How much effort do you need?

As musicians, you’re used to working hard. If something isn’t going well, you practise more, concentrate harder, and try again. Sometimes that’s useful. But sometimes, in trying to get it right, you add more effort than we need, and it can make what you’re doing more difficult.

You might notice yourself gripping your instrument, holding your breath, or tightening your jaw as you approach a tricky passage. Does that extra work help? And can you tell how much you actually need?

One of the reasons we reduce effort in Feldenkrais is to make it easier to feel differences. If you’re already gripping firmly, a little more pressure may barely register. With a lighter contact, small changes become easier to notice. There’s more information available to help you choose what you do next.

More is sometimes less

This is useful to think about in practice. Choose a short phrase you know well and play it as you normally would. Then take a moment before repeating it. Could you hold a little less firmly, or soften your breathing? Choose just one thing to explore, without trying to put everything right. What if you go the other way, and add a spoonful more effort – to make the effect of the extra effort clearer? And then do a little less again.

What happens to the sound? Or the ease? Have you lost something you need? If it’s not enough energy, you may need to add some effort back. That’s useful information too.

Playing takes effort, and some moments ask for a great deal of it. But we don’t need to work hard everywhere, all the time. Learning to notice where we can do less gives you more choice about where you put your energy.

Try taking the question into your next practice: where could you do a little less and still play as well?