| I love talking to students about how they learn and | | | | Magical Number Seven, plus or Minus Two". He |
| how they practice music. Recently I've talked to | | | | explained that our short term or working memory is |
| students from different education systems from | | | | limited to what it can deal with to about seven |
| countries in Asia, Australasia, Europe and the Middle | | | | discretely different things, and hence the need to learn |
| East, and found that students are fascinated with how | | | | in small units. I like to use a telephone number as an |
| learning occurs, and excited by the prospect of | | | | example; we usually chunk a 10-digit number into units |
| becoming better learners. Everyone likes learning (not | | | | of four and three for easier recall. The other important |
| necessarily school); the boost in self-esteem and | | | | truth about working in small units is the notion of |
| self-growth are indeed one of life's great joys. We are | | | | successful completion of a unit. Completing a task |
| born to learn. But I rarely observe a systematic | | | | successfully is motivating and satisfying. It gives one a |
| approach within school music departments that | | | | sign of progress, lack of which is one of the key |
| address the 'how and why' of practice. Given that the | | | | reasons people give up learning an instrument. |
| majority of instrumental tuition is delivered by private | | | | Good learners are meta-cognitive; that is, they take |
| providers, learning how to learn music it is often left to | | | | responsibility for their learning and reflect upon it. |
| chance and the initiative of that individual. Students | | | | Successful deep practice -determining the chunks and |
| usually know that slow practice is prudent for example, | | | | units of work, repeating them sufficiently and at slow |
| but they don't always understand why. This article | | | | tempi are excellent indications of a meta-cognitive |
| reviews some fundamentals of musical practice. | | | | practice routine. Another good practise is what |
| Do you want to be an expert? | | | | psychologists call 'verbal mediation'. This is an active |
| When I ask this question, a majority of students | | | | description of our thinking as we practice. I often ask |
| indicate that they do -not necessarily in music, but in | | | | students to tell me what they are thinking, that is, to |
| some domain. In recent times many books have been | | | | think aloud' as they practice. I find that this will almost |
| written about the nature of expertise and the expert | | | | always uncover the root of a problem. |
| brain (see appendix). The average human brain | | | | Practicing music can take different forms. Most |
| consists of about 100 billion neurons, and the brain's job | | | | students practice music with their instrument and |
| is to find patterns, to make connections. When a | | | | notation, most of the time. But it is very good for the |
| stimulus is repeated often enough a new connection or | | | | development of the whole brain to practice the other |
| neural circuit is made. Further repetition strengthens this | | | | permutations involving the use or non-use of music and |
| connection in the form of myelin, a fatty white | | | | or instrument. |
| substance that coats the axon of a neuron. This is | | | | It is only relatively recently that brain scanning |
| known as the white matter of the brain and as an | | | | techniques have revealed to us the true power of the |
| insulator myelin significantly increases the speed of the | | | | imagination. In one such experiment, a young violinist |
| neural impulses involved in transmitting information. So | | | | had fMRI scanning done under two conditions: |
| the answer to this question: do you want to be an | | | | 1) playing music with the violin and |
| expert? Build more myelin. How? By repeating an | | | | 2) no violin but imagining the playing of the same music. |
| activity. How often? More is better, but at least four | | | | The scan showed almost the exact same neural |
| times for a new neural connection to form. Repetitio | | | | functioning and circuitry. I often tell a story which I am |
| est mater studiorum! | | | | told is true, about a professional golfer who after being |
| How long does it take to be an expert? | | | | imprisoned for a year for a crime played a spectacular |
| In his book 'This is your Brain on Music' Daniel Levitin | | | | round of golf upon his release. When questioned by his |
| says the emerging picture from studies is that 10 000 | | | | golfing buddies how this was possible with no practice |
| hours of practice is required to achieve the level of | | | | for a year, his reply was "but I did practice -18 holes |
| mastery associated with being a world-class expert. | | | | every day up here", pointing to his head. This man |
| That is, roughly equivalent to 3 hrs per day of practice | | | | went through all the detail as he would in a usual round |
| over 10 years. What Levitin suggests is that nurture is | | | | of golf and his imaginary game took about the same |
| more a factor than nature in becoming an expert. | | | | time as a real game of golf. When I was studying |
| Daniel Coyle in 'The Talent Code' says that as long as | | | | piano, my teacher encouraged me to read my score |
| an individual has a threshold level of natural ability, what | | | | on the train and practice imaginary piano on my lap. |
| distinguishes expertise is a matter of hours. This | | | | When travelling by plane, John Coltrane used to close |
| doesn't mean that everyone who puts in 10 000 hours | | | | his eyes and practice on a piece of wood, imagining |
| of work does become an expert, rather that experts | | | | that it was his saxophone. There is not enough time in |
| who have done less than this are few and far | | | | this article to go through all the benefits of playing with |
| between. Malcolm Caldwell cites many excellent | | | | and without music, but we do know that reading music |
| examples confirming this point with stories about The | | | | is more of a left-brain activity, and playing from |
| Beatles, Mozart, Bill Gates and others. But the point of | | | | memory uses the right hand side, so it makes sense to |
| all this from my perspective is that these findings can | | | | do both and activate the whole brain. Whole brain |
| be used to encourage students to work hard and to | | | | activation has been a key ingredient in the annals of |
| believe in their ability to improve; that the brain is plastic | | | | human genius: Einstein was an advocate of the power |
| and can become anything that we want it to be if we | | | | of the imagination, and for the arts in providing |
| are willing to work hard enough. When I ask students if | | | | inspiration. The great scientist was well known for his |
| this seems like too much hard work, a few hands | | | | competence as a violinist, and for being inspired when |
| show. But as I say - if this is the case then the better, | | | | day-dreaming. Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci |
| because those of us prepared to endeavour shall be | | | | studied the 'art of science and the science of art'. |
| distinguished by our efforts. | | | | When problems are recognised and errors |
| Most music students are told to practice slowly. | | | | encountered, it is important to deal with them as soon |
| Interestingly, everyone's conception of 'slowly' seem to | | | | as possible. During 2009 I took an opportunity to |
| be different! As teachers, we need to model what we | | | | perform as part of a duo at Dubai's iconic Burj al Arab |
| mean by slow practice and why it is a cornerstone in | | | | hotel. This 10-week assignment was given at very |
| practice effectiveness. Rachmaninoff said "the most | | | | short notice, and my job in accompanying an unfamiliar |
| efficient manner in learning to memorize a piece | | | | singer provided several challenges, not least of all |
| seems to be the one which proceeds in an error-free | | | | playing a repertoire in my singer's unique key set. I kept |
| manner". He believed that if we never 'practiced' a | | | | a notepad on the piano to detail those passages that |
| mistake, the chances were we wouldn't perform one | | | | required work and revision, and would duly practice |
| either. Hence he was known for excruciatingly slow | | | | these the following morning in readiness for the next |
| practice, like setting a metronome on the slowest | | | | evening. The best time to solve a problem is as soon |
| tempo, moving only incrementally upon successful | | | | as possible. I don't like musical problems incubating in |
| completion of a musical passage. Our brain doesn't | | | | my mind! |
| distinguish bad habits from good; it does its job of | | | | The same principal for immediacy in fixing musical |
| learning patterns faithfully. Coyle refers to slow and | | | | problems also applies to immediacy in retaining |
| repetitive practice as 'deep' practice. He says that | | | | inspiration. I encourage students to use their technology |
| when we slow down our brain can pay deeper | | | | (read mobile phones) in lessons. Not in the traditional |
| attention to the neural circuits being formed and | | | | sense, but the average mobile phone has three |
| 'myelinated'. He cites an example of a New York | | | | functions useful for learning: a video recorder, sound |
| music academy where a professor told students "if | | | | recorder and camera. Teachers can record |
| what you're practicing is recognisable then you are | | | | homework and playing advice on the phone sound |
| playing it too quickly". Mozart was known to repeat a | | | | recorder, or more pro-actively, students might ask to |
| musical passage 10 times. His father would place 10 | | | | record their teacher to repeat their 'gem' of advice just |
| dried peas in Wolfgang's left coat pocket and after | | | | proffered. Photos can be taken of embouchure, hand |
| each successful attempt; a pea would be moved to | | | | position and the like, and students might video a |
| the right pocket. Of course any failure -even on the | | | | teacher's model performance. |
| 10th repetition would have all the peas moved back to | | | | Whilst the above suggestions might make sense to |
| the left pocket and young Wolfgang had to begin over | | | | students, one should not assume a seamless transition |
| again. What encouragement to slow down and play a | | | | into practise. Students need to practice how to |
| passage perfectly! | | | | practice. Teachers would do well to model practice |
| Isolating a passage for 'deep' practice is known as | | | | techniques, and then observe the student in at practice. |
| chunking, which is to organise items into manageable | | | | As Daniel Coyle says "it's not practice makes perfect, |
| units. It has been more than 50 years since | | | | but perfect practice makes perfect". |
| psychologist George Miller wrote his paper "The | | | | |