Mindfulness in Concert

These concerts are designed to help an audience be really present for the experience of listening and watching musicians make and share music.

How often have you been to a concert and your mind is everywhere but the performance (dinner, recent argument, work stress, carpark hassles).

Mindfulness skills are attentional skills. Even a short period of practise supports people being able to really focus. When we can really concentrate we notice details that perhaps we’ve never really paid attention to before – perhaps details about the sound itself or the way a performer creates the sound.

We are also more attentive to the emotional impact that music is having on us. When we practice mindfulness we are practice being open to our experience – that’s one of the skills (equanimity).

Opening up to the shared human experience of great music made for us by another human can be very moving – especially when we are really present with the performer.

Each of these concerts is only 45 minutes in length.

The Guided Meditation section will be approximately 20 minutes long and short performance will be for the remaining 25 minutes.

Don’t worry at all.

You’ll just be seated in an audience chair like you would normally expect. No lying down.

Before we do the Guided Practise there will be a short explanatory talk to help everyone know exactly what to do. The Guided Practice will also include instruction as it goes. No experience necessary. You can have your eyes open or closed. Whatever feels most comfortable for you.

If you’ve never done anything like this before (actually these concerts are new for everybody) we would love to know how you found the whole experience. There will be feedback forms at the entrance if you would like to let us know.

Bring whatever you would normally bring to a concert. You will seated as you normally would.

The pieces were not chosen because they were somehow ‘meditative’. We are not trying to ‘make you calm’ and using music to do it. This is more about giving you an experience of the attentional skills of mindfulness to enhance your experience of listening to live music.

Not really.

Given the Guided Meditation aspect of the concerts it would probably be more rewarding for a child if they were old enough (and interested enough) to be able to understand and try it out too. But if not that’s okay too they are certainly still welcome.

Yes please we’d love that.

We will have feedback sheets at the entrance with pencils available.

We would love to hear any feedback about your experience and ideas you have for us.