Page 126 - How to Shine on Stage

sion, since it actually concerns the loss of one’s own control. The dimen-
sion describing a transcendental value is the altered experience of time.
It is when time seems to pass slower or faster, and to, the perception of
some, it even stops. The final dimension is autotelic experience, which I
have also previously addressed: it is a key motivational component which
prompts one to perform a task during which one experiences feelings of
internal satisfaction.
Flow in music has been studied in a variety of contexts: during lis-
124 tening to music, performing various musical genres, teaching music,
during musical improvisation, and composition (Habe et al., 2019). It is
a frequent phenomenon in musical performance (Habe et al., 2019; Sin-
namon et al., 2012). Musicians describe it as an ecstatic state in which
How to Shine on Stage the body and the mind. When they manage to perform a piece optimal-
music emerges spontaneously; a mysterious sense of harmony between

ly, they experience a kind of trance. Flow seems to be instrumental in
achieving the highest levels of performance, performance being musi-
cians’ way of unending creative exploration and discovery. Hence, every
music performer strives to approach or reach this optimal performance
state as often as possible. Flow can be a predictor of emotional aspects of
well-being in musical performance (Freer, 2009).
It is a mental state containing cognitive, physiological, and affective
aspects and coincides with a peak psychophysiological state (Biasutti,
2017). Performers experiencing flow report that their performance re-
quires a high level of focus. They are completely absorbed in the activi-
ty occupying their attention (Sinnett et al., 2020), encountering a sense
of optimal experience and deep internal satisfaction (Csikszentmihalyi,
1990).
Flow is also a predictor of quality music practice (Chirico et al.,
2015). The learning of an instrument/singing requires the acquisition
of fundamental skills relating to musical performance, and musical suc-
cess requires an infinite amount of time and dedication to practice, en-
abling the musician to reach high standards of excellence. Performance
skills need to be carefully honed through motor learning mechanisms,
which include both mental and physical practice. Musicians spend hours
on end completely absorbed in practising a piece, which is characteris-
tic of flow (Sawyer, 2015). A performer has to avoid time loss and dis-
tractions that break concentration and prevent the emergence of flow.
(Biasutti, 2017).
Being in the flow is being in a state of complete absorption, of com-
plete engagement in the musical performance, it is when we lose the