The following essay is Section Three of Chapter 3 from
Drummer's Insight, the Meta Pursuit of Musicianship and Meaning
Section Three | Internal Tools
Drummer's Insight, the Meta Pursuit of Musicianship and Meaning
Section Three | Internal Tools
,Focusing
As we saw in the previous section, practice is primarily a procedure by which we make intentional changes to internal and external techniques and methods for the purpose of improving performance. In this section we’ll take a closer look at some of these internal tools and how to use them in our work.
At the heart of this important work lies the one tool that makes it all possible: our ability to focus.
What is focus? Focus is concentrated mental energy. When we direct this mental energy to one detail within an object, idea or action, we say we are focused. But that one detail is not exclusive. Focusing on details is most beneficial when it is coupled with an appreciation of their relationship within the larger context. With expert practice, our focus can include the full awareness of the musical context, the other musicians, and details of our sound and touch.
Directing our mental energy to fine details is important. At the same time we must take a broader perspective. A broader perspective is essential in providing context for the details at hand. Our ideas need to function and become integrated into the whole of the music. Practice that includes an awareness of both detail and context allows us to see details collectively, how they function together, as in a rhythm, and how each rhythm functions within an arrangement.
Focus doesn’t only mean to exclude everything but a singular point of attention. While we direct our attention to a single point, we can also have a peripheral awareness, seeing the particular detail within the larger context.
Not limited to directing attention on an object, idea or action within a field, focusing allows us to transcend the notion of time itself. As children, we were able to become fully absorbed in play. When we are entirely present in the moment it is as if time stops and all we are becomes integrated within the present moment. This is a powerfully creative place to be. It is not only a place of complete being - it is a place of action. This is the zone in which we all wish to be for music. This zone of awareness is where we create meaningful change.
While practicing, we can work with intensive focus for short periods - 30 minutes to one hour - gradually lengthening the time little by little as our ability to focus improves. At first, any effort or method of intense concentration may seem futile, perhaps painful or even impossible. Focus itself is a practice; one requiring determination and diligence. It’s part of the discipline.
Once we are able to play a desired pattern, phrase or part correctly, we must elevate it and proceed to the next level. Our attention goes to work more deeply to bring our playing up to the present limits of our sensibilities, while continually pushing the limit. This is the work within the work.
Here are a few more examples of where and how to direct attention:
Keep going.
Cymbal beats are subtle, but they can carry the weight of time for the entire group and the music at large. Making them clear with dynamics only goes so far. Quality sounds well-placed within the time flow clarifies our notes more than anything else we do.
Many people struggle with the ability to focus. It is not surprising, given the level of stimulation to which we expose ourselves on a daily basis. You may even have trouble focusing on this section on focusing. I’ll try to make it as clear as possible.
We need to respond to the rapid and continuous exposure to information in ways which make us stronger; to stay on track, to remain centered and grounded. Not by attempting to take it all in but by focusing beyond the countless details which constantly flood our senses. Develop a discipline to filter out distractions. We need not let every single thing stimulate and affect us. It is not necessary to consume all that is before us. Be intelligently selective.
By curtailing our exposure to distractions and choosing positive, engaging focal points, we eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive. We selectively ignore whatever is detrimental to our priorities. These acts alone constitute a serious practice and are essential priorities of a successful personal discipline.
For some, unlimited stimuli, combined with an internal disorder like ADD, create an ever-shifting point of focus that is hard if not impossible to control. The mind goes uncontrollably from one thing to another in a constant stream of distractions, mental constructs and insatiable consumption of stimuli. It may feel impossible to hone in on one aspect and hold attention. This is exhausting and destabilizing for the individual as well as for those with whom they come into contact.
To a certain degree, focus means choosing to direct mental energy on a specific object or task. Since it is ultimately a choice, it places the responsibility on us. It may not be easy, and is no doubt more difficult for some than for others, but we ultimately must choose to not be pulled in a thousand directions. It is both something we work on and something we put into practice. We use and apply it in real life while simultaneously working to improve it.
In addition to the constant stimulation of modern life, biochemical toxins from chemicals in the environment are a known contributor to the inability to stay focused. In addition, the harmful effects of sugar scatter our thoughts in a thousand directions. In spite of it all, we each have within us the power to create the discipline which enables us to be clear-minded, with limited mental distraction and increased concentration.
We will find significant improvement as a result of conscious directed effort.
This requires making smart and healthful choices. Personal health - this includes physical, mental and emotional health - plays an important role in mental clarity. Our ability to focus can be increased by paying attention to such factors as a healthful diet, making time for daily physical exercise, and adequate, consistent rest. We foster healthful, honest relationships. It helps to maintain regular connections with the natural environment. We must learn the limits of our personal energy resources and know what we need to recharge.
Focus becomes sharper when we control or eliminate consumption of intoxicants, sugar and other such detractors. Reduce the intake of substances that needlessly stimulate and manipulate on all levels. Replace distractive pursuits with activities for which we are intrinsically motivated instead of tasks which wear us down energetically and do not help us reach our goals.
Choose activities that are positive, engaging and naturally hold our interest. Invest in activities that are productive and require prolonged attention to accomplish well. When we choose work we love to do there is a natural wind in our sails.
The ability to focus is made easier when we make positive choices that reflect our interests. This doesn’t mean the work will be easy, simply that the motivation is internal and is an important driver in the face of the difficult task of learning something new. Plus our mind is clearer and we spend less time sabotaging our own progress.
Deliberate practicing develops a strong, singular focusing ability. Focusing uses the perceptive capacities of all our senses. As our power to focus increases, perceptive capacity broadens and we can see the big picture as easily as the details.
As focus becomes more natural, we develop the ability to intentionally shift it, directing it towards broader and more connected aspects. For example, we follow sequential points of a rhythmic pattern at a faster and faster rate, or by real-time awareness of the inter-connectedness of our limbs. These are intentional, directed shifts of focus rather than uncontrolled mental wanderings.
In addition, combinations of notes can be viewed in a multi-dimensional way. This view is more three-dimensional than rapidly following note by note in the narrower, linear or grid concept. A broader, more encompassing focus works like a force-field.
For example, I sometimes visualize the notes I am playing in a sort of three-dimensional orbit in front of me. Notes and phrases are held together in space by the gravitational relationships of my own energy, my own sense of time and space. I typically do not see my music in a linear path or a grid with one note following another. I don’t think of my notes sequentially, or as lining up according to a lead right hand, for example. Instead, the notes are sounds with meaning that exist multi-dimensionally. They are suspended in constellation form, having a spatial, sonic, compositional, even gravitational relationship with one another that exists both outside of me and within me. The gravitational energy I create by dynamics, tones and spacing, framed in collaboration and intuition, define the sounds’ relationship with each other.
My notes are not tied together by a string of eighth notes on a cymbal, but instead exist simultaneously in a harmonic orbit held together and manipulated by complete attentive/intuitive control - the musical manipulation of sound, space and gravity. Working with these relationships, I am creating movement within space, a sense of forward momentum. It is a tangible and malleable relationship with my sounds, played with effortless control.
Meticulous attention and awareness on all levels in practice can improve our touch. We develop touch primarily through hearing, in addition to feeling, experience, maturity, and an expansive awareness of detail and context. When we are engaged in using heightened awareness during practice, it teaches the body what sounding good sounds like, so when we play music we can free the mind and intuitively let the music flow without effort or self-conscious thought.
The vast, intensive cognition we use and develop in deliberate practice becomes entirely available to us in the creative performance environment. Away from practice, we have all these powerful sensibilities left over; these cognitive functions are free and fully available for music-making.
Clear a path for clarity
Since practicing at a high level of mental engagement requires us to direct our full attention willfully to specific mental and physical tasks of our choosing, the mind must be clear and free from distractions. It requires attention to be able to observe and assess problems, and to take the appropriate actions in the moment toward solving them.
As we are well-aware, resources such as time and energy for practice are limited. The mental resource of how much we can hold in mind at one time, cognitive capacity, is similarly limited (Miller & Buschman, 2015).
Research shows that most of us share a capacity of between 4-7 objects that can be sufficiently attended to or held in mind at one time. Capacity may be stretched and widened, and the quality of our cognition can be increased. We also develop skills to access wider internal resources through intuition. But within the limitations we all share, this mental sketchpad is where the interplay of attention, intelligence, instinct, knowledge, sensory input and creativity combine with the limited tangible objects in our sensory field.
Because of these limitations, it is beneficial to take steps to create a healthy foundation for well-being. Taking steps that nourish and sustain us are a positive contributor to our psychological and mental well-being.
With a clear mind we are able to focus better, and a well-directed focus is what drives the increased quality of our sensibilities and skills. A mind unobstructed, free from uncontrollable thoughts racing about, creates the space for the complex cognitive tasks at hand.
We can think of this space as the potential for all we do. It is space in which the assemblage of who we are is combined, transformed and shared. Mental clarity provides a space for proper mental function.
Even the basic expressive functionality of a musical instrument needs space within to manifest its purpose. Typically, acoustic musical instruments contain a resonating chamber, within which sounds- more accurately vibrations - are collected, shaped, amplified and harmonized. Sounds resonate, as long as the space is free from obstruction. It is the nothingness, the space, which makes the instrument a vessel for potential.
Whatever the vessel may be, a vase, a violin, a bottle, a ship, a drum or our mind, its value lies in the space within. It is the space within - the emptiness - which holds potential for something to exist, to function, in service of something larger than itself. The value lies not in simply filling the space, but in the potential which lies in its emptiness.
Without the space within the shell, a drum would not be a drum. It would have little, if any, potential for resonance. In fact, drums are little more than resonating chambers.
Potential is the possibility for becoming. We must create the internal conditions, the unobstructed space necessary for the natural flow of creative energy. Space for being - whether it is an open mind for listening, an open heart for compassion, or creative capacity for improvisation - each require a receptive internal space. The practice of mindfulness creates this internal space. And it is from this space we manifest our usefulness.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a non-judgmental disciplined meditational practice. Mindfulness directs attention and self-awareness with the aim of self-knowledge through clarity of perception in the moment. Being mindful is to be present.
Self-knowledge, an essential first step to a balanced, objective comprehension of one’s inner and outer worlds, is clearest when combined with an empathic perspective of others. It offers us a clear picture of how we are viewed by others and a view of the world as it is.
Mindfulness is internally-directed observation without judgment; it is the observational awareness necessary to see objects and events in our field as they are, in their essential form. It is a presence of being, separated from the distortions and distractions of the mind.
To examine, to observe, to direct attention and hold it, is not as much a goal as it is a practice. It is a meditation. The practice of mindfulness meditation places our awareness on a seemingly simple activity, such as the breath. We focus and hold all of our attention on one small detail of our choosing to calm and clear the mind. It is a gateway to getting at the root of our misconceptions, emotions, the source of our desires and aversions.
In the practice of mindfulness we are likely to become distracted. Many emotions, attachments, desires and aversions bubble to the surface; the mind flits about uncontrollably. The practice, therefore, involves continually returning our attention to the breath, without judgment, without commentary.
To be clear, meditation is not a trance or a dream-like state, where one zones out blissfully unaware of reality, floating along passively. It is the opposite. It is a practice of hyper-focused awareness in the present moment with the aim of controlling and clearing the mind of its countless agendas, misconceptions, and distortions. It is an attempt to experience the world as it is so we may get closer to truth, eliminate discomfort on all levels, increase awareness and cultivate wisdom.
We work with the aim to live in a steady state of mind and heart, free of ignorance and free from the pendulum of emotions associated with endless desires and disappointments. The awareness gained through this inner work enables a state of equanimity, an inner peace and steadiness in a world of chaos. It’s a state immensely valuable to the creative musician.
Here is a practice to help clear a path for clarity.
Begin with the breath. Observe the breath with complete awareness. Sit quietly with the eyes closed and relax the diaphragm, the involuntary muscles for breathing located below the chest. Allow these abdominal muscles to regulate the breath naturally. Don’t force the breath. Allow air to fill the lungs, and comfortably allow the air to fully exit the lungs. This is not a breathing exercise. We are simply relaxing the muscles which make it possible for the diaphragm to function naturally, allowing air to be drawn in and pushed out, like a bellows.
It may take some practice to allow the simple rhythm of breathing to happen naturally. The allowing is all part of the practice. The point is to practice. This mindful awareness is the practice of mindfulness.
Now choose something specific on which to focus. For example, simply focus on the movement of breath on the upper lip as it passes in and out of the nostrils, observing it as it is. With each breath, sense the air as it passes through the nose and fills the lungs. Feel it as it flows out of the lungs, back out through the nose. Pay attention to all sensations which arise, and take note of any arising thoughts. Simply notice them, let them go and observe without judgment. If thoughts creep in, gently guide your mind back, returning it to the point of focus.
Focusing on the breath is a great place to direct attention without judgment. Respiration is one of the most basic principles of being alive. The breath originates in the creative center of the body, the sacral region. From here all of our expression comes: our voice, creativity, gut responses, fight or flight, etc.
Other aspects on which to direct our focus so we may clear the mind include counting the number of breaths we take, or directing attention to a specific part of the body.
In the early stages of the practice, focus on one simple point for a period of time, while simultaneously relaxing the core muscles to breathe easily and deeply. We allow ourselves to be in this state. There is no ‘doing’. We create clarity by being, observing, accepting, by letting go and controlling the body and the thoughts. The senses become finer, the mind clearer, and the heart widens. We can sense more space within us.
During this meditation, it may be difficult to maintain mental clarity. Some thoughts will surely creep in and interrupt the focus. It is ok. This is normal. There is no need to judge or criticize. Patiently and gently, direct the mind back to the point of focus and continue the practice. Guiding the focus to return to a simple, clear point of focus is the work. We can practice this each day. Try it for as long as possible, perhaps five to fifteen minutes at first, once or twice each day.
We need not be disappointed if we are unable to maintain focus. There is no failure. Trying and observing are the practice. The practice is the goal. We are simply allowing ourselves to be fully present. This mindful state of awareness, of non-judgment and clarity is a matter of being. If we choose it, if we allow it, we become it. “It's not a doing at all, in fact, it is being. And being doesn't take any time” (Kabat-Zinn, 2014).
This mindfulness meditation strengthens the observational awareness we use in deliberate practice, and shares a direct link with our ability to focus. It helps to open up a path so we can see clearly, unclouded by the mental constructs which endlessly parade across the mind.
Observing all physical, mental and emotional activity, directing attention, sharpening the senses and releasing tension are profoundly useful to all areas of our lives. Over time, the practice of mindfulness gets easier, our awareness of the present moment becomes constant, and we notice a sense of well-being which we may not have thought possible.
To the senses, everything is a signal – a cue by which we choose to either ignore or respond. Mindful attention helps us to be centered, calm, and to filter excessive stimulation.
Mindfulness meditation is a great step toward a deeper practice, such as the practice of vipassana, the practice of mental clarity. These practices help expand the realm of possibility infinitely on all levels.
Breath and voice
At its most basic, the involuntary act of breathing is an exchange. Esoterically speaking, it symbolizes our affinity for collaboration, for relational give and take, and the harmonic balance between the natural rhythms for all of life. It enables personal expression in the form of voice. The nature of the body in performing this non-negotiable function is both expansive and contractive.
In its functional exchange between inner and outer, the breath exemplifies life’s undeniable duality that all life is either in a state of growth or decay. The characteristics of tension and release, rising and falling, growth and decay, shape the contour of our world, of rhythm, music, and of life itself.
The quality of our breath, whether deep, full and wide or shallow, short and narrow, is symptomatic of our emotional and physical state. The quality of our breath directly impacts how we interact with our environment and vice versa.
Proper use of the breath and voice during practice builds a strong foundation for our relationship with rhythm and with time. Here we look briefly at the ways in which our physiological and emotional state affects the way we breathe, which in turn influences our sound. We will look at how we might put the voice to practical use to connect more deeply in establishing strong inner time.
We use no gimmicks, tricks or techniques. We simply seek to gain authentic insight into our physical-emotional relationship at its most fundamental level, and increase our awareness of how this relationship influences our sound and feeling on the instrument.
The way we breathe is a symptom of our physical and emotional state. When we systematically build and hold on to tension in the body due to an inability to relax, tension is reflected in breath that is short and high, not deep and full. As a result, the sound we express on the drumset is tight; the feeling is not grounded, and lacks depth.
Musical instruments, particularly an instrument requiring complete physical and emotional interface like the drumset, are amplifiers for our own state of being. Physical and emotional states are readily expressed in our sound. Unwanted muscle tension contributes negatively to our overall sound and fluidity. Tight, short breathing as a result of either bodily tension or unsettled emotions makes it difficult to feel grounded.
Like a chain reaction, muscle tension spreads throughout the body and prevents us from comfortably connecting all the parts of ourselves with the music and the moment. The inability to breathe deeply is a direct result of muscle tension, and can be rooted in emotion.
When we get to the root of the breath we get closer to the root of our health and well-being. The breath and the voice originate in our creative center. This energy center, deep in our core, is the place from which creative actions arise - from our deepest impulses to our highest aspirations.
When we are relaxed and confident, the area within us that regulates the breath allows access to the clear flow of energy. The positive physical and emotional states for consistent, deep, relaxed breathing serve to profoundly connect us to the present moment.
Some may find it helpful to make use of the voice during practice to deepen their connection with time. Practical gains can be had by connecting time, voice and rhythm. The drumset musician works with points in time to create a seamless multi-dimensional flow of rhythm in a way that differs from instruments with sustained pitches. We are attempting to create an even, smooth and consistent flow using only staccato sounds with little, if any sustain, other than the cymbals.
When we think of beats or rhythmic patterns, we typically think of the arrangement of specific points in time, short percussive sounds as in the way a metronome depicts beats, with a millisecond bleep or click. But this singular point is only a fraction of time, and is denoted by the physical event of playing the note.
While a metronome or voice counting delineates a specific marker of the length of a beat, the real content of a beat, and of the notes we play, lies between the counts, in the continuity of space and time between them. The space is what defines the count or the clicks of a metronome. The full measurement from one beat to the next is one full beat. Thinking in terms of when beats or notes begin and end is more appropriate.
A deep internal measurement of the space within a beat informs our concept of time as continuous, rather than a sequence of arranged points. Once this concept is deeply understood, it cannot be lost.
Articulating time via the voice during practice strengthens internal time. The goal is not necessarily to have metronomic time per se but to develop an immovable internal sense of time, which gives the notes we play more weight and substance.
Using the voice in practice gives us a deeper knowledge of precisely where the point of each beat falls, while we measure the space within the beats with movement. Saying each beat out loud while practicing syncopated rhythms deepens the syncopation effect. Vocalizing beats acts as a feedback loop; hearing ourselves speak each beat reinforces and helps strengthen the placement of each beat on a deeper level.
Saying or singing rhythms out loud helps internalize them, and playing becomes easier when knowledge of the rhythmic language is more intimate. This connects the channels of language to rhythms via the voice and we make an emotional connection with them. A good way to practice improvising is to maintain rhythmic stability by singing familiar melodic lines and improvising off of them.
Another approach is to experiment with alternative ways of counting. This effects how we feel the beats. For example, a staccato way of counting helps us feel the beats as specific points of time. This can be combined with staccato counting of the subdivisions to hear their spacing. Counting in short, percussive articulations can also be combined with observation of movements of limbs, to gain awareness of the space between the points. This is particularly useful at slow tempos.
Alternatively, we can experiment with a legato counting style. With long vocal tones we use the breath and voice to measure the space within the beats, and the voice can be tied to the movements of the limbs to increase awareness of the space between the beats. We can easily feel the entire span of each beat. This method of counting gives us a more tangible measurement of the distance between the beat points and helps us measure time more consistently via the breath. Try this with slow quarter-notes, for example.
As a result the deepened sense of time, achieved by using the breath and voice, allows much more freedom for creativity, for rhythmic complexity and contributes to a solid group sound.
In the next section, we’ll go deeper into time, subdivisions and the metronome.
Thanks for reading.
--Brett F. Campbell, 2021
References
Miller, Earl K., & Buschman, T. J. (2015) Working memory capacity: Limits on the bandwidth of cognition. Daedalus, The Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 112-122
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2014, December). Mindfulness. Retrieved from CBS News 60 Minutes: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mindfulness-anderson-cooper-60-minutes/
As we saw in the previous section, practice is primarily a procedure by which we make intentional changes to internal and external techniques and methods for the purpose of improving performance. In this section we’ll take a closer look at some of these internal tools and how to use them in our work.
At the heart of this important work lies the one tool that makes it all possible: our ability to focus.
What is focus? Focus is concentrated mental energy. When we direct this mental energy to one detail within an object, idea or action, we say we are focused. But that one detail is not exclusive. Focusing on details is most beneficial when it is coupled with an appreciation of their relationship within the larger context. With expert practice, our focus can include the full awareness of the musical context, the other musicians, and details of our sound and touch.
Directing our mental energy to fine details is important. At the same time we must take a broader perspective. A broader perspective is essential in providing context for the details at hand. Our ideas need to function and become integrated into the whole of the music. Practice that includes an awareness of both detail and context allows us to see details collectively, how they function together, as in a rhythm, and how each rhythm functions within an arrangement.
Focus doesn’t only mean to exclude everything but a singular point of attention. While we direct our attention to a single point, we can also have a peripheral awareness, seeing the particular detail within the larger context.
Not limited to directing attention on an object, idea or action within a field, focusing allows us to transcend the notion of time itself. As children, we were able to become fully absorbed in play. When we are entirely present in the moment it is as if time stops and all we are becomes integrated within the present moment. This is a powerfully creative place to be. It is not only a place of complete being - it is a place of action. This is the zone in which we all wish to be for music. This zone of awareness is where we create meaningful change.
While practicing, we can work with intensive focus for short periods - 30 minutes to one hour - gradually lengthening the time little by little as our ability to focus improves. At first, any effort or method of intense concentration may seem futile, perhaps painful or even impossible. Focus itself is a practice; one requiring determination and diligence. It’s part of the discipline.
Once we are able to play a desired pattern, phrase or part correctly, we must elevate it and proceed to the next level. Our attention goes to work more deeply to bring our playing up to the present limits of our sensibilities, while continually pushing the limit. This is the work within the work.
Here are a few more examples of where and how to direct attention:
- Pay attention to the balance of sound from limb to limb.
- Spend time attending to independent dynamics.
- How is the blending or contrasting of sounds?
- Overall, do my notes and tones blend well within the instrument itself, within the groove and within the music?
- Does it feel clear and crisp or mushy and undefined?
- Does the musical energy sound bright or muddy; energized or sluggish?
- What am I trying to say? Do I need to say something?
- Are my ideas clear? Are they connected?
- Does what I’m playing contribute positively to the other musicians and to the music?
- Does my contribution matter?
- Am I placing too much mental emphasis on precision?
- Do I need all these notes?
- Do I feel a connection with what I’m playing?
- Is there a dialogue within the rhythm? Within the ensemble?
Keep going.
- See how the details work within the larger context and adapt them as necessary.
- Play in a way that is free from unnecessary emotional embellishment or extraneous movement.
- Carefully place each note in the time flow in a way that gives them the desired weight.
- Pay attention to arbitrarily filling in notes unnecessarily with the weaker hand.
- Ask yourself, does this contribute rhythmic content in a meaningful way?
- Discover unwarranted habits such as ending phrases at the end of a bar or crashing a cymbal on the ‘1’.
- Try ending phrases on ‘4’.
- Integrate embellishments within the groove itself.
- Devote a lot of mental energy to the ride cymbal. Hear each note clearly.
- Execute movements with effortless control and drive, regardless of complexity.
- Hear the fineness of time and clarify the placement of the notes; pay attention to spacing. This is important. Spacing provides clarity. The other players depend on our consistency.
Cymbal beats are subtle, but they can carry the weight of time for the entire group and the music at large. Making them clear with dynamics only goes so far. Quality sounds well-placed within the time flow clarifies our notes more than anything else we do.
Many people struggle with the ability to focus. It is not surprising, given the level of stimulation to which we expose ourselves on a daily basis. You may even have trouble focusing on this section on focusing. I’ll try to make it as clear as possible.
We need to respond to the rapid and continuous exposure to information in ways which make us stronger; to stay on track, to remain centered and grounded. Not by attempting to take it all in but by focusing beyond the countless details which constantly flood our senses. Develop a discipline to filter out distractions. We need not let every single thing stimulate and affect us. It is not necessary to consume all that is before us. Be intelligently selective.
By curtailing our exposure to distractions and choosing positive, engaging focal points, we eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive. We selectively ignore whatever is detrimental to our priorities. These acts alone constitute a serious practice and are essential priorities of a successful personal discipline.
For some, unlimited stimuli, combined with an internal disorder like ADD, create an ever-shifting point of focus that is hard if not impossible to control. The mind goes uncontrollably from one thing to another in a constant stream of distractions, mental constructs and insatiable consumption of stimuli. It may feel impossible to hone in on one aspect and hold attention. This is exhausting and destabilizing for the individual as well as for those with whom they come into contact.
To a certain degree, focus means choosing to direct mental energy on a specific object or task. Since it is ultimately a choice, it places the responsibility on us. It may not be easy, and is no doubt more difficult for some than for others, but we ultimately must choose to not be pulled in a thousand directions. It is both something we work on and something we put into practice. We use and apply it in real life while simultaneously working to improve it.
In addition to the constant stimulation of modern life, biochemical toxins from chemicals in the environment are a known contributor to the inability to stay focused. In addition, the harmful effects of sugar scatter our thoughts in a thousand directions. In spite of it all, we each have within us the power to create the discipline which enables us to be clear-minded, with limited mental distraction and increased concentration.
We will find significant improvement as a result of conscious directed effort.
This requires making smart and healthful choices. Personal health - this includes physical, mental and emotional health - plays an important role in mental clarity. Our ability to focus can be increased by paying attention to such factors as a healthful diet, making time for daily physical exercise, and adequate, consistent rest. We foster healthful, honest relationships. It helps to maintain regular connections with the natural environment. We must learn the limits of our personal energy resources and know what we need to recharge.
Focus becomes sharper when we control or eliminate consumption of intoxicants, sugar and other such detractors. Reduce the intake of substances that needlessly stimulate and manipulate on all levels. Replace distractive pursuits with activities for which we are intrinsically motivated instead of tasks which wear us down energetically and do not help us reach our goals.
Choose activities that are positive, engaging and naturally hold our interest. Invest in activities that are productive and require prolonged attention to accomplish well. When we choose work we love to do there is a natural wind in our sails.
The ability to focus is made easier when we make positive choices that reflect our interests. This doesn’t mean the work will be easy, simply that the motivation is internal and is an important driver in the face of the difficult task of learning something new. Plus our mind is clearer and we spend less time sabotaging our own progress.
Deliberate practicing develops a strong, singular focusing ability. Focusing uses the perceptive capacities of all our senses. As our power to focus increases, perceptive capacity broadens and we can see the big picture as easily as the details.
As focus becomes more natural, we develop the ability to intentionally shift it, directing it towards broader and more connected aspects. For example, we follow sequential points of a rhythmic pattern at a faster and faster rate, or by real-time awareness of the inter-connectedness of our limbs. These are intentional, directed shifts of focus rather than uncontrolled mental wanderings.
In addition, combinations of notes can be viewed in a multi-dimensional way. This view is more three-dimensional than rapidly following note by note in the narrower, linear or grid concept. A broader, more encompassing focus works like a force-field.
For example, I sometimes visualize the notes I am playing in a sort of three-dimensional orbit in front of me. Notes and phrases are held together in space by the gravitational relationships of my own energy, my own sense of time and space. I typically do not see my music in a linear path or a grid with one note following another. I don’t think of my notes sequentially, or as lining up according to a lead right hand, for example. Instead, the notes are sounds with meaning that exist multi-dimensionally. They are suspended in constellation form, having a spatial, sonic, compositional, even gravitational relationship with one another that exists both outside of me and within me. The gravitational energy I create by dynamics, tones and spacing, framed in collaboration and intuition, define the sounds’ relationship with each other.
My notes are not tied together by a string of eighth notes on a cymbal, but instead exist simultaneously in a harmonic orbit held together and manipulated by complete attentive/intuitive control - the musical manipulation of sound, space and gravity. Working with these relationships, I am creating movement within space, a sense of forward momentum. It is a tangible and malleable relationship with my sounds, played with effortless control.
Meticulous attention and awareness on all levels in practice can improve our touch. We develop touch primarily through hearing, in addition to feeling, experience, maturity, and an expansive awareness of detail and context. When we are engaged in using heightened awareness during practice, it teaches the body what sounding good sounds like, so when we play music we can free the mind and intuitively let the music flow without effort or self-conscious thought.
The vast, intensive cognition we use and develop in deliberate practice becomes entirely available to us in the creative performance environment. Away from practice, we have all these powerful sensibilities left over; these cognitive functions are free and fully available for music-making.
Clear a path for clarity
Since practicing at a high level of mental engagement requires us to direct our full attention willfully to specific mental and physical tasks of our choosing, the mind must be clear and free from distractions. It requires attention to be able to observe and assess problems, and to take the appropriate actions in the moment toward solving them.
As we are well-aware, resources such as time and energy for practice are limited. The mental resource of how much we can hold in mind at one time, cognitive capacity, is similarly limited (Miller & Buschman, 2015).
Research shows that most of us share a capacity of between 4-7 objects that can be sufficiently attended to or held in mind at one time. Capacity may be stretched and widened, and the quality of our cognition can be increased. We also develop skills to access wider internal resources through intuition. But within the limitations we all share, this mental sketchpad is where the interplay of attention, intelligence, instinct, knowledge, sensory input and creativity combine with the limited tangible objects in our sensory field.
Because of these limitations, it is beneficial to take steps to create a healthy foundation for well-being. Taking steps that nourish and sustain us are a positive contributor to our psychological and mental well-being.
With a clear mind we are able to focus better, and a well-directed focus is what drives the increased quality of our sensibilities and skills. A mind unobstructed, free from uncontrollable thoughts racing about, creates the space for the complex cognitive tasks at hand.
We can think of this space as the potential for all we do. It is space in which the assemblage of who we are is combined, transformed and shared. Mental clarity provides a space for proper mental function.
Even the basic expressive functionality of a musical instrument needs space within to manifest its purpose. Typically, acoustic musical instruments contain a resonating chamber, within which sounds- more accurately vibrations - are collected, shaped, amplified and harmonized. Sounds resonate, as long as the space is free from obstruction. It is the nothingness, the space, which makes the instrument a vessel for potential.
Whatever the vessel may be, a vase, a violin, a bottle, a ship, a drum or our mind, its value lies in the space within. It is the space within - the emptiness - which holds potential for something to exist, to function, in service of something larger than itself. The value lies not in simply filling the space, but in the potential which lies in its emptiness.
Without the space within the shell, a drum would not be a drum. It would have little, if any, potential for resonance. In fact, drums are little more than resonating chambers.
Potential is the possibility for becoming. We must create the internal conditions, the unobstructed space necessary for the natural flow of creative energy. Space for being - whether it is an open mind for listening, an open heart for compassion, or creative capacity for improvisation - each require a receptive internal space. The practice of mindfulness creates this internal space. And it is from this space we manifest our usefulness.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a non-judgmental disciplined meditational practice. Mindfulness directs attention and self-awareness with the aim of self-knowledge through clarity of perception in the moment. Being mindful is to be present.
Self-knowledge, an essential first step to a balanced, objective comprehension of one’s inner and outer worlds, is clearest when combined with an empathic perspective of others. It offers us a clear picture of how we are viewed by others and a view of the world as it is.
Mindfulness is internally-directed observation without judgment; it is the observational awareness necessary to see objects and events in our field as they are, in their essential form. It is a presence of being, separated from the distortions and distractions of the mind.
To examine, to observe, to direct attention and hold it, is not as much a goal as it is a practice. It is a meditation. The practice of mindfulness meditation places our awareness on a seemingly simple activity, such as the breath. We focus and hold all of our attention on one small detail of our choosing to calm and clear the mind. It is a gateway to getting at the root of our misconceptions, emotions, the source of our desires and aversions.
In the practice of mindfulness we are likely to become distracted. Many emotions, attachments, desires and aversions bubble to the surface; the mind flits about uncontrollably. The practice, therefore, involves continually returning our attention to the breath, without judgment, without commentary.
To be clear, meditation is not a trance or a dream-like state, where one zones out blissfully unaware of reality, floating along passively. It is the opposite. It is a practice of hyper-focused awareness in the present moment with the aim of controlling and clearing the mind of its countless agendas, misconceptions, and distortions. It is an attempt to experience the world as it is so we may get closer to truth, eliminate discomfort on all levels, increase awareness and cultivate wisdom.
We work with the aim to live in a steady state of mind and heart, free of ignorance and free from the pendulum of emotions associated with endless desires and disappointments. The awareness gained through this inner work enables a state of equanimity, an inner peace and steadiness in a world of chaos. It’s a state immensely valuable to the creative musician.
Here is a practice to help clear a path for clarity.
Begin with the breath. Observe the breath with complete awareness. Sit quietly with the eyes closed and relax the diaphragm, the involuntary muscles for breathing located below the chest. Allow these abdominal muscles to regulate the breath naturally. Don’t force the breath. Allow air to fill the lungs, and comfortably allow the air to fully exit the lungs. This is not a breathing exercise. We are simply relaxing the muscles which make it possible for the diaphragm to function naturally, allowing air to be drawn in and pushed out, like a bellows.
It may take some practice to allow the simple rhythm of breathing to happen naturally. The allowing is all part of the practice. The point is to practice. This mindful awareness is the practice of mindfulness.
Now choose something specific on which to focus. For example, simply focus on the movement of breath on the upper lip as it passes in and out of the nostrils, observing it as it is. With each breath, sense the air as it passes through the nose and fills the lungs. Feel it as it flows out of the lungs, back out through the nose. Pay attention to all sensations which arise, and take note of any arising thoughts. Simply notice them, let them go and observe without judgment. If thoughts creep in, gently guide your mind back, returning it to the point of focus.
Focusing on the breath is a great place to direct attention without judgment. Respiration is one of the most basic principles of being alive. The breath originates in the creative center of the body, the sacral region. From here all of our expression comes: our voice, creativity, gut responses, fight or flight, etc.
Other aspects on which to direct our focus so we may clear the mind include counting the number of breaths we take, or directing attention to a specific part of the body.
In the early stages of the practice, focus on one simple point for a period of time, while simultaneously relaxing the core muscles to breathe easily and deeply. We allow ourselves to be in this state. There is no ‘doing’. We create clarity by being, observing, accepting, by letting go and controlling the body and the thoughts. The senses become finer, the mind clearer, and the heart widens. We can sense more space within us.
During this meditation, it may be difficult to maintain mental clarity. Some thoughts will surely creep in and interrupt the focus. It is ok. This is normal. There is no need to judge or criticize. Patiently and gently, direct the mind back to the point of focus and continue the practice. Guiding the focus to return to a simple, clear point of focus is the work. We can practice this each day. Try it for as long as possible, perhaps five to fifteen minutes at first, once or twice each day.
We need not be disappointed if we are unable to maintain focus. There is no failure. Trying and observing are the practice. The practice is the goal. We are simply allowing ourselves to be fully present. This mindful state of awareness, of non-judgment and clarity is a matter of being. If we choose it, if we allow it, we become it. “It's not a doing at all, in fact, it is being. And being doesn't take any time” (Kabat-Zinn, 2014).
This mindfulness meditation strengthens the observational awareness we use in deliberate practice, and shares a direct link with our ability to focus. It helps to open up a path so we can see clearly, unclouded by the mental constructs which endlessly parade across the mind.
Observing all physical, mental and emotional activity, directing attention, sharpening the senses and releasing tension are profoundly useful to all areas of our lives. Over time, the practice of mindfulness gets easier, our awareness of the present moment becomes constant, and we notice a sense of well-being which we may not have thought possible.
To the senses, everything is a signal – a cue by which we choose to either ignore or respond. Mindful attention helps us to be centered, calm, and to filter excessive stimulation.
Mindfulness meditation is a great step toward a deeper practice, such as the practice of vipassana, the practice of mental clarity. These practices help expand the realm of possibility infinitely on all levels.
Breath and voice
At its most basic, the involuntary act of breathing is an exchange. Esoterically speaking, it symbolizes our affinity for collaboration, for relational give and take, and the harmonic balance between the natural rhythms for all of life. It enables personal expression in the form of voice. The nature of the body in performing this non-negotiable function is both expansive and contractive.
In its functional exchange between inner and outer, the breath exemplifies life’s undeniable duality that all life is either in a state of growth or decay. The characteristics of tension and release, rising and falling, growth and decay, shape the contour of our world, of rhythm, music, and of life itself.
The quality of our breath, whether deep, full and wide or shallow, short and narrow, is symptomatic of our emotional and physical state. The quality of our breath directly impacts how we interact with our environment and vice versa.
Proper use of the breath and voice during practice builds a strong foundation for our relationship with rhythm and with time. Here we look briefly at the ways in which our physiological and emotional state affects the way we breathe, which in turn influences our sound. We will look at how we might put the voice to practical use to connect more deeply in establishing strong inner time.
We use no gimmicks, tricks or techniques. We simply seek to gain authentic insight into our physical-emotional relationship at its most fundamental level, and increase our awareness of how this relationship influences our sound and feeling on the instrument.
The way we breathe is a symptom of our physical and emotional state. When we systematically build and hold on to tension in the body due to an inability to relax, tension is reflected in breath that is short and high, not deep and full. As a result, the sound we express on the drumset is tight; the feeling is not grounded, and lacks depth.
Musical instruments, particularly an instrument requiring complete physical and emotional interface like the drumset, are amplifiers for our own state of being. Physical and emotional states are readily expressed in our sound. Unwanted muscle tension contributes negatively to our overall sound and fluidity. Tight, short breathing as a result of either bodily tension or unsettled emotions makes it difficult to feel grounded.
Like a chain reaction, muscle tension spreads throughout the body and prevents us from comfortably connecting all the parts of ourselves with the music and the moment. The inability to breathe deeply is a direct result of muscle tension, and can be rooted in emotion.
When we get to the root of the breath we get closer to the root of our health and well-being. The breath and the voice originate in our creative center. This energy center, deep in our core, is the place from which creative actions arise - from our deepest impulses to our highest aspirations.
When we are relaxed and confident, the area within us that regulates the breath allows access to the clear flow of energy. The positive physical and emotional states for consistent, deep, relaxed breathing serve to profoundly connect us to the present moment.
Some may find it helpful to make use of the voice during practice to deepen their connection with time. Practical gains can be had by connecting time, voice and rhythm. The drumset musician works with points in time to create a seamless multi-dimensional flow of rhythm in a way that differs from instruments with sustained pitches. We are attempting to create an even, smooth and consistent flow using only staccato sounds with little, if any sustain, other than the cymbals.
When we think of beats or rhythmic patterns, we typically think of the arrangement of specific points in time, short percussive sounds as in the way a metronome depicts beats, with a millisecond bleep or click. But this singular point is only a fraction of time, and is denoted by the physical event of playing the note.
While a metronome or voice counting delineates a specific marker of the length of a beat, the real content of a beat, and of the notes we play, lies between the counts, in the continuity of space and time between them. The space is what defines the count or the clicks of a metronome. The full measurement from one beat to the next is one full beat. Thinking in terms of when beats or notes begin and end is more appropriate.
A deep internal measurement of the space within a beat informs our concept of time as continuous, rather than a sequence of arranged points. Once this concept is deeply understood, it cannot be lost.
Articulating time via the voice during practice strengthens internal time. The goal is not necessarily to have metronomic time per se but to develop an immovable internal sense of time, which gives the notes we play more weight and substance.
Using the voice in practice gives us a deeper knowledge of precisely where the point of each beat falls, while we measure the space within the beats with movement. Saying each beat out loud while practicing syncopated rhythms deepens the syncopation effect. Vocalizing beats acts as a feedback loop; hearing ourselves speak each beat reinforces and helps strengthen the placement of each beat on a deeper level.
Saying or singing rhythms out loud helps internalize them, and playing becomes easier when knowledge of the rhythmic language is more intimate. This connects the channels of language to rhythms via the voice and we make an emotional connection with them. A good way to practice improvising is to maintain rhythmic stability by singing familiar melodic lines and improvising off of them.
Another approach is to experiment with alternative ways of counting. This effects how we feel the beats. For example, a staccato way of counting helps us feel the beats as specific points of time. This can be combined with staccato counting of the subdivisions to hear their spacing. Counting in short, percussive articulations can also be combined with observation of movements of limbs, to gain awareness of the space between the points. This is particularly useful at slow tempos.
Alternatively, we can experiment with a legato counting style. With long vocal tones we use the breath and voice to measure the space within the beats, and the voice can be tied to the movements of the limbs to increase awareness of the space between the beats. We can easily feel the entire span of each beat. This method of counting gives us a more tangible measurement of the distance between the beat points and helps us measure time more consistently via the breath. Try this with slow quarter-notes, for example.
As a result the deepened sense of time, achieved by using the breath and voice, allows much more freedom for creativity, for rhythmic complexity and contributes to a solid group sound.
In the next section, we’ll go deeper into time, subdivisions and the metronome.
Thanks for reading.
--Brett F. Campbell, 2021
References
Miller, Earl K., & Buschman, T. J. (2015) Working memory capacity: Limits on the bandwidth of cognition. Daedalus, The Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 112-122
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2014, December). Mindfulness. Retrieved from CBS News 60 Minutes: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mindfulness-anderson-cooper-60-minutes/
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