Why Mediocre Intonation May Not Be a Practice Issue, But a Focus Issue

An external focus of attention is not universally helpful. The research in this area also suggests that beginners or less advanced individuals, may perform better when using an internal focus.

In addition, and this is true at all skill or experience levels, there will be plenty of times when adopting an internal focus is more effective for learning. If you need to break down a skill, figure out what’s going on, and make technical adjustments, an internal focus often makes more sense than an external focus. Because if there’s a fundamental technical reason why your intonation or sound or rhythm is unstable, simply shifting your focus is probably not going to be an effective or stable long-term solution.

So an external focus is not a one-size-fits-all panacea – but then again, what is? Take a few days to experiment with different levels of external focus, and see what changes in the consistency, fluidity, and accuracy of your technical execution!

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