Learn to Meditate While You Play
Well, what exactly is meditation and how does it apply to playing a musical instrument? Of course, people have different ideas of what it might be. As one person said to me, “I meditate all the time. I just sit still and try not to think.” That’s impossible. Meditation is not stopping your mind or even sitting completely still. With practice, you can learn to meditate with your guitar. Through mindfulness meditation, you will play accurately and well and come away refreshed. Professionals do it all the time.
There are many forms of meditation with roots in various religious and philosophical traditions. In the 1970’s, some Transcendental Meditation practitioners persuaded Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard to conduct a series of studies on the physiological effects of meditation. Eventually, he identified four elements necessary to achieve benefit:
- A quiet place.
- A comfortable position
- A passive attitude
- A mental device for focusing the mind
Vipassana meditation, also known as mindfulness meditation, is the form that best suits musicians. It is an ancient form developed in India and embraced by health professionals in the west. The pain management program where I worked was based on Vipassana meditation and was effective for chronic pain patients with various physical problems.
Mindfulness for Guitar
Fortunately, guitarists can use the guitar as the mental device for coordination of mind and body. In other words, we can adapt this ancient practice to our practice. Obviously, a musician who plays mindfully avoids practicing errors and improves much more rapidly than the one who practices mindlessly. Since mindful practice is also relaxed practice, you come away refreshed in mind and body, not to mention spirit. Music is good for the deep down core of us all.
Documented Physiological Effects (Carrington, 1993)
Meditation is a deeply restful state in which 1) oxygen consumption decreases to a level comparable to that present during sleep; 2)heart and respiration rates slow, but heart rate can increase in the presence of stimuli regarded as stressful (heightened awareness); and 3) brain waves are similar to those of alternating alert and drowsy states. Therefore, it may most closely resemble the period just before sleep occurs.
Finally, in clinical use, meditation has been observed to be associated with a reduction in tension and anxiety, reduction in irritability, and elevation of mood. Sounds like post-practice well being to me!
Benson, H. (1975). The relaxation response. New York: Morrow.
Carrington, P. (1993). Modern forms of meditation. In P.M. Lehrer & R.L. Woolfolk, (Eds.), Principles and practice of stress management, (2nd ed., pp. 139-167). New York: Guilford Press.
