Dear Mr. Chappell:

Although I can play well and accurately when I’m alone, I recently performed for a gathering of people and found that I couldn’t concentrate well under those circumstances. Do you have any helpful hints on improving concentration during a performance?

— Concentrator

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Dear Concentrator:

The first prerequisite for good concentration is to have a strong mind. The way to have a strong mind is to be well-rested. This means getting a good night’s sleep. If you want to take it a step further, then the practice of meditation is a supplemental form of rest that will enhance the quality of your concentration.

The next step is to make listening your priority. Not listening to your thoughts about being nervous or about being fearful of criticism, but instead listening to the sounds that you are making. In the practice room, practice listening by playing a single note and listening to it fade away into silence. Keep listening to that long tone during its entire lifespan. Carry that quality of attention onstage with you.

Remember that being onstage inherently and automatically sets up a condition of heightened energy, emotion, and excitement. That means that if you believe you are experiencing the same amount of excitement onstage that you felt in the practice room, you are in fact probably projecting even more excitement than you realize. This stronger excitement works against being in control of what you are doing. A decrease in control means more mistakes, which means more self-reproach, which means less concentration.

In this case, the antidote is to slightly underplay your emotions onstage, and it will turn out that less is enough. Concentration will become easier. According to this approach, emoting is not your job. Instead, your job is representing the music, undertaking the simple actions involved in getting from one part of the piece to the next. Set up the conditions so that the AUDIENCE feels the emotions. Let yourself go in the practice room instead.

Your attitude also affects your concentration. The main reason that you are distracted when performing is that you are receiving the attention of other people that is coming in your direction. Instead, send your attention in their direction. Orient the purpose of your being there toward enlivening a wonderful experience for those people. It’s about them, not about you.

And nobody came there to criticize you. Since you have been an audience member yourself, you know that people attend an event with positive inclinations. They want to take away the best of it and to overlook deficiencies. The fact that they showed up to hear you indicates that you have the benefit of the doubt. Even if you don’t feel you played your best, you certainly provided a good experience for some listeners. In that case, mission accomplished.

— J.C.