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... book by Barry Green, Tim Gallwey -- anyone read it, implement its ideas? I read The Inner Game of Tennis in the 80s and it had an amazing impact on my tennis game.

Reason I ask is that, after memorization, I'm noticing my mind wandering during practice, especially during difficult passages (doesn't want to stay focused). If this tendency shows up in practice it must show up during performance (critiquing mistakes, wondering what the audience is thinking, etc etc.). I'm wondering if the techniques in this book will be of service at the keyboard. Also wonder if the vocalizing of artists such as Jarrett and Gould helped them stay concentrated.

Opinions welcome...

I'm also curious to hear any reactions to wandering minds. This is a major issue for me as well (and probably for many others). In addition to addressing the credibility of this book, what suggestions might others post in this discussion for ameliorating this problem?

here I just copied and paste my post from another recent topic on memory slips and mind wandering...

To avoid this, when you practice make sure you are really listening to your piece...I mean really intensely listening and focusing, on what your doing and what your going to do. Sometimes you need to start singing to yourself or something to really find your zone. Listen to the chord progressions, the modulations get fully engaged in the piece and stay concentrated the whole time. This may seem obvious and easy, but you will be surprised as to how disengaged you are from your piece if you stand out side your body and really observe your thought process and focus.
When you do fully engage in your music and stay 100% focused on your piece you feel exhausted when it's done, completely drained..mentally and emotionally, it's tiring to perform a piece even a short one like a Chopin Waltz. But if you stay completely focused and force your mind to stay concentrated on the music and what your doing you will find you not only will have memory slips but you also won't be nervous.

Memorization should not be about simply remembering which notes to play and where your hands go. Memorizing shouldn't even be a process at all...when you have something memorized properly it should really be a part of yourself. It should be a natural result of intense aural focus, intense mental focus, and intense physical focus. It's very helpful to take the score with you into a bedroom or something and just conduct it to yourself while reading it...maybe singing the parts out loud, maybe dancing the parts out...physically getting it into your blood. If you practice with this intense concentration and devotion to the piece then you will naturally carry it over with you in performance. Your body will be too wrapped up in the piece to even let your mind disengage for a second...and letting your mind wander in performance will feel very unnatural.

It's okay. The original Inner Game book (Tennis) is better.

i tend to absorb (memorize) music fairly quickly (at the expense of my sight reading, i'm afraid), and once that occurs things go on 'auto-pilot' (seymour bernstein refers to this as a good thing in his book "with your own two hands"), but once things go into 'base brain' mental energy is freed up for other activities, e.g. talking on the cell phone while driving your car (usually to the detriment of other drivers).

with our society's collective unconscious pushing ever further into multi-tasking (and its evil twin ADD), it feels like a very hard habit to break, especially in light of the momentum of mental bifurcation in our daily lives... which is why i think there must be some specific techniques at the keyboard akin to the 'bounce-hit' mantra so effective on the tennis court that helps bring our minds to a point of relaxed concentration at the keyboard.

singing/ humming/ vocalizing does seem to help, and it seems to help create a feeling of 'cantible', since vocalizing requires taking breaths, and if our hands follow our singing then we'll phrase accordingly. food for thought & experimentation i guess.

oooh thats another biggy...breath, breathing will help tremendously in relaxing and keeping a focused and clear mind.

There should be a book called "The Art of Listening (to Yourself playing the Piano)" cuz, like the Hokey Pokey, that's what it's all about.

We just talked about that book in my choir rehearsal the other day. I am gonna check it out. It sounds really interesting.

Just finished Inner Game. Liked it, but enjoyed The Perfect Wrong Note much more.

Inner Game gave me too much to 'remember.'
As far as keeping focused when playing a memorized piece (and I use this technique no matter what I'm doing) I like to concentrate on maintaining a 'focused detachment'.

It's good for your Self 1 (from Inner Game) to detach, it keeps the critic out of your head and allows you to play to your maximum potential. Self 2 is much less critical, more artistic, instinctual, etc.

I'd welcome any other viewpoints on how you've been able to implement the techniques discussed in this book into your practice. Forgive me for ressurrecting an old thread.

I agree. After I read it I beat McEnroe rather handily.....at chess.

In my view, some of the ideas in that book are just absurd, like the suggestion to stare at a piece of chrome furniture to make your playing more brilliant.

I am almost finished with "The Perfect Wrong Note" and would HIGHLY recommend it to everyone interested in this forum. I don't agree with everything he says,but the enlightenment portions on practice are priceless. Excellent book!!

I read this book but unlike some who were impressed over on the ABF, I wasn't.

Whilst the first few chapters were Ok, I thought overall it was sheer hocum....

The central philosophy can be summmarised by quoting the Donald Sutherland character 'Oddball' from Kelly's heroes "...don't make with the Negative waves (man)...."