Anxiety and Musical Performance (book review)

Posted on March 10, 2013

Theres a big difference between playing from memory and performing from memory. Ive previously compared
playing from memory with a high-wire act, but just how high is the tight-rope? The Cross-Eyed Pianist has an
excellent blog post on this topic. When playing from memory at home, whether for practice or pleasure, the
tight-rope is essentially lying on the ground, and theres no fear of falling off. But in front of an audience, the
rope may become dauntingly vertiginous and fear of falling can spiral out of control.
Much has been written on the complex art of musical performance, and its not something I specifically want to
focus on in this blog except in relation to memory. Dale Reubarts book Anxiety and Musical Performance: On
Playing Piano from Memory (1985) has some interesting insights on this topic. He asserts that the most
essential ingredient for a successful memorised performance is the ability to concentrate, to maintain
focussed attention.
But concentrate on what? Reubart separates the many activities involved in playing piano into different layers,
and suggests that performers should concentrate only on those facets of performance which he considers
essential while observing subconscious functions without conscious intervention. Specifically technique, note
identification and fingering should all be excluded from conscious focus, not least because there are simply too
many physical actions occurring in real-time to monitor consciously. Haptic, kinaesthetic, or motor memory
alone is not trustworthy and does not provide a faithful mirror of musical reality. In contrast, the performer
should focus on auditory memory hearing the music in the inner ear, and listening to the actual sounds
produced. Conscious focus during performance should be directed towards musical values and
the musical Gestalt, including ones location within the overall structure of a piece. Should an error suddenly
occur, the conscious mind can quickly refocus on the detailed information required. Far from being lost in the
music as many listeners perceive, the performer is acutely conscious of their musical goals, but only passively
aware of detailed matters of execution.
Memorising Music
a blog exploring how musicians
memorise music
My more successful public performances have certainly occurred when Ive managed to silence the little daemon
on my shoulder who constantly tries to knock me off balance by asking distracting questions like whats the
next note? and should I use the third or fourth finger now?. Such questions are rarely consciously posed
during practice (though perhaps they should be) and are certainly far too detailed to be addressed in real-time
during a performance. Knowing the notes is a pre-requisite to performing from memory. But questioning note-
recall is a surefire way to wobble and fall off the tight-rope! As Neubart quotes, Imagine the result, not the
cause. Listen with all your concentration. Afterall, were trying to make music, not an academic
compendium of notes. And music is ultimately an auditory phenomenon.
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pianist, composer, scientist
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