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The role of practice in the development of performing musicians
Abstract
Examined the role of practice in the development of 257 performing musicians (aged 8–18 yrs). Ss who had undertaken individual instrument tuition were interviewed about their performing history from the start of the playing and were divided into 5 groups, reflecting different levels of musical competence. 94 Ss also kept a practice diary for a 42-wk period. A strong relationship was found between musical achievement and the amount of formal practice undertaken. Weaker relationships were found between achievement and the amount of informal playing. There was no evidence that high achievers were able to gain a given level of examination success on less practice than low achievers. High achievers tended to be more consistent in their pattern of practice from week to week and tended to concentrate on technical practices in the morning. It is concluded that formal effortful practice is a principal determinant of musical achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... There is a lack of research on supporting student's talent. Meanwhile, as shown by other studies, exercises and practices [46], the motivation of third parties [47] may influence the development of talents. Developing skills and knowledge is also important for talent development [48]. ...
... For some, basing talent on an innate ability that will make a person stand out in the future is too strong a criterion [61,62]. There has been serious opposition to the suggestion that the impact usually attributed to talent can be explained by many known performance level determinants (including hereditary) that do not fit the definition of talent [46,47,[62][63][64]. Inter alia, the importance of exercise, practice [46], and motivation from third parties [64] was emphasized. ...
... There has been serious opposition to the suggestion that the impact usually attributed to talent can be explained by many known performance level determinants (including hereditary) that do not fit the definition of talent [46,47,[62][63][64]. Inter alia, the importance of exercise, practice [46], and motivation from third parties [64] was emphasized. According to Gagne (2000), talent exists in the few individuals who have the necessary abilities to make a difference in a given field of human performance, be it academia, arts, entertainment, sports, social action, technology, or business. ...
Talents are seen as unique strategic resources that are essential to achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. Organizations use TM to source and maintain a high quality and quantity of talents. Despite numerous research and development of practice in this area, insufficient skills of the staff are still underlined, and an unexplored area in this regard is the support for talent development, prior to the employment of employees (i.e., at the stage of their education). There are numerous studies on TM in universities, but they cover all aspects of TM aimed at university staff. There is no research on supporting the talents of students as future employees. Meanwhile, universities “shape” the future staff and from this place employees identified as talented or with great potential are recruited. In connection with the identified gap, the question was asked whether and to what extent universities and educational entities should be involved in discovering and developing talents for the future needs of the economy. The aim of the article was to check how students perceive their future (i.e., their vision of life), how much of it is related to their future job, and how they see universities as an environment to support their talents. The study used the questionnaire-based survey-CAWI (computer assisted web interview) technique. The research was conducted in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Ukraine. The results of the research show that the support of talent development by universities is not sufficient, and the majority of students (despite the fact that the research was conducted in the last semesters of studies) do not have clearly defined goals and methods of achieving them.
... The practice strategies adopted by student musicians are critical to achieve their goals (both short-term and long-term) and maintain the improvement of performance (Hallam, 2001a;2001b). Many researchers suggested that the development of appropriate practice strategies is directly linked with the development of expertise (e.g., Sloboda et al., 1996;Sloboda, 1991). As musical expertise develops, students should gradually build a repertoire of effective practice strategies, and over the years, should reach a level where they have knowledge and understanding of the usage of these strategies. ...
... It has been argued that both of these, in interaction with prior knowledge and skills, influence significantly progress and attainment over time (Jorgensen and Hallam, 2009, p.265). The effectiveness of practice is, therefore, perceived to be determined both by the amount of time that a musician devotes to practising and the quality of the practice session itself (Ericsson, Krampe and Tesch-Romer, 1993;Sloboda, Davidson, Howe and Moore, 1996). The following discussion focuses initially on the quantity of practice, focusing on two different aspects, with particular interest on the starting age and the amount of practice that instrumental players invest over time in their learning process. ...
... Musicians are likely to devote many hours to practising, especially if reaching a high level of expertise is the main long-term goal. Musicians who reach an exceptional level of expertise usually begin to be actively engaged in instrumental lessons at a very young age (Manturzewska, 1990;Ericsson et al., 1993;Sloboda, Davidson, Howe and Moore, 1996;Creech et al., 2008). An early start can have a positive impact on achievement, since the body is more open to change, thus allowing more easily physiological and related neurological adaptation (e.g., Hallam, 2006;Hyde et al., 2009). ...
This thesis examines the relationship between studio-based instrumental teaching and home-based private practice within the context of Cyprus. It focuses on practice-related behaviours and actions, as well as on factors that may influence this relationship (e.g., parental involvement, personal characteristics and motivation). Specific interest is given to the level of expertise to examine its impact on the teaching and learning of practice. Actions and behaviours of the teachers and the students are investigated through an in-depth examination of a set of private piano lessons and subsequent home-based practice sessions over a specific period of time. The research is based on six case studies, with the participants being chosen from a private music school located in Cyprus. For the purposes of this study, three different levels of musical expertise were used and assessed under the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) criteria. The aim was to examine any influences of competency level on the relationship between studio-based lessons and students’ home-based practice. Videoed observations of the lessons and videos of the home-based practice sessions were used to gather data over four weeks, as well as data from unstructured interviews with the students and the teachers. The video data was analysed using a specially designed observation checklist drawn from the literature and results from two pilot studies, which was comprised of practice strategies, actions and behaviours found during the lessons and the practice sessions. A multi-methods approach to design and analysis was used, drawing on quantitative and qualitative perspectives to examine how categories from the observation checklist were used under different circumstances. Semi-structured interviews were also used and subsequently analysed with the use of the NVivo software. The results from all the data focus on two main themes: i) teaching methodologies that are related to practice and ii) practice strategies that were used in home-based practice by the students. Among the themes that emerged from the studio-based data were i) advisory comments of specific strategies, ii) reference to previous practice, iii) reference to future practice and iv) written notes about practice. Likewise, themes found from the home-based practice sessions were i) quantity of practice, ii) concentration while practising, iii) usage of own choice and tutor recommended practice strategies, and iv) identification of mistakes. The main findings are that the student’s level of expertise can influence the practice relationship between the studio-based lessons and the home-based practice sessions. However, according to the analysis, its influence may vary upon different teaching approaches (e.g., reference to future practice and written notes) depending on the teacher’s perceptions. Furthermore, findings revealed additional factors that can have a direct impact on the practice relationship. The teaching method applied by the teachers during the lessons was found to be one of the main factors influencing the student’s behaviour in the subsequent practice. Other factors of influence were the age of the students, their achieved level of practice development, self-regulation, personal characteristics and lastly, motivation and enjoyment of this activity. Findings also revealed several external factors that may have weight on the relationship between lessons and practice. The research showed that availability of time, other responsibilities, parental involvement, health issues and other aspects of the home environment (e.g., quite environment with no distractions) are possible influences on the studio-home practice relationship. However, their level of dynamic impact may vary with individuals. All findings are discussed in the context of this research by providing possible aspects that may influence learning within private music conservatories. A theoretical synthesis of the teaching and learning cycle is also proposed, which draws on all the findings from the six case studies. Finally, implications are made for instrumental tutors and their students.
... Perfecting one's skill set is a constant element of a musician's work, founded on sustained and hard effort. Performing a composition at the highest level of skill involves realizing both short-(see Hallam, 1997) and long-term goals based on regular, deliberate practice (Krampe & Ericsson;1996). Kemp (1996) stated that the most talented musicians were driven by a form of motivation bordering on obsession. Other studies have shown that the highest-achieving students exhibit long-term engagement in playing their instruments and practise a great deal (McPherson & McCormick;2000;Sloboda et al., 1996). ...
... Kemp (1996) stated that the most talented musicians were driven by a form of motivation bordering on obsession. Other studies have shown that the highest-achieving students exhibit long-term engagement in playing their instruments and practise a great deal (McPherson & McCormick;2000;Sloboda et al., 1996). As such, musicians' high perseverance of effort should be indicative of their higher chance of achieving academic and professional success, as well as higher levels of well-being, due to their being more suited to face the challenges inherent in the profession. ...
Grit, defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals, is investigated as a predictor of academic success and well-being. This trait may have special importance for musicians’ functioning as their lives revolve around practice routines and mastering their craft for years. However, there is a growing recognition that extreme perseverance may be maladaptive in some cases. Persistent overinvolvement in goal-oriented activities is related to compulsive overworking, conceptualized within the behavioral addiction framework as work and study addiction. A previous study showed that study addiction is relatively highly prevalent among young musicians and has a clearly negative effect on their functioning. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between grit, study addiction, and psychosocial functioning among music academy students. It was hypothesized that perseverance of effort is related to well-being, grade point average (GPA), and study addiction, and that it becomes maladaptive for individuals addicted to studying. A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted among 213 music academy students in Poland. Perseverance of effort was positively related to GPA and study addiction. The relationships between perseverance of effort and self-rated general health, and between perseverance of effort and quality of life, were moderated by study addiction. The results suggest that grit may become maladaptive perseverance in the cases of individuals at risk of study addiction. Based on these findings, further investigations of grit among musicians, as well as further studies of the negative aspects of grit in general, are warranted. Implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.
... according to Platz and colleagues (2014). Moreover, some musicians may need more practice than their learning peers in order to reach similar levels of expertise (Hambrick et al., 2014;Sloboda et al., 1996). ...
Practice is the process through which musicians improve their performance abilities and increase their level of expertise. Deliberate Practice (DP) is a theory of expertise based on the concept that interindividual differences in the level of proficiency in a specific domain can be mostly explained by interindividual differences in the amount of deliberate practice; despite its popularity, subsequent studies have demonstrated several critical issues in Ericsson’s DP concept, due to its vagueness in definitions, arbitrary measurements of expertise, and inability to account for the possible role of genes. The present project aimed at creating a new questionnaire, capable of measuring practice quality in terms of deliberate practice for the music domain, regardless of the instrument and musical genre played, at any level of expertise. Based on data from a sample of 1,558 musicians, ranging from amateurs to world-renowned soloists, the Deliberate Practice in Music Inventory (DPMI) was created, a self-report questionnaire and measurement instrument for practice quality consisting of a main DP scale and four subscales: Process improvement, Practice competences, Mindless practice (inverted scale), and Task decomposition. Results indicated that musicians who implement effective practice habits are focused on solving problems related to music playing and often refine their practice routines to increase their effectiveness. In addition, musicians who usually exhibit high amounts of DP behavior often decompose long and complex tasks into shorter and simpler elements, aiming to master them more easily and in shorter time. The DPMI instrument shows good convergent validity with measures related to expertise in music as well as good predictive validity for performance improvement. The DPMI generates new perspectives for the field of musical expertise research.
This study’s procedure, carried out by university musicians in a naturalistic practice environment, explored the effect of attention to musical cognitive skills on self-reported characteristics of practicing. One hundred university music majors carried out a practice session that targeted an expressive performance skill, and while doing so, responded to written prompts to report their thought processes. Musicians in the treatment condition, prior to practicing, read a 650-word excerpt that explained three component cognitive skills of music performance: goal imaging, motor production, and self-monitoring; their instructions prompted them to report their thoughts related to the three component skills. The musicians in the control condition received no such excerpt and were prompted to simply report their thoughts before, during, and after performance attempts to improve their targeted skill. Participants’ written responses were coded according to the presence of seven characteristics, specifically four indicators of self-regulation and three strategies of effective practice. The results showed that musicians in the treatment condition reported significantly more self-regulation indicators and practice strategies. This finding suggests that conscious attention to the underlying cognitive skills of music performance can prompt musicians to practice more effectively and lead them to have greater confidence in the efficacy of their practicing.
La presente investigación trata sobre la técnica de ejecución de la guitarra clásica
durante el siglo XX. En esa línea, presenta una revisión del concepto de técnica en música y analiza críticamente las escuelas guitarrísticas de mayor preponderancia en ese periodo de tiempo. A su vez, esboza una historia crítica de la técnica en Chile basada en el modo en que diferentes propuestas y visiones se incorporaron y desarrollaron en nuestro país. Los resultados alcanzados nos permiten comprobar la importancia y prevalencia del modelo técnico de la Escuela de Tárrega/Pujol desde el establecimiento de la enseñanza oficial del instrumento en Chile, hasta aproximadamente la década del setenta. Posteriormente, vemos que la incorporación de dos nuevas perspectivas: el movimiento de la música antigua y la Escuela de Abel Carlevaro, complementó y tensionó aquella visión hegemónica, lo que provocó una reformulación de los paradigmas técnicos tradicionales.
Así mismo, advertimos que la presencia de ciertos discursos sobre la guitarra clásica
en Chile – algunos de los cuales no necesariamente encuentran comprobación a la luz de un análisis histórico - han ido moldeando con el tiempo una particular visión del desarrollo de la guitarra en nuestro medio.
The purpose of this study was to investigate second-grade students’ ( N = 128) rhythm-reading achievement and retention after 5 or 10 min of weekly instruction for 3 weeks. Eight intact classes were placed into two groups. Group 1 received 5 min of rhythm-reading instruction during weekly music class, whereas Group 2 received 10 min of rhythm-reading instruction during weekly music class. Treatment lasted 3 weeks, after which students individually completed posttest I. After 2 weeks of no rhythm-reading instruction or practice, students were individually administered posttest II to measure retention. Results indicated that both groups successfully read rhythms after instruction and retained rhythm-reading skills after two additional weeks of no instruction. Between-group analysis suggested that 5 min of instructional time is equally as effective as 10 min on student achievement and retention. Implications include increased efficiency in planning and teaching, increased student engagement, and effective instructional practices in the elementary music classroom.
This article reports further qualitative findings of an interview study involving 42 students ( aged 10–18 ) attending a specialist music school, and parents of half of them. The students were encouraged to talk about events and experiences that influenced their progress in learning musical instruments. Observations by the children and their parents concerning perceptions of instrumental teachers, various aspects of practising activities, and attitudes towards performing. These insights complement previous quantitative and qualitative findings ( Sloboda and Howe, 1991; Howe and Sloboda, 1991 ) and contribute descriptive knowledge of the precursors of musical accomplishments.
Memory for skill Applied Problems in Developing Talent in Young People Studies on the telegraphic language. The acquisition of a hierarchy of habits
- J Annett
Annett, J. (1979). Memory for skill. In M. M. Gruneberg & P. E. Morris (Eds), Applied Problems in Bloom, B. S. (Ed.) (1985). Developing Talent in Young People. New York: Ballantine. Bryan, W. L. & Harter, N. (1899). Studies on the telegraphic language. The acquisition of a hierarchy of habits. Pycbological Review, 6, 345-375.