I was living in New York, completing my master’s degree in classical voice at the Manhattan School of Music. Worries about being successful in my burgeoning career were constantly on my mind. Truth be told, I felt like a headless chicken. I knew something was off when I missed my bus stop more than once, and when I knocked over a bowl of hot soup in the cafeteria. A mentor of mine told me that she could feel my energy ten feet in front of me – like I was always grasping for something ahead. She was right. My mind was already in the future – on the professional artist I wanted to be, not on where, and who I was at the moment. This was the start of my own personal journey with mindfulness, and the root of inspiration for this interview series – “When Music Meets Mindfulness.”
Many people associate mindfulness with the practice of meditation – a connection established in Wherever You Go, There You Are, the best-selling book on “Mindfulness Meditation” by author and renowned researcher Jon Kabat-Zinn (published in 1994). Indeed, meditating by paying attention to your breath is a natural and basic way to ignite mindfulness and reconnect with the present moment. From there, mindfulness can blossom into something even more significant – making the most out of the present moment. Performance demands both focus and heightened awareness. We must be creatively and emotionally in the present moment, whilst executing at high levels of technique. In other words, musicianship challenges us to be mindful.
For this series, I’ve decided to highlight three key aspects of mindfulness: a calm mind, organized thinking, and the state of flow.
Mindfulness meditation is just one of many methods, activities and approaches that can calm the mind. It is utilized to build awareness through focusing energy and attention on the task at hand. As our focus improves, we also get better at organizing our thoughts. This involves honest self-reflection and disciplined self-regulation, in order to construct and establish an efficient and consistent process of practice and performance. When this detailed “self-work” is accomplished, one can more easily access the “flow” state, in which the mind-body connection has been finely tuned to the point that performance seems effortless and spontaneous.
It is most often accomplished in retrospect when musicians realize the heightened level of focus and awareness they managed to attain and to sustain while absorbed in an activity they enjoy. Actively engaging with music can cultivate mindfulness. In turn, the state of being mindful can improve the efficacy of musical learning, performance and creation.
“When Music Meets Mindfulness” will share examples of mindfulness in musical practice, performance and collaboration. I hope that it will inspire positive patterns of behaviour, and will encourage everyone to make mindfulness part of their daily routines and conversations.
The first four interviews feature discussions with highly accomplished musicians – cellist and author Erika Nielsen, virtuoso pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico, renowned conductor David Fallis, and award-winning composer Alice Ping Yee Ho.
The video recording of the introduction to this series, and of the Erika Nielsen interview are now available in their entirety on the YouTube channel Vania Chan Music.
Author and creator of this series, Vania Chan is a lyric coloratura soprano, artist researcher and educator. Visit her website: www.vaniachan.com to learn more about upcoming projects.
Erika Nielsen (Cellist and Author)
The first artist featured in “When Music Meets Mindfulness” is Erika Nielsen. We met a few years ago, embarking on a journey together to perform Handel’s music with the Rezonance Baroque Ensemble at the Bloomington Early Music Festival in Indiana. A versatile artist and educator, her musicianship spans from Baroque and Classical traditions to contemporary popular genres. She is also the author of the bestselling memoir, Sound Mind, in which she shares her discovery of and journey with bipolar disorder, detailing the mindful steps that she took, day by day, to bring herself to a place of stability and health. Below are a few excerpts of Erika’s responses during our interview.
On achieving a calm mind:
What I find most effective for calming my mind in any situation is getting into my body in some form. If I have time for a longer activity, I love a really long brisk walk in my neighbourhood, or in the park, getting out in nature. Getting into my body could also be really simple…really small… say it’s between activities – between an e-mail and waiting for a student – I will just drop down into a forward bend, touch my toes, stretch my arms behind my back, take a few breaths, and then just roll to standing a few times. It really gets me connected and away from my day. The most important thing being is that it’s physical. It’s not looking up another thing. It’s not reading another article. It’s not getting back to a text. I’m really in my body.
On organized thought:
It’s a well-known phenomenon that creating outer calm in our environment has a direct effect on our inner calm. My embracing a more minimalist approach to living has had an enormous effect on my focus, feeling relaxed, and for me personally, just reducing distractions. I find that when something is out of sight, it’s out of mind. I’ve been greatly enjoying my life, living overall with just fewer possessions. I find that just leaves more time for items that I need, that I love, or that are just beautiful.
I’ve also worked really hard on my “digital clutter”, and this is a hot topic right now. I found an app that works really well for me. It’s called “minimalist phone.” To search for an app, one must type it in. There are no candy-coloured icons to tap on for instant satisfaction. (She shows me her phone screen which only has a simple white background and a column of about seven headings.)
On the state of “flow”:
There is a specific quote from Erika’s book that exemplifies the contentment and true enjoyment of an artist being fully immersed in the tasks of creating, educating and collaborating through music. I asked Erika to share that quote in our interview.
“A wonderful part of my work as a musician and educator is that I have to be physically present and mentally focused to do my job well. I can’t play the cello while I’m on my phone or computer. My acoustic instrument is a low-tech refuge from the deluge of digital: I sit down with my stringed maple and spruce box and horsehair-strung Pernambuco bow. I read from paper and write in pencil. When I teach I am with my students and their stringed wooden box, present and listening, face to face, cello to cello. When I’m playing with an ensemble, I am totally immersed in realizing sound from the notes on the page in front of me and connecting with my colleagues.”
To learn more about Erika and her book Sound Mind, visit www.celloerika.com
Watch the full interview on the YouTube Channel – Vania Chan Music
