Meditation For Musicians: Quiet That Musical Mind!

Today, I want to talk about meditation for musicians. As much as I love exploring spirituality and different religions, I sucked at meditation. I tried it at home and wound up taking quizzes on Buzzfeed. I listened to peaceful music as a background to discovering what One Direction member I would marry. It was nice, but not helpful.

Then I tried group meditation, but I wasn’t good at that either. The floor was hard and uneven. I noticed everyone’s cell phone cases (mine was the coolest, but I wasn’t judging). I left feeling frustrated. Where was my zen??

After reading about how great meditation was for my health, I decided to give it another try. I needed less stress, more creativity, and all the other things meditation is supposed to provide. However, I needed it to work for me. I studied up on what makes me focus and get centered, and I found what I think (and hope!) will benefit others. Here are some of my best tips on meditation for musicians! This could also help if you’re not a musician but don’t like traditional meditation. Give it a try, you might have a musician mindset too!

Meditation for Musicians

1). Hear all things evenly

Bonus points if you do it while posing like this.

When you’re a musician, you’re used to analyzing sound. You’re in a quiet concert room, and a cough or phone distracts you. While in a recording studio, a loud truck drives by and you stop recording. You’re noticing. You already have the beginning of a meditation mindset! For this exercise, I want you to just sit wherever you are and close your eyes. Now hear. What sounds are there? Where are they coming from? Are there notes associated with them? Don’t focus on anything for too long, just observe and move on. Before you know it, your mind will be clear from your worries of the day and you’ll be completely focused on what you hear. This gets easier the more you do it, and you can do it anywhere! Just make sure you’re not driving or doing anything where you need to concentrate.

2). Listen to your favorite song

I’m going to write a separate blog on how to do this because I think it’s a long enough topic on its own. To put it simply, examine each part of your favorite song without judgment or emotion. Just hear each part. Keep the volume level steady but not too high. If you have the ability to get individual tracks from the song, listen to each of those solo. Observe as a new listener.

3). Analyze meditation music

Once I learned steps 1 and 2, I found I could now listen to meditation music without getting lost. The key, for me, was to pick out certain frequencies and analyze those. It’s basically the same as step 1, but I found step 1 easier at first. I also recommend starting small here. If you know you can’t sit still for 30 minutes, find a 5-minute track. For vocalists, I recommend humming along (unless you’re in a group meditation, then please don’t do that). Humming and creating your own melody will put you into that “Om” state of mind.

Mediation for musicians is incredibly important! It can help you spark creativity, reduce stress, and give your songs a boost. You might try all of these steps and still decide meditation just isn’t for you. That’s okay, but I highly recommend some form of zoning out. Whether that’s walking, painting, or hang gliding, just find some type of activity where you don’t think about anything else.

I also want to reiterate that I don’t think you have to be a musician to benefit from these steps. You might want to give them a try if you just can’t handle traditional meditation. I hope these ideas help you, whether you are a musician or not! If you end up giving it a try, give me a shout and let me know!

Do you have any meditation tips? What helps you zone out? Please let me know!