Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T00:32:17.941Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Concentration and tension

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2008

Martin Gellrich  and
Richard Parncutt
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Relaxation clearly plays an important role in music practice and performance. However complete relaxation is neither possible nor musically appropriate. A certain degree of tension is always necessary to enable a suitable level of concentration and musical expression.

Concentration inevitably produces muscular reactions in different parts of the body. These cause problems when they occur in mutually opposing combinations. Common locations for such tension knots or blocks in music practice are the back of the neck, the wrists, and the hands (grasping reflex). Causes include overconcentration, emotional involvement in the music, fear of making mistakes in difficult passages, and insufficiently practised playing movements. The described effects are illustrated by reference to the practice and performance of a piece of piano music.

The article is based on two lectures given in 1987, one at an ESTA conference in Germany, and the other at an EPTA conference in Yugoslavia.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , July 1991 , pp. 167 - 179
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Caland, E. (1987) Die Deppe'sche Lehre des Klavierspiels. Magdeburg.Google Scholar
Cannon, W. B. (1927) The James–Lange theory of emotions. A critical examination of an alternative theory. American Journal of Psychology 39, 106–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durr, E. (1907) Die Lehre von der Aufmerksamkeit. Leipzig.Google Scholar
Ekmann, P. (1971) Universals and cultural differences in facial expression of emotion. In Cole, J. (Ed.), Nebrasca Symposium on Motivation. Lincoln, 1972.Google Scholar
Ekmann, P. & Friesen, W. V. (1971) Constant across cultures in face and emotion. Journal of Personal and Social Psychology, 17, 124–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evert, O. (1983) Ergebnisse und Probleme der Emotionsforschung. In Thomae, H. (ed.), Theorien und Formen der Motivation, 1, 397–452. Gottingen.Google Scholar
Gallwey, W. T. (1974) The Inner Game of Tennis. Random House, New York.Google Scholar
Gellrich, (1988) Konzentration und Verspannung. Uben und Musizieren, 5 (3), 179–87.Google Scholar
Gellrich, M. (1990) Dos Schicksal der ‘Wahren Art, das Klavier zu üben’. Frauenfeld, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Izard, C. E. (1977) Human Emotions. New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, W. (1890) The Principles of Psychology. (2 vols.) New York.Google Scholar
Katz, D. (1848) Gestaltpsychologie. Basel.Google Scholar
Krall, E. (1919) Speilmannskunst – Die Kunst des Übens und die Ausübung der Kunst. Leipzig.Google Scholar
Llbermann, A. M., Cooper, F. S., Shankweiler, D. P. & Studdert-Kennedy, M. (1967) Perception of speech code. Psychological Review, 74, 431–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mantel, G. (1987) Musik und Gestus. Die Spielgeste des Streichers als Funktions – und Ausdrucksgeste. ESTA-Nachrichten, 17, 3–16.Google Scholar
Pillsbury, W. B. (1908) Attention. New York.Google Scholar
Prucha, J. (1974) Smvjetische Psycholinguistik. Düsseldorf.Google Scholar
Reich, W. (1933) Characteranalyse. Cologne, Berlin.Google Scholar
Ribot, T. (1908) Die Psychologic der Aufmerksamkeit. Leipzig.Google Scholar
Tltchener, E. B. (1908) Lectures on the Elementary Psychology of Feeling and Attention. New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Varro, M. (1929) Der lebendige Klavierunterricht, seine Methodok und Psychologie. London.Google Scholar
Volpert, W. (1984) Maschinen-Handlungen und Handlungs-Modelle – ein Pladoyer gegen die Normierung des Handelns. Gestalt psychologie, 6, 70–100.Google Scholar