Page 104 - How to Shine on Stage

ence of several attentional “pools” with individual limited capacities that
should not be exceeded (Kremer & Scully, 1994, in Vičič, 1998). These
pools are usually reserved for their respective types of information (audi-
tory, visual, kinaesthetic), and if the capacity of any pool is exceeded, this
results in reduced performance quality (Hardy, 1996, in Vičič, 1998).
After prolonged practice, some skills become so automated that
conscious control is no longer needed and attention can be directed
102 elsewhere. Such automatic processing requires no attention and has un-
limited capacity, is faster, and can be performed concurrently (Hardy,
1996, in Vičič, 1998). Among musicians, this mechanism is extremely
common. Some finger placements are fully automated. In the same way,
we no longer think about every memorized detail when playing a piece
How to Shine on Stage to focus attention on automated movements, since this usually causes
by heart, but are guided by the whole. The problem arises when trying

unpleasant consequences which result in reduced performance quality
(Kremer and Scully, 1994, in Vičič, 1998).
Attention is also related to the level of arousal. Arousal and atten-
tion are inversely proportional (Easterbrook, 1959, in Vičič, 1998): as
arousal increases, attention narrows, and vice versa.
Two significant aspects of attention are its intensity and duration.
The more attentive we are to something, the shorter the amount of time
we can sustain the attention, and vice versa (Vičič, 1998). Intense con-
centration requires a lot of mental energy. During prolonged intense
concentration, the nervous system automatically establishes a protective
inhibition, which one experiences as a decrease in concentration. Exces-
sive attempts to concentrate are misplaced as the attempting individual
becomes more focused on their mental state instead of the activity they
are performing.
Stanislavski (1949, in Salmon and Meyer, 1992) argues that in musi-
cal performance, conscious attention is primarily captured by the inter-
pretive activity, which is then joined by moods and emotions as well as
cognitive processing. Motor and technical skills are to some extent au-
tomated, meaning that these processes are only partly subject to con-
scious control. The symptoms of anxiety are known for their tendency to
occupy a large part of conscious attention during excessive excitement.
The occurrence of these symptoms shifts the focus of attention. This is
the reason for the importance of the ability to control the expression of
symptoms. Uncontrolled, they consume excessive amounts of attention,
which is needed to be directed at the interpretation, mood, emotion, and
cognitive processing.