EXPECTATION

     

For Lauretta Violin Studio, the mantra for the month of October is EXPECTATION. 

Recently, I read snippets of Rezvan Ameli's 25 Lessons in Mindfulness: Now Time for Healthy Living, and I came across an impactful message regarding expectations. We typically grow frustrated, irritated, or disappointed when people or situations do not meet our expectations. As musicians and teachers, we may often experience unmet expectations, such as...

(1) Expecting a coworker to respond to an urgent email in one day, but he responds three days later.

(2) Expecting a student to arrive to her lesson on time and prepared, but she frequently arrives late and unprepared.

(3) Arriving to a rehearsal prepared with the repertoire, but our colleagues arrive less polished.

(4) Expecting a performance to run smoothly, but certain sections of the repertoire don't go as planned.

Phew! No wonder many musicians experience burn out. Unmet expectations are exhausting. 

Life is full of expectations. In many ways, expectations are inevitable because they are results of planning, practice, and preparation. However, I believe this snippet in 25 Lessons in Mindfulness encourages us to let go of expectations and embrace mindfulness by contacting the present moment. When we contact the present moment, we accept the person or experience for what it is instead of through the expectation. Acceptance encourages us to accept a situation as it is and then move forward with action. However, acceptance doesn't require us to "be okay" with everything either. In Acceptance and Mindfulness-based Approaches to Anxiety, Susan Orsillo and Lizabeth Roemer define acceptance: "Acceptance should not be confused with tolerance or resignation, both of which are passive and fatalistic. Acceptance involves awareness and the active embrace of private experiences, as they are, not as what they say they are."

As a musician, I also view expectation through another perspective. Because letting go of expectations teaches us to be less reactive, perhaps it also encourages us to be proactive. In preparation for performances and lessons, we can imagine different scenarios that may not go our way and consider how to pivot, change, or alter the output. 

In practice sessions, we practice how to be proactive by conceiving a pitch or a phrase before we play it, imagining a shift before we move our finger, or feeling a string crossing in the arm before moving. I find that my practice sessions are centered and effective when I proactively imagine a note, phrase, or sensation before executing it. This requires me to be completely in the present moment. Inevitable thoughts, worries, and expectations creep into my mind, but I work to maintain the present moment by being proactive.

In 2019, I completed my doctoral research document, Mindfulness for Musicians: Bringing sport psychology and mindfulness-based therapies to the practice room and concert stage. I wrote a section regarding peak performance and flow (for another blog post) and included a story from Noa Kageyama of the Bulletproof Musician. He asked the Cleveland Orchestra's principal cellist what he "thinks about" during performances. The cellist remarked that 15% to 20% of his mind is monitoring the performance and 80% to 85% of his mind is conceiving the sound he desires. 

Examples of monitoring are reminding oneself to relax in a difficult section, deliberating changing the sounding point to be closer to the bridge during a loud section, or recognizing that the pianist forgot the second repeat. When conceiving the sound one desires, the mind stays in the present moment and proactively imagines the next note or phrase, instead of busying the mind with emotions, thoughts, worries, or expectations.

So, for the month of October, let's be aware of our expectations and find ways to accept, let go, and be proactive in practice, performance, and teaching!

Works Cited:

Amelia, Rezvan. 25 Lessons in Mindfulness: Now Time for Healthy Living. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2013.

Orsillo, Susan M. and Lizabeth Roemer, Acceptance and Mindfulness-based Approaches to Anxiety: Conceptualization and Treatment. New York: Springer, 2005. Springer Ebooks.

Werner, Lauretta M. "Mindfulness for Musicians: Bringing sport psychology and mindfulness-based therapies to the practice room and concert stage." West Virginia University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports, 2019, https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/3810.