The Pay-off of Being "In the Moment"

A couple of weeks ago, I sat down at the piano for my last practice sessions before heading to tropical St. Maarten. Even the lure of a week on sun-warmed beaches wasn't enough to quell nagging thoughts that I'd lose momentum in my practicing. Any skill that requires eye-hand coordination plus mental sharpness needs daily reinforcement to be at its best. There's that old saw about Rachmaninoff (or pick any pianist of note) who said, “If I miss one day’s practice, I notice; if I miss two days' practice, my wife notices; if I miss three days' practice, everyone notices.”

In practicing, the challenge is to pay attention to each note and not day-dream about, say, an upcoming sunny holiday. I've been very influenced by Jon Kabat-Zinn’s statement that if you aren't present here, when you get there, you won't be present either. The same challenge faces everyone who meditates: when trying to focus on one thing, the mind breaks off and introduces other thoughts. We can be two people – one who does the task, and one who watches the doing. In practicing and performing, keeping these parts together is the goal. So-called memory lapses occur when the split happens. In my experience, it isn't that notes are forgotten but that concentration falters.

I'm happy to report that I didn’t think an edifying thought the entire week in St. Maarten. I enjoyed watching the water, sun and sand, I enjoyed the pleasure of my friends, and I recklessly enjoyed the wonderful French food. It was pretty easy to stay focused in those moments! By week's end, my walk had changed from an energetic, get-from-here-to-there-as-quickly-as-possible gait, to a relaxed, loose-limbed saunter.

Now, I'm back in the saddle again, and I love it. After loosening up my fingers, I'm noticing that the practice I did before leaving has taken me to new, deeper levels. I'm feeling so refreshed and happy that my love of playing the piano is even more intense and rewarding, moment by moment.