4 ms·

I think this is one of those "when you start thinking about it, you mess up" scenarios that I encounter with plenty of things. Like when playing a piece of pian

I think this is one of those "when you start thinking about it, you mess up" scenarios that I encounter with plenty of things. Like when playing a piece of piano music from memory - as soon as I start trying to think about which notes come next, I make mistakes and sometimes even have mental blanks and need to take a break before "remembering" again.

hamandcheese 5y ago
Is it possible that the causality is reversed? Maybe you start thinking because your subconscious brain doesn’t know what to do next.
- taneq 5y ago
  If that were so then putting someone else off their game by drawing their attention to a particular aspect of their game and making them self conscious would be less effective.
- mbreese 5y ago
  Not the parent, but no. Once you’re playing music from memory, your brain already knows the notes/fingering/etc. It’s that when you start thinking, you get out of the “flow”. Too much thinking will pull you right out and then you need to work to get back in it.
  - dnh44 5y ago
    A few years ago a replayed an old video game that I hadn't played since childhood. There are a few parts of the game that were quite difficult and involved a fairly complicated sequence of events, one of them being the final boss battle. When I got to the boss I remembered the battle being quite complicated and intense but I couldn't remember where to move, when to jump, or when to attack. But after a few tries as if by magic my fingers took over and executed the sequence of buttons flawlessly. It was amazing because I didn't consciously know what came next but my fingers did. I also felt a sense of euphoria as the memory came back to me; it was a really interesting thing to experience.
globular-toast 5y ago
Yep, I get this with guitar and signing too. If I think about it too much my voice tightens up and I'll start missing notes. The same thing with dancing. I realised long ago that I'm not naturally good at these things because I find it impossible to switch off my brain. When I dance I'm thinking "which direction should I move in" when should I spin my partner" etc. Ask anyone who dances how they know the answers to these questions and they can't tell you. They just don't think about it.
- Glide 5y ago
  This is so true. It’s especially true when a dance floor is crowded or it’s harder to listen to the music. It’s harder to "cut loose" if one or two restrictions are going on. For dancing, a couple things helped me out. Repetition and practice. Practicing whole movements together, e.g. footwork with the lead, there is a strong relationship between footwork and your ability to gently exert force and direction. Sure I learned a tuck turn to counts, but I never think about the count of it when leading it, it is engrained into the overall movement I want to execute. There’s an interesting phenomenon that happens at dance events with a heavy teaching component. The first night of dancing is pretty good and when lessons go underway the level of the room slightly drops because people are trying new things. Incorporating new things would do that and it happens, albeit awkwardly.
IvanLudvig 5y ago
I think sometimes stuttering can be explained the same way

hamandcheese 5y ago

Is it possible that the causality is reversed? Maybe you start thinking because your subconscious brain doesn’t know what to do next.

taneq 5y ago
If that were so then putting someone else off their game by drawing their attention to a particular aspect of their game and making them self conscious would be less effective.
mbreese 5y ago
Not the parent, but no. Once you’re playing music from memory, your brain already knows the notes/fingering/etc. It’s that when you start thinking, you get out of the “flow”. Too much thinking will pull you right out and then you need to work to get back in it.
- dnh44 5y ago
  A few years ago a replayed an old video game that I hadn't played since childhood. There are a few parts of the game that were quite difficult and involved a fairly complicated sequence of events, one of them being the final boss battle. When I got to the boss I remembered the battle being quite complicated and intense but I couldn't remember where to move, when to jump, or when to attack. But after a few tries as if by magic my fingers took over and executed the sequence of buttons flawlessly. It was amazing because I didn't consciously know what came next but my fingers did. I also felt a sense of euphoria as the memory came back to me; it was a really interesting thing to experience.

globular-toast 5y ago

Yep, I get this with guitar and signing too. If I think about it too much my voice tightens up and I'll start missing notes. The same thing with dancing. I realised long ago that I'm not naturally good at these things because I find it impossible to switch off my brain. When I dance I'm thinking "which direction should I move in" when should I spin my partner" etc. Ask anyone who dances how they know the answers to these questions and they can't tell you. They just don't think about it.

Glide 5y ago
This is so true. It’s especially true when a dance floor is crowded or it’s harder to listen to the music. It’s harder to "cut loose" if one or two restrictions are going on. For dancing, a couple things helped me out. Repetition and practice. Practicing whole movements together, e.g. footwork with the lead, there is a strong relationship between footwork and your ability to gently exert force and direction. Sure I learned a tuck turn to counts, but I never think about the count of it when leading it, it is engrained into the overall movement I want to execute. There’s an interesting phenomenon that happens at dance events with a heavy teaching component. The first night of dancing is pretty good and when lessons go underway the level of the room slightly drops because people are trying new things. Incorporating new things would do that and it happens, albeit awkwardly.

IvanLudvig 5y ago

I think sometimes stuttering can be explained the same way