Flow, The Optimal Experience

Francesco Siri

In this research I would like to investigate the psychological aspect related to the practice of a musical instrument, going deeper into the experience of the flow state that the musician can live intensely. It is a state of mind of complete absorption in what one is doing. The process started by reading and informing myself as much as possible through books, articles, and personal experience. Based on these I created a strategy of work and exercises that would help me to be more focused and inside the music both in my studies and especially in my performances. I prepared two questionnaires to be filled in after the performances: 1) Personal Questionnaire 2) Group of critical friends To check whether the strategy I had been using over the last few months was helping me to achieve my goal or not. From the results of the two questionnaires until now, I can deduce the most effective and useful aspects of the strategy I implemented. It is also interesting to see how the suggestions of critical friends are similar to the "criticism" I made myself in the personal questionnaire. Over the last few weeks while analysing my latest performances and the results of the questionnaires, I have realised an increase in pleasure in playing and concentration on the task to do, which was not always present before I started this work. I am quite convinced that whatever strategy you want to use, you need patience to see over time if it really works.

This athlete is concentrating and imagining a 500m race.
I think this is a perfect example of what I have been trying to describe. The concept is to imagine the best possible outcome of the thing we want to achieve. To go through in the mind second by second what we are going to do.

Ex: If I have to play a musical phrase, before I play I have to imagine it and sing it in my mind with the most beautiful sound I can think of. When this is clear inside our mind we can play.

During this daily study I realised that this concept is strongly linked to GOAL SETTING. The exercise of imagining and thinking FIRST about the sound you want to achieve is actually asking yourself: What sound do I want? What dynamics do I need? etc.
It simply helps you to have a clearer objective, a precise goal, which we have seen is very important.
Imagining, thinking, creating, it's not a difficult process, anyone can do it. It is more complicated to be constant in this. An hour of study with this level of concentration and continuous search for the sound and the goal is extremely more tiring on a mental level, but much more profitable and effective.

The goal I set myself is to never play until I have the sound I want in mind. Then it will become automatic.
Constancy and effectiveness.

II.4. Imagery

Here we come to the aspect that has most revolutionised and made my daily practice efficient.

Visualisation or imagery techniques form the basis of various mental training methodologies, supporting the voluntary creation of a mental experience that reproduces the actual experience. In the assessment phase the individual has to identify images/scenes to evoke in view of performance and investigate the meaning and emotional reactions associated with them. Imagery can be viewed from an internal perspective, as if one were actually performing the piece in question, or from an external perspective, as if one were listening as a spectator. A specific imagery can be used by the player to experience some physically demanding passages in relation to dynamic aspects or note pitch. It can be very significant when preparing for an exam (or a competition or a concert) as it allows the trumpeter to approach the study in a more conscious and focused way, so as not to waste unnecessary energy. A typical mistake, for example, is to keep repeating difficult passages and playing too much before an exam or competition, and then not having the energy to play the only time that really counts.

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