Being "In the Zone" - Performing at the Height of Your Potential

(String Pedagogy)

Dr. William K. Koehler

Professor of Double Bass and Music Education

Illinois State University

Have you ever played a concert or recital where everything went perfectly? Do you remember what it was like? You were so involved in what you were doing at the time that you were not distracted by the audience, you interpreted the moment, the fermatas were held out just right with no rush to the next section, the cadence points were dramatic, the dynamics and other elements in the music were executed with utmost personal expression, you were performing to the best of your ability. The performance was one of your greatest successes! You were "in the zone".

Achieving this kind of success on a consistent basis requires some understanding of our mental preparation and understanding of this condition. When we are playing "in the zone", we are not in a trance. We are, however, mentally alert and undivided in our attention to what we are doing.  Performing to the best of our ability is, of course, controllable.  Great performers are able to control their mental and physical moods. Players who have trouble managing their moods or allow the negative inner chatter to occupy their minds during performance can never reach their full potential.

Start to control your performances by:

1. Understanding that the zone is a unique state of psychological and physical harmony.

2. Realizing that reaching your highest level of performance is an expression of your                       personal feelings and emotions. Find your own feelings which are responsible for your personal    success. It probably has to do with calmness, relaxation, fearlessness, confidence and             focus. Summoning these feelings often brings on the corresponding physical responses.

3. Realizing that the easiest way to get in the zone is to have fun. Enjoying your self can move        your physiology powerfully toward the ideal performance state.

4. recognize that what you are thinking and how you are acting before and between movements     and pieces can have a profound effect on your physiology at any time. (negativism is often             a self-fulfilling prophesy) Discipline at these times in performance is essential for gaining             control of the zone.

5. Since the zone is a delicate state, physical factors-fatigue, sickness, diet and outside stress     can block the path to it.

6. Just like a motor skill, zoning gets better with practice and erodes with time. (a person who has not performed a recital in a while has additional fear of failure.)

Developing the skills to be a performer is a life-long process.

  Don't:

1. Think too much - get beyond merely thinking about technique and mechanics

2. focus on the past - this triggers anger and frustration because you focus on the probability of      getting the up-coming passage.

3. focus on the future - Zen is an emphasis on the NOW, not the consequences of your success     or failure of that recital.

4. Trying too hard - you force your performance. the result is an increase in muscle tension             which in turn inhibits control in performance.

5. Being too critical of your performance - during the performance it is detrimental to constantly     measure how well you are doing.