension in the neck, back, hands, arms and legs. Utilizing relaxation procedures eases the organist's bodily tension that can hinder the quality of practice and performance. You may use progressive relaxation, tightening and releasing specific muscle groups throughout the body. Another common relaxation technique is auto suggestion in which you mentally speak words, such as "Relax your jaw, release the muscles in your back." A text that provides further insight into benefits and processes of relaxation is Herbert Benson's The Relaxation Response.2
Relaxation is an important initial step when employing mental rehearsal and imagery at or away from the organ. It is also a useful tool when preparing for a performance, to calm pre-concert nerves or to visualize successful performances. Most importantly, relaxation must be practiced under non-stressful conditions before you can effectively employ it in a pressured situation. Benson and other experts recommend incorporating a relaxation session for ten to twenty minutes daily, in order to gain maximum benefit.
Centering
Centering is a means of calming the body and channeling an individual's focus and energy to the task at hand. Sports psychologist Robert Nideffer created this technique for athletes. Don Greene, a sports psychologist who has coached the U.S. Olympic diving team as well as musicians at the Juilliard School and members of major orchestras throughout the United States, has adapted the idea of centering to suit musicians. Centering allows you to shift from critical, verbal thinking to creative, musical thinking. Greene states, " . . . you can picture what you want to do, get a feeling for how you are going to do it, and hear the sound that you'd like to create."3
Greene provides the following guidelines for "Centering Down" in his text, Performance Success.
1. Form your clear intention. Precisely state a goal, for example: "I am going to learn how to center down" or "I am going to carefully practice this pedal solo."
2. Pick your focus point. Greene suggests choosing a focus point that is below eye level, because having the eyes closed or lowered is more conducive to right brain activation. This can be difficult for organists, especially if playing on a four-manual instrument with a high music rack. This could be a good reason for playing from memory or at least only referring to the music occasionally.
3. Close your eyes, focus on your breathing. When first learning to center, it is important to first close the eyes; later you will be able to do this by just lowering the eyes and focusing gently. You should concentrate on breathing from the diaphragm rather than the upper chest. Breathe in through the nose and out from the mouth for three to seven breaths, until entirely focused on breathing.
4. Scan for excess tension and release it. With each inhalation, scan the body for tension from the head to the feet. When exhaling, release the tension.
5. Find your center. The center of gravity in one's body is about two inches below the navel and two inches into the body. You must maintain the center of gravity in relation to the chair or bench as you center. During times of stress, the sensation of the center tends to rise and the goal in centering is to keep the center of gravity at the proper location.
6. Repeat your process cues. Process cues are concise, "supportive directions" that help you focus on goals once successfully centered. This phrase should be a specific cause phrase, not an effect. For example, when beginning a Bach sonata you might think, "Clear articulation," or before beginning Vierne's Berceuse, you would think, '"rolling legato." These phrases might be instructions that you have heard from a teacher when working on a particular piece in a lesson.
7. Direct your energy. Energy must be gathered at your center and then directed through the body to a specific focus point. If these steps are taken thoroughly you will direct energy and concentration to successful completion of the performance goal.
Focused Concentration
Performers who consistently achieve optimal and peak performances have a high degree of mental quiet. This is a state in which concentration remains steady, avoiding any external interruptions. Within this focused status, the performer lets the physical movements and the music flow freely; however, this mindset can be interrupted by internal criticisms and external distractions.
When performing, if something irrelevant or distracting enters your mind, Greene suggests asking yourself if this is relevant or irrelevant. Try not to force the mind onto the task at hand, simply think "irrelevant" and pay the distracting thought no mind.4
If you experience problems with distracting thoughts during performance or practice, it might help to play through a piece and afterwards write down all of the thoughts that came into your mind. For example, thoughts concerning job pressures, personal issues or everyday tasks may intervene and decrease the quality of the performance or productivity of the practice session. When you take note of the distracting thoughts and analyze the list, it becomes evident how mundane and irrelevant these thoughts are, and it may help you disregard these items as they arise in the future.5
One of the most distracting elements of a musician?s concentration is the presence of negative thoughts. Many athletes use the technique of "thought stopping" to eliminate both distracting and negative thoughts. When you experience an irrelevant or unproductive thought, briefly attend to the thought, say "stop" out loud and clear your mind. Select a particular thought pattern that you really wish to extinguish. Then close your eyes and try to imagine the situation in which the negative thought generally appears. Finally, practice interrupting the anxiety-producing thought until it is eliminated entirely. This process may take much time, focus and practice; however, the reward will be a decrease in negative thought patterns and distractions to concentration. Discover phrases, such as a positive mantra ("I feel strong and I radiant confidence."6 "I play with clarity and strength.") or emotions that can be conjured to combat negative thoughts during performance. It is important to become aware of self-defeating phrases that interrupt constructive thoughts and replace them with positive ideas and feelings.7
Positive self-talk can greatly increase confidence and thus decrease arousal and anxiety immediately prior to a performance. If you experience nervous symptoms such as a dry mouth, cold hands, nervous stomach or other such physiological annoyances before performances, your first thought is probably something like, "I hate this feeling and I'm not going to do well." This thought pattern can be reframed with the statement, ?"These feelings help give me the energy I need for an exciting performance." It is important to take bothersome or negative thoughts or self-talk and put a positive spin on them.8 For every negative thought that crosses the mind, strive to come up with two positive thoughts.
Performances are rarely perfect, and musicians should strive for optimum performances rather than perfect performances. Every human is fallible, and it is imperative to keep experiences within a realistic realm of accomplishable goals.9 The most beneficial type of self talk is referred to as "realistic self appraisal" with comments such as "I will probably make a few mistakes, but the important thing is relaying the music."10
Mental Rehearsal Techniques
When practicing the organ, postural alignment, proper breathing and relaxed muscles are imperative. When incorporating mental rehearsal, the mind retains your overall physical state along with the music, so it is important to remain relaxed during these portions of a practice session.11
When first developing imagery ability, attain a state of relaxation, decide upon an external or internal perspective, and then practice imaging from one point of view. After proficiency is gained in one perspective, switch to the other. Initially practice visualizing yourself performing from the audience's viewpoint, noticing deportment, energy and emotions from this external perspective. Next, imagine what it feels like to be at the organ playing, noticing all details of the experience: body position, muscular contractions, emotions, etc. You must practice the two perspectives independently at first; later, they can be combined. As you become more experienced in imagery, you can quickly shift from an internal to an external perspective.
Decide in advance on one element upon which to focus. This can be incorporated with centering and setting up a "process cue," a simple phrase or word that summarizes the immediate performance goal. For instance, you should decide if you are going to focus on a single element such as muscle tension, precise notes, expressive timing or piston changes.12
When initially learning a skill, external imagery may be the most efficient technique. For example, a beginning organ student may benefit most from external imagery because he/she is not familiar enough with the muscle movements involved in playing the instrument to imagine them from an internal perspective. When a skill is very comfortable and automatic, kinesthetic imagery may work more effectively. For an advanced player or a beginner, imagery and mental rehearsal work most effectively with consistent practice.
Three Step Practice Loop
Mentally imagine the ideal sound, play the passage, and then analyze the result. Did the physical performance match the inner ear's model?13 This is a wonderful idea for musicians of all levels to put into daily practice. You may incorporate this technique as a teaching tool within lessons by asking the student's reaction to a performance, determining what element(s) require alteration and reminding him/her to repeat this process during practice sessions. By focusing the learner's mind and ear, this time-efficient idea is a great way to sample different interpretations or experiment with various ways to shape a phrase.
Mental Leadership
Mental leadership entails thinking ahead rhythmically while playing a passage or taking silent breaks to mentally rehearse a motif or phrase. When initially incorporating this technique, practice playing a simple example, such as a scale, hymn or exercise from a method book, for either manuals or pedals. At first, it is perhaps best to play with only the hands, or only the feet. While playing, focus on staying mentally ahead by thinking the sound and fingering, or pedaling, of the next note immediately before it occurs. Depending upon the meter and tempo of the passage, you could think ahead with the value of an eighth note, but if playing slow note values, it is possible to think ahead by a quarter or half note. The main goal is to think ahead rhythmically in order to maintain strength in the meter. Initially the organist should think ahead by individual notes, then by measure and finally by phrase. This method encourages you to anticipate both musical and technical issues within a piece and can also enhance sight-reading skills. After you gain proficiency with simple scales or hymns, you may transfer the process of mental leadership to specific pieces. This technique is an excellent way to make the mind guide the muscles and the music, rather than letting motor memory take the lead.
Example 1: Mental Leadership
Practice a simple scale, such as the following, using the small notes to quickly think ahead the pedaling for and sound of the next note, moving the foot to its next position as soon as possible. This promotes anticipating movement and sound while playing so that you are always preparing the body and mind ahead of the music. (Example 1) Employing mental leadership can be especially useful in pattern-based pieces, such as the famous Final from Louis Vierne's Symphonie No. 1. It is beneficial to imagine a brief grouping of notes, perhaps starting with two to four sets of notes and increasing to measures and phrases. During this process, begin by analyzing harmonies, accidentals, and hand position of a short grouping prior to physically playing. Continue by alternating the physical playing and mental analysis, feeling and hearing the next grouping during each rest period.
Example 2: Mental Leadership
Vividly imagine playing each consecutive grouping during the rests then physically play the grouping. As proficiency increases, you can later imagine groups of eight, twelve, etc. (Example 2) This process allows you to analyze accidentals and to think of harmonies, patterns and sounds allowing the mind to guide the muscles rather than vice versa. Whenever you stop to think through an upcoming passage, it is imperative to relax the muscles, be aware of any tension and release, breathing deeply. Although this process sounds time consuming, when practiced regularly and properly, it may decrease the amount of learning time as well as increase memory and retention of the passage.
Miming
Mime motions of playing while hearing the sound in the inner ear and paying careful attention to muscular movements. This technique is especially helpful in pieces with large leaps, difficult manual changes, extended reaches or rapid piston changes. It takes much less muscular tension to mime through a passage than it does to physically play.
Example 3: Miming
From Cantabile by César Franck
In Example 3a, mime moving the hands from the Positif and Récit to the Grand Orgue to achieve a smooth, solid transition. In Example 3b, mime the octave movement between the two circled notes, making sure that the first note is released gently and the horizontal arm movement is accurate, settling the fingers over the notes before playing.
Verbal Cueing
Based on your own interpretation or an instructor's suggestions, write cues in the score and speak them aloud as you get to that passage; later, the cues can be imagined rather than spoken. You may employ phrases such as "play legato, articulate before the downbeat, stretch the hand," etc.
Example 4: Verbal Cueing
From Berceuse by Louis Vierne
When playing this example, you could think phrases such as "rolling legato," "reach up to the F#," "open swell pedal," "close swell pedal," etc.
Modeling
Listen to a recording and imagine the motions involved in playing; do the same when a coach is modeling for you. Imagine that you are a performer that you admire and play through a piece with his/her energy and flair.
Creative Images
Think of the images or characters that the music evokes; play a movie in your mind that corresponds to the piece. The movie can be created while listening to a recording, during physical practice, or while hearing the music in the inner ear. Instead of a movie, one might simply recall evocative images in the mind?s eye such as a regal event during a majestic work, or a playful scene during a lighthearted passage.
Altering Tempos of Mental Rehearsals
It is best to employ mental rehearsal at the same tempo as physical performance; however, there are exceptions when altering the tempo may be desirable. When working slowly on a new piece it is possible to mentally rehearse the piece at the desired final tempo. This can be helpful when working out fingerings and initial technique for the piece. You may also skim through simple sections and mentally rehearse the successful performance of difficult sections or memory posts.
Mental Practice with a Metronome
Increasing the tempo of a new piece may be done by incrementally raising the speed of a metronome. You will have stronger rhythm and improved success with this technique by setting the metronome to the appropriate tempo, hearing the desired passage in your head with precise rhythm, then playing the passage at that tempo. Most likely, by following this technique, you will play with steady rhythm rather than speeding up or slowing down to match the metronome.
Memory
Mental rehearsal can be incorporated in the early and advanced stages of memorizing a composition. You can employ this technique both at and away from the organ. When initially learning a new work, mental rehearsal and imagery with the score (away from the instrument) allow you to analyze the formal structure, harmonic and melodic patterns of the piece. Thorough understanding of a work's structure from an analytical standpoint increases the speed of memorization.
When memorizing a phrase or short passage, play through the phrase looking at the score, then play through it mentally, with eyes closed, noting sounds and movements, and then physically play the passage from memory, continue this process for several repetitions. This technique may seem time consuming, but it can make memory more solid and can allow you to memorize more quickly. The muscles benefit from rest during the mental rehearsal period while the music is reinforced in the mind. It is imperative that you combine vivid aural, visual and kinesthetic images during the mental rehearsal.
When a composition is securely memorized, it is beneficial to mentally play the piece away from the instrument. This can be done sitting or lying down in a state of relaxation, or while on a walk or other monotonous activity. When practicing memory in this fashion, it is important to incorporate all of the senses, visualizing the score and location of performance or practice, imagining all piston changes and dynamic changes, and most importantly hearing the correct notes, phrasings and interpretations in one's inner ear. If there is a passage that cannot be heard internally away from the keyboard, then this is a passage that needs extra physical and mental rehearsal in order to be securely memorized.
Conclusion
Organists and other musicians should continually aim for optimal performances, striving to do their best, yet realizing that live performances are rarely ever perfect. Employing relaxation techniques as well as mental rehearsal and imagery can improve your chances for achieving an optimal level in all performances. Incorporating mental methods assures that the mind stays ahead of the body, thinking beforehand about both technical and musical issues. Initially, you must spend a great deal of time to develop mental imagery and rehearsal techniques, but the time yields improved quality of concentration and focus, thus saving practice time in the long run.
Mental rehearsal should never be considered a permanent alternative to physical practice. There is certainly no substitute for physically engaging the muscles in practice, but mental rehearsal enhances the cognitive and spatial elements of a task and also allows time for theoretical analysis of the music. Taking time out for mental rehearsal during the physical practice session has the added advantage of giving the muscles time to rest before reaching a fatigued state.
Mental rehearsal and imagery are most effective when they are extremely vivid, involving all of the senses. You must be aware of muscular sensations, sights, sounds, smells and tastes in great detail in order to benefit from mental imagery. One of the most important elements of mental rehearsal is that you relax the muscles before practicing mentally. The brain memorizes muscular tension or release along with the mental representation of the music.
Whether dealing with performance anxiety or individual practice sessions, always be open to new images or forms of mental rehearsal. By employing basic mental rehearsal and imagery techniques, you may find additional methods that work better, or some that are entirely ineffective. It is important to share these ideas with colleagues and students; all can learn from one another. Also, consider writing down newly discovered mental practice techniques or effective images in a notebook or journal. These ideas can then be applied to other pieces or used for teaching; they may even be employed within other venues such as choir rehearsals or public speaking.
It is always important for musicians to remember successful performances and frequently recall the feelings associated with these experiences, as well as vividly imagining successful future performances. The preparation, emotions and sensations associated with past successes are the foundation upon which future successes are built. n
