Rehearsal: the one place I’m always focused.
My current situation is this: whatever project I’m working on, I’m thinking about another one just as urgent. Or two. Or five. I am working effectively nonstop from sunrise till long after sunset.
That’s not unusual: it’s the freelance life, it’s the choral director life. It’s the modern condition. It has really driven home for me, though, one more thing I love about rehearsal: everything else on my to do list vanishes.
To be successful in rehearsal, I need to put 100% of my focus and energy onto the rehearsal. There’s no room in my brain for the other projects I’m working on.
Now, drowning out the chattering in my brain isn’t why I make music. But it’s sure a nice side-benefit! And it’s one worth selling to students unaccustomed to this kind of laser focus. We live in a distracted age, and the opportunity to tune out the distractions is a true gift.
And you get to make music at the same time!