In the Present Moment

As I continue to practice the saxophone piece for the concert coming up in a couple of weeks, the more obviously difficult parts begin to be tamed, and subtler challenges emerge.

Sometimes parts that have been smooth and easy to play suddenly begin tripping up the fingers.  It's a process of refinement and reiteration that will continue until the performance.  I've learned to expect that something will "go wrong" in the performance that has never been a problem in practice, and to not let that throw me off when it happens.

Performing music is simple:  play the right note at the right time.  I'm ignoring for the present the important nuances of dynamics and expression.  I know how to play all the notes, and I know the rhythms of the music - how to count time.  So why is it so difficult to get it right?

I think the challenge is that the "right time" is a tiny fraction of a second.  Some notes are held for a while - several seconds even - but the note has to be placed precisely or the music won't flow.  One note comes after another, a stream of challenges - right note? right time? - one right after the other.  If the mind lingers, it will miss the next note.  If it races ahead - anticipating a difficult passage to come, perhaps - it will miss the note that must be played now.

The only path to success is to stay in the present - in the flow of the music - playing each note in its moment and moving without hesitation or interruption to the next moment and the next note - until the piece reaches its conclusion.

The repetition of good practice refines the coordination of eye, breath and fingers and develops the ability to maintain attention in the present moment for, in the case of this piece, about 8 minutes.    

It's simple - but not easy.