You’ve probably heard about this Mindfulness thing before, which has been gaining popularity over the last few years.

In today’s Food For Thought, we’ll explore how to apply some mindfulness concepts to improve your musicianship. Ultimately, to improve your guitar playing!

If you’re not familiar with it, here’s a quick definition. Mindfulness is a kind of meditation that comes from Buddhist practices. The most common way to learn it is by focusing on your breathing while maintaining your focus. The aim is always to be present for every moment.

I got into Mindfulness around the start of 2016, mainly because I needed something to help clear my mind and relax. I get lousy monkey mind moments where I just won’t turn off! So, I’ve found mindfulness to be a beneficial activity in my day-to-day life. It helped me sleep better and generally feel more relaxed, which is a big positive.

Then, I discovered Mindful Running, where instead of focussing on the breath, you move your attention to the fall of your feet and let that become the sole focus of your attention. That was great because I could do both a morning run and my meditation in one go.

But what’s that got to do with guitar practice? I hear you ask. Well, let me explain.

These days everyone seems to treat music as a background thing; I don’t feel like many people get into it as deeply as we used to (sounding like an old man!)

So, I’ve been trying to make time each day to listen to music. But not normal listening - getting completely absorbed and lost in it, not just having it on in the background, or doing it because of work! I mixed this mindful practice with my listening, and I love the results, so I have to share!

I feel I’ve regained that deep kind of listening I used to do back in the days when I’d have to order a new album from the record store, wait months for it to arrive, and then spend weeks listening to that one record over and over again. I’d truly absorb it and appreciate its value to my life.

How to Get Started with Mindful Listening

Some experience in Mindfulness will probably be a big help to get yourself started. I used an app called Headspace for a few months to get going and found that helpful! The one I currently use is Sam Harris’s Waking Up app. It’s got a great beginner course and a lot more advanced and conceptual stuff (and some Stoic courses, one of my other passions!). There are also many websites devoted to the practice, which you can seek out on your own. You can also check out Mindful.org or this actionable guide.

When it comes to transferring the ideas to music, I start in the same way as regular meditation, getting comfortable and trying to get myself still. I prepare a playlist in advance (usually 30 minutes) or just pick an album I’d like to absorb. While listening, I start by letting my focus wander over the music and see where it lands. Then, I try to get really into that aspect of the music and drill deeper into it.

It might start off being the guitar tone and then precisely how it sits in the track, and then maybe into the sound of the pick hitting the strings. It might be the drum groove and then the high-hat and then the locking in of the high-hat and the acoustic guitar, or the pattern it makes – it’s not especially important where your focus ends up. Still, I think it can be helpful to try to guide yourself deeper into wherever your focus drifts.

💡 I’ve found that practice has opened up some albums that I was already very familiar with - I’ve discovered new depths to explore.

Now, sometimes I listen to something with a precise aim. For example, I wanted to explore Angus Young’s vibrato, so while AC/DC is probably not the kind of music one would associate with meditation, I found myself entirely in a mindful state with all of my attention centered on this one thing.

Another thing I got into was exploring the ‘pocket’ of funk grooves and trying to focus on the relationships between the instruments and how tight or loose they were rhythmically.

Focusing on music production, reverbs and textures, and exploring guitar layers are also fascinating journeys. You can choose to get into the zone with a goal or just let yourself get absorbed into the music. It’s all good - there are no rules, just fun things to explore.

If you’ve been following my lessons, you probably know that I recommend using a count-down timer for practice, and learning to keep your focus while practice is pretty much a mindful approach anyway!

I hope you find this idea of some benefit and that, at the very least, it inspires you to get into deep listening.

If you’d like to go deeper and develop your ears, don’t hesitate to check out my free Ear Training course too. Happy days, J.