Developing Independent String Musicians: Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities

“Practice less. Think more.”—Leon Fleisher (1928-2020)

The unprecedented circumstances we all now find ourselves in have required our making adjustments, large and small, to accommodate the need for social distancing. These challenges are especially daunting when it comes to teaching and learning and may seem nearly insurmountable when it comes to teaching and learning in music. All of us who teach music recognize the inherent value of collective experiences. Yet, our current circumstances have required our creating lessons and group classes that are often structured very differently from those we engaged in just a year ago.

Whether we are teaching online or in-person with appropriate social distancing, we are faced with new limitations. Our ability to physically adjust students’ bodies and instruments during lessons may not be possible, and many of us can hear our students perform only with technology that constrains our perceptions of what our students do and how they sound. Although teaching from a distance presents novel challenges for our students and for ourselves, being wrested from our usual ways of doing things also creates opportunities to rethink and reimagine the kinds of learning experiences that may help our students overcome challenges by becoming more independent learners. 

What We’ve Learned from Experts

Our research over the past 20 years, which has focused on various aspects of skill learning, suggests several possibilities for increasing the effectiveness of teaching and learning. We have devoted much of our efforts to observing and analyzing the practice behavior of expert musicians (Simmons et al. 2015; Duke et al. 2015), and our work provides a window into the thinking of experts during practice, and how their thinking leads to productive courses of action. These findings are directly applicable to designing procedures for students working independently, emulating expert practice behavior and learning to think in ways that will benefit them not only in the present circumstances but beyond the pandemic as well. 

Formulating clear descriptions of expert thinking in context is challenging, in that much of experts’ procedural knowledge (i.e., how to allocate attention, solve problems, and act) is difficult to verbalize, even by experts themselves. The Nobel laureate Murray Gell-Mann famously described fellow physics laureate Richard Feynman’s thinking in this way: “Write down the problem. Think very hard. Write down the answer.” Many novices’ perceptions of the work of experts may seem quite like that: “Look at the music. Practice it repeatedly. Sound flawless and beautiful.”

Perhaps what’s most important about what we’ve learned about the practice behavior of experts is that student musicians are fully capable of learning to think like experts and to organize their practice time in ways that are maximally productive, successful, and rewarding (Duke, Simmons, and Cash 2009). We recognize that there are countless books, articles, videos, and other web resources that address music practice, but we note that seldom is thinking (i.e., planning, perceiving, adjusting) sufficiently emphasized. Our focus here centers on the thinking that precedes every performance trial—the learner’s intentions and the relationship between those intentions and what actually comes about moment to moment. 

Readers will recognize that our description of expert practice resembles descriptions of self-regulated learning, which appear throughout the literature in music education and in other disciplines (Miksza 2015; McPherson et al. 2019; Zimmerman and Kitsantas 1996). Self-regulated learning is characterized by a sequence of planning, action, and reflection, not unlike the experts’ ways of thinking that we describe. Much of the research and pedagogical literature to date that focuses on self-regulated learning examines music practice at the level of an entire practice session (e.g., Miksza, Prichard, and Sorbo 2012) or the time devoted to a particular exercise, etude, or piece (e.g., Leon-Guerrero 2008). In observing experts, we note that the planning-action-reflection sequence is visible in every performance trial; that is, every instance of playing is preceded by a clear intention, and careful attention is devoted to assessing the extent to which the outcome of each performance trial matches the intentions that preceded it (Palese and Duke 2019).

Even the youngest musicians are capable of this kind of thinking. One need only observe a child mastering a complex video game to recognize (1) the clarity of momentary goals (intentions) and (2) the learner’s accurate measure of the congruence between intentions and outcomes. How do we establish the same kind of planning and evaluation in music practice? How do we help children apply the same procedures that lead them to master Fortnite in their efforts to master the viola? 

Experts have clear-headed perceptions of their own capacities and limitations that allow them to make intelligent choices about the repertoire they learn and perform (Allen et al. 2017; Simmons and Stephens 2017). They consider carefully the skills and demands that each piece requires in relation to the time available for learning and refining. Teachers of developing musicians often assume the responsibility for choosing when to move ahead in the repertoire in the early stages of music learning, but all too often, developing musicians (and sometimes their teachers!) move ahead too quickly, consigning students to inconsistent fundamentals and poor sounds, with the unreasonable (and incorrect) expectation that from the hours of muscle tension, poor tone, and subpar intonation, beauty will somehow emerge. It won’t.

Although it seems well-accepted in nearly all domains of physical training (e.g., golf, swimming, tennis) that consistently using “good form” in one’s physical movements is an essential feature of skill development, instruction in music often seems less focused on the fundamental quality of what learners do than on the level of task difficulty. This conflation of task difficulty with quality seems pervasive in competitive forums for young musicians, in which “acceptably” performing music that is considered technically difficult is often valued over beautifully and expressively performing music that is technically less demanding. It seems unlikely that a knowledgeable coach would encourage little-leaguers to stand in the batter’s box and face a pitching machine hurling 90-mph fastballs, for example, all the while believing that the experience of flailing at near-invisible moving targets will develop their batting skills. Yet, throughout all levels of music teaching, learners with limited capacity are regularly asked to perform repertoire whose technical demands render impossible the effective application of high-quality fundamental skills.

What experts like Shinichi Suzuki understood clearly about skill learning is that every instance of muscle tension, poor intonation, and sloppy rhythm is, unfortunately, an opportunity to practice muscle tension, poor intonation, and sloppy rhythm. Because experts know better, they consistently begin each practice episode with concerted attention to fundamental details that guide tone production, expressive inflection, and beauty. Slowly. Deliberately. What unfolds over the course of practice is the maintenance of these essential priorities as greater challenges are introduced. Rather than beginning with poor fundamentals and then “fixing them,” experts start with superb fundamentals and then strategically arrange what they do from one performance trial to the next so that they can maintain superb fundamentals as they encounter increasing technical and expressive demands (Allen et al. 2016; The University of Texas at Austin Center for Music Learning 2016). 

What is perhaps most striking about our observations of expert practice is how thinking is organized; in other words, what is the central focus of attention that pervades thinking and informs planning and action? The answer: expressive intent. Rather than approaching the components of performance sequentially—”First I’ll work out the rhythms, then the bowings, then the intonation, then…”—experts consider first what they intend to convey to listeners. This central focus on musical expression then reveals the details of the work that needs to be done to accomplish that expressive goal (Duke et al. 2017). Some teachers believe that beginners are incapable of this kind of thinking, that all of the basics of technique need to be worked out first, and only then can expressive intention be considered. This underestimates what young musicians are capable of.

Focusing on the expressive goals of music-making during practice acts to clarify and unify the physical components of music performance. In artist-level musicians’ practice, the processes of motor and auditory prediction, production, and comparison are at all times bound to the artist’s intention, specifically as it relates to expressive goals (Allen et al. 2019). Thus, the expressive aspects of music performance are not “added later,” once the technical demands of playing have been met. Instead, expressive intentions serve as the unifying elements around which all of the physical and perceptual components of performing cohere (Chaffin et al. 2003). When learners’ intentions comprise vivid models of expressive outcomes, procedural memories are formed in a way that combines all components of artistic performance from the earliest stages of learning. 

Teaching Strategies and Student Activity Plans

Effective independent work requires that students know how to think and strategize about what they do in each successive practice trial. Yet, teaching learners about the covert cognitive processes that underlie musicians’ practice has proven more elusive than giving them lists of overt practice strategies. While it’s certainly useful to know the what of practice behavior, it’s even more important to understand the why, when, and how, which is why knowing about practice strategies only scratches the surface of teaching people how to learn independently. A cellist working on a technically demanding passage must think more deliberately than “slow the tempo.” She needs to know why she should slow down, when the context is appropriate for that kind of modification, and how to effectively adjust the tempo to accommodate her current level of technical facility, all the while monitoring whether the modifications she makes are facilitating improvements that lead to goal accomplishment.

Consider, for example, practice assignments that require students to generate expressive intentions and then craft action plans that maintain those expressive intentions from the beginning. Only after developing a clear intention for what they’re about to do are they ready to play, listen critically to how they sound, notice how they feel (physically), and make comparisons between their intentions and outcomes aloud. This kind of student engagement can render students’ thinking accessible to teachers, which is far superior to practice assignments that focus attention on practicing for prescribed durations, completing a specific number of repetitions of a passage, or mastering decontextualized components (e.g., first notes, then rhythms) of competitive audition music. We suggest the following strategies and activities:

●      Ask students to write reflections that compare their recording to the model Suzuki recording.

●      Ask students to record part of their practice sessions and talk aloud between repetitions (Prompt: “Describe aloud what you just heard or felt, and explain what you will do in your next attempt”). Then, provide feedback on what students say and think, in addition to how they play.

●      Post videos of yourself or older students practicing and talking aloud to model the thought process of intention-action-comparison.

●      Ask students to connect physical movement, sound production, and expressive intentions early and often, thus establishing memories that include constellations of physical, auditory, and expressive components of music-making.

●      Help students set realistic, achievable near-term goals that generate a sense of accomplishment.

Practice Like an Artist

As we stated earlier, perhaps the most interesting aspect of our findings as they relate to music teaching in the age of COVID-19 is the extent to which the behaviors and thinking we observe in the practicing of artist-level musicians apply to the practicing of young or less-skilled musicians. Teachers have an opportunity to foster meaningful change in the way students think and act by adapting instructional goals and creating assignments that require the maintenance of superb fundamentals in contexts that are limited enough in their physical, perceptual, and cognitive demands that learners at all levels of development are able to perform consistently, accurately, and beautifully. In 1960 the noted educational psychologist Jerome Bruner in his book The Process of Education made a bold assertion about science learning: “The schoolboy learning physics is a physicist, and it is easier for him to learn physics behaving like a physicist than doing something else.” (Bruner 1960, 14) Our research into the processes of music learning leads us to a similar conclusion: A young person learning music is an artist, and it is easier for her to learn music by behaving like an artist than by doing something else. 

Supplementary resources:

Video examples of experts practicing are available online and through social media platforms. Watch violinist Hilary Hahn and also members of the New York Philharmonic engage in practice challenges, or listen to applied faculty at The University of Texas talk about their thinking regarding intelligent music practice: 

• Hilary Hahn (@violincase) on Instagram: Search hashtag #100daysofpractice ([url=https://www.instagram.com/violincase/?hl=en]https://www.instagram.com/violincase/?hl=en[/url])
• Members of the New York Philharmonic on YouTube: Search hashtag #practice30 ([url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAaepkRjPxDMLBc-hIDZvdnn3KB2Q-093]https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAaepkRjPxDMLBc-hIDZvdnn3KB2Q-093[/url])

•The University of Texas at Austin Center for Music Learning Website: “Intelligent Music Practice” ([url=https://cml.music.utexas.edu/online-resources/practice/intelligent-music-practice/]https://cml.music.utexas.edu/online-resources/practice/intelligent-music-practice/[/url])

References

Allen, Sarah E., Amy L. Simmons, Carla D. Cash, and Robert A. Duke. 2017. “In Their Own Words and in Their Own Heads: The Processes of Artist-Level Music Learning.” Paper presented at The 22nd Clifford K. Madsen International Symposium on Research in Music Behavior, Austin, March 23-25.

Allen, Sarah E., Carla D. Cash, Lani M. Hamilton, Amy L. Simmons, John E. Parsons, Laura K. Hicken, and Robert A. Duke. 2019. “Symposium: The Contributors to Musical Expertise.” Paper presented at The 23rd Clifford K. Madsen International Symposium on Research in Music Behavior, Estes Park, March 21-23.

Allen, Sarah E., Robert A. Duke, Amy Simmons, and Carla D. Cash. 2016. “The Whole Enchilada: Focusing on Expressive Musicianship Strengthens Musical Development.” Paper presented at the National Association for Music Education In-Service Conference, Dallas, November 10-12.

Bruner, Jerome S. 1960. The Process of Education. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 

Chaffin, Roger, Gabriella Imreh, Anthony F. Lemieux, and Colleen Chen. 2003. “’ Seeing the Big Picture’: Piano Practice as Expert Problem Solving.” Music Perception 20 (4): 465–490.  DOI: 10.1525/mp.2003.20.4.465.

Duke, Robert A., Amy L. Simmons, and Carla D. Cash. 2009. “It’s Not How Much, It’s How: Characteristics of Practice Behavior and Retention of Performance Skills.” Journal of Research in Music Education 56 (4): 310–321. DOI: 10.1177/0022429408328851.

Duke, Robert A., Sarah E. Allen, Amy L. Simmons, Carla D. Cash, and Lani M. Hamilton. 2017. “Expressive Goals Provide Structure for the Perceptual and Motor Components of Artist-Level Music Practice.” Poster presented at The Neurosciences and Music Conference VI: Music, Sound, and Health, Boston, June 14-17.

Duke, Robert A., Sarah E. Allen, Carla D. Cash, and Amy L. Simmons. 2015. “Practice Like a Pro.” Southwestern Musician 83 (6): 33–37.

Leon-Guerrero, Amanda. 2008. “Self-Regulation Strategies Used by Student Musicians during Music Practice.”Music Education Research 10 (1) 91–106. DOI: 10.1080/14613800701871439.

McPherson, Gary E., Margaret S. Osborne, Paul Evans, and Peter Miksza. 2019. “Applying Self-Regulated Learning Microanalysis to Study Musicians’ Practice.” Psychology of Music 47 (1): 18–32. DOI: 10.1177/0305735617731614.

Miksza, Peter. 2015. “The Effect of Self-Regulation Instruction on the Performance Achievement, Musical Self-Efficacy, and Practicing of Advanced Wind Players.” Psychology of Music 43 (2): 219–243. DOI: 10.1177/0305735613500832.

Miksza, Peter, Stephanie Prichard, and Diana Sorbo. 2012. “An Observational Study of Intermediate Band Students’ Self-Regulated Practice Behaviors.” Journal of Research in Music Education 60 (3): 254–66. DOI: 10.1177/0022429412455201.

Palese, Richard, and Robert A. Duke. 2019. “Signatures of Effective Practice: Thoughtful Pauses in the Practice of Expert Musicians.” Poster presented at the Texas Music Educators Association Conference, San Antonio, February 14-16.

Simmons, Amy L., and Julie M. Stephens. 2017. “Practice Cognition and Behavior in Expert Performers and Music Majors.” Paper presented at the International Symposium on Performance Science, Reykjavik, August 30-September 2.

Simmons, Amy L., Sarah E. Allen, Lani M. Hamilton, Carla D. Cash, and Robert A. Duke. 2018. “Expertise in Music Learning: Implications for Developing Musicians.” Paper presented at the National Association for Music Research and Teacher Education National Conference, Atlanta, March 22-24.

The University of Texas at Austin Center for Music Learning. “Illustrations of Instrumental Practice.” Last modified July 1, 2016. [url=https://cml.music.utexas.edu/online-resources/practice/illustrations-of-instrumental-practice/]https://cml.music.utexas.edu/online-resources/practice/illustrations-of-instrumental-practice/[/url]. 

Zimmerman, Barry J., and Anastasia Kitsantas. 1996. “Self-Regulated Learning of a Motoric Skill: The Role of Goal Setting and Self-Monitoring.” Journal of Applied Sport Psychology 8 (1): 60–75. DOI: 10.1080/10413209608406308.**