Observe or Critique?

Can you listen to your playing in the same way you listen to someone else?  Not exactly the same, but you can become an observer of your playing as you play!

Think of what it is like to listen to a performance.  You don’t know exactly what you will hear.  Well, maybe you know the piece but you don’t know exactly how the performer will choose to shape the phrases.  So you observe.  You leave judgment behind, hang your inner critic in the coatroom and simply observe.  You may like some things but not others. 

What if you used this approach as you play? Listening from the perspective of an observer.

This week, challenge yourself to observe your expression as you play.  Instead of immediately disliking a sound or the way you release a note, notice it in the context of the music.  What would you like to be different?  Dynamics, vibrato, color, articulation? Perhaps you even observe movements you use that are extraneous to creating your music and interfere with expression? As the observer, you have access to choices, not condemning what you hear, which takes up valuable brain space, simply knowing you can make different choices.

Be curious…