‘In the zone’We often hear sports commentators talking about athletes being ‘in the zone’. When an athlete is ‘in the zone’ it means they have hit a peak where they are performing perfectly and effortlessly. They have gone beyond ‘trying’, almost as if something else has taken over.Believe it or not, this ‘zone’ is the ultimate goal for artists and musicians aswell – to be in full flow – when great creativity arises spontaneously without effort.

We have all had moments when this has happened, when it was as if some strange power took over and everything we did was brilliant. Afterwards, we may have even wondered ‘Did I really do that?’. The problem is, it doesn’t happen very often, and we soon drift back into our usual routine of ’99% perspiration and 1% Inspiration’.

An athlete, artist or musician who finds themself ‘in the zone’ usually has no idea at all how it happened or how to get the feeling back. People imagine that these experiences are random occurrences that are simply due to years of practise. What they don’t realise is that ‘the zone’ is a state of mind that one can enter at any time. A state of mind where anything you do, from cooking a meal to learning to play piano, happens effortlessly.

It is true that practising your craft with absolute devotion may eventually put you in the zone now and then, but you can also learn how to enter this zone directly at will through the practice of Mindfulness Meditation.

The practice of Mindfulness
If your mind is always ‘somewhere else’ you will find it hard to focus it on specific tasks. The practise of moment-to-moment awareness increases your ability to be fully present with whatever it is you have to do whether it be driving your car, dealing with other people or learning to play piano.

Most people spend their lives caught up in their thoughts. We eat our breakfast thinking about the problems that may lie ahead. We do our work thinking about whether it will ever be successful or not and this blocks the creative flow. As John Lennon said – ‘Life is what happens while we are busy doing other things’.We are so used to living in our minds in this way it seems perfectly natural. But as long as we constantly dwell on the past or future we miss life as it is here and now and as I said, this greatly affects our ability to be creative because pure creativity needs a certain amount of awareness and alertness in which to arise.

Mindfulness is a way of life
When I tell people that they can use Mindfulness to unlock their full creative potential they imagine that I’m going to teach them how to ‘concentrate’ more fully on their practice. While it is true that your ability to concentrate will improve dramatically, Mindfulness is about much more than that.

Mindfulness is also about learning how to ‘let go’ of fear, inhibitions and obstacles that hold you back and get in your way. Mindfulness ‘frees’ up your mind, it helps you stay relaxed and focussed, it increases your intuitive capacities. Ideas will flow more easily. You will feel more motivated. Your stamina for practice will increase.

Unlock your potential
The free bonus ebook on Mindfulness Meditation that comes with the Pianoforall course teaches you how you can easily integrate Mindfulness into your daily life. Like Pianoforall, it is presented in a clear, concise, user-friendly way with hundreds of cartoons that illustrate the text.

The more you practice Mindfulness in ALL your daily life activities the more you will see an improvement in your creative capacities. But don’t take my word for it – try it for a month or two and discover the Miracle of Mindfulness for yourself.

Order Pianoforall now and get this amazing ebook absolutely FREE.

Most people don’t really want to ‘learn’ to play the piano or ‘practice’ the piano, they just want to ‘play’ piano. ‘Play’ sounds like fun, ‘practice’ sounds like a chore. We get this image from childhood – some kid stuck indoors ‘practicing’ scales while all the other kids are outside the window ‘playing’.

So, first thing we need to do is to see our piano practice in a new light. See it as a way of accelerating the learning process so that SOON you’ll be able to ‘play’ piano and play it well.

If you don’t practice and you just play old familiar tunes you move rather slowly. Yes, you’ll get better at playing those old familiar tunes but technically you won’t be pushing yourself to greater heights.

Proper, structured piano practice helps you stride forwards. I say ‘proper’ because a lot of people have an idea that practice IS just playing songs over and over. Practice needs to involve unchartered territory. The golden rule is – ‘practice what you CAN’T play, not what you CAN play’.

First of all, work out what you want to achieve. Do you just want to know all your chords without thinking about how they are formed – then work out a practice routine that leads to that goal. Maybe you want to learn about inversions or chord substitution – again, make the practice fit the goal.

Split your practice session into two halves. In the first half play the difficult stuff – your mind is sharper to begin with – then reward yourself with some enjoyable but reasonably difficult tunes.

Make sure you are comfortable. Many a bad back has happened because of a bad piano stool at the wrong height. Make sure your piano is in tune. If you don’t have a good piano and are serious about learning GO BUY A GOOD ONE.Every fifteen minutes stretch your arms and shoulders and roll your neck to combat stiffness. Check out some Yoga exercises for shoulders and back.

Follow the 3 times daily rule. Repetition in practice is ESSENTIAL. If you find something particularly difficult make sure you practice it at least 3 times every day. Don’t worry if it takes months to master – you’ll get there.

Don’t play for the neighbours. Practice piano at a time when you don’t care who is listening so that you can make lot’s of mistakes and play things over and over.

Organise your piano music carefully – don’t keep it in a heap where you keep playing the ones on top. If you download sheet music put it in a folder. Have plenty of shelves near the piano.

Be realistic – I truly believe that anyone can learn piano and learn it to an enjoyable level. But no two people are alike – some are more ‘naturally’ gifted than others. If you have an average ability then it’s all down to practice. The more you practice the more you learn.

Now and then, practice with your eyes closed – or don’t look at the keys – this really sharpens you up.Organise your life so that practice is possible (this where Mindfulness comes in). Too many people think they don’t have time to practice when really they just haven’t found the time. How long should you practice – that’s up to what you want to achieve.

You don’t have to be a concert pianist. Even if you just play for yourself just enjoy that. The archer who’s mind is on the prize cannot stay focussed on the target. Accept the bad days when it seems like you can’t play a note. Sometimes it’s better to walk away.

So remember that ‘playing’ piano and ‘practicing’ piano are different. Which do you do? Aim for a bit of both.

I teach piano and I honestly believe I do it better than most. Actually, it’s a part of my personality to try to make ANYTHING I do easier. If I could reinvent the wheel to make it run better I would. But one thing I really hate is those ads that tell you you can learn piano overnight. This is like saying you can learn to write a great novel or paint a great picture overnight.

Ok, you could be taught how to construct sentences or how to put paint on a canvas – that’s the easy part – but could you teach someone who has no prior experience how to write a novel or ‘paint’ in an artistic way overnight? I don’t think so.

Trust me, you CANNOT learn to play the piano overnight – it’s IMPOSSIBLE. I think the problem is in the wording – in the implied promise of perfect musicianship in a flash. You could learn to play a piano scale overnight, or a few piano chords, maybe even a few rhythms but that’s about it.

Don’t get me wrong, there ARE shortcuts and I have found most of them but you will still need to practice and work at it. Your hands will take time to get used to the strange new shapes you are forcing them into. Your mind can only take so much in at a time. If you’ve never been taught the piano it will take a while just to figure out the names of the keys.

So be realistic, if a piano method promises overnight success I guarantee you it will first of all take you all night just to READ their advice, THEN they will most likely teach you about chords, rhythms, patterns and so on. If you find the Holy Grail and end up working in a piano bar two days after you started a piano method from scratch let me know I’d LOVE to hear about it.

Maybe there are a few Mozarts out there who COULD learn the piano overnight but if there are I reckon they won’t be looking for a piano method because they’ll aready be in Carnegie Hall perfoming!