Alternating Silence with Sound

You can do this in the practice room, and it does not take too much time or concentration, so it is a good one to start with if you have never done Mental Study before. However, it is a method that advanced musicians use, often without noticing what it is they are doing. By identifying consciously that thinking and imagination are part of your study, and serve your art well, you may find that you get hooked on it!

Choose a phrase that you want to work on. You will be alternating your practice of this phrase with silent imagining and actually playing it. Always put your instrument down during the breaks from live playing, and clear your mind before each repetition. For instance, you can look out the window and calm your thinking before starting each live or mental repetition. For this exercise, it is not necessary to imagine yourself playing it, or to try and “feel” how it would be to do so. It is enough to imagine hearing the piece as you would like it to sound, without thinking too much about how you might play it. It is about making direct contact with the musical impulse first, then seeing what comes out before you add anything else.

Silence: Put your instrument down and think your way through the phrase and “hear” it in your mind a couple of times.
Sound: Release the phrase form silent imagination by playing it once.

Repeat the two steps of silence and sound a couple of times, taking your time. Then leave that phrase until another practice session and choose another phrase to work on in the same way.