Music Performance and Body Seminar

Towards a musician’s guide to understanding the performing body.

The Science on Learning:  6 Strategies for More Effective Practicing  

Repeatedly in my years as a piano student, I’ve struggled to give reliable performances. The causes vary and include anything from physical tension and technical accuracy to memory slips. If any of these issues sound familiar to you, you aren’t alone – these are obstacles that nearly all musicians have to deal with at some point. Sadly in my experience, enthusiastic discussion of these issues among students and with teachers seems to be rare, with serious consequences. A study of both students and faculty at an elite music university found that participants lacked effective practice strategies at all levels of preparation (Mornell et al., 2020). 

Motivated by surprising findings like these, I decided to explore the literature on practice strategy to find out how science may help musicians improve their practice. My findings yielded 6 key practice strategies for improving performance. 

But first, we need to cover some basics. The first step is to learn about how we learn. No matter how you define it, learning is inherently tied to the concept of memory, so we’ll be spending some time understanding how we remember. The more we know about the learning process, the better we’ll be at choosing the best practice strategy for the job. 

Understanding Learning and Retention

Stages of Memory – Sensory, Short-Term, and Long-Term 

Figure 8.4. in Stangor, C. (n.d.). Beginning psychology (v. 1.0). https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/beginning-psychology/s12-01-memories-as-types-and-stages.html. CC-BY-SA 3.0

Firstly, memory operates in 3 stages – sensory, short-term, and long-term (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968). 

  1. Sensory memory is a mental representation of our surroundings, created by the senses. These are the things we see, feel, hear, smell, and taste every second of the day. We forget most of these memories because they aren’t important to us. 
  1. When we come across something we want to remember, like someone’s name, we commit it to our short-term or working memory. Famously according to Miller (1954), short-term memory can only handle around 7 units of information at once, although later studies have suggested 3 or 4 (Broadbent, 1975; Cohen, 2001). Regardless of the exact figure, it’s important to note that short-term memory capacity is limited. 
  1. What is most dependable is our long-term memory. It has near unlimited storage capacity that can last for a very long time. For musicians, this final stage is important because we want most of the music we learn to stay reliably in our memory, as we will inevitably reproduce it throughout our lives. 

Processes of Memory – Encoding, Consolidation, and Retrieval 

There are also 3 processes involved in the formation of long-term memories. 

  1. When we first acquire new information, we are engaging in the encoding process. Information can be encoded through the senses or semantically (by its meaning). An example of each would be remembering the distinct cry of a bird or remembering from an advertisement that there is a sale going on (Vargas & Yoon, 2004). An example in music might be remembering a Baroque opera you attended for its lowered pitch or its exciting plot.
  1. In the consolidation phase, these new memories are transferred into long-term storage. It can last from weeks to years, and sleep plays a crucial role in this process (Paller et al., 2021). 
  1. The final process is retrieval or recovery and is activated when we need to recall information, like when trying to remember an answer during an exam. The musical equivalent would be recalling the next section of a piece during a performance. 

Types of Long-Term Memory – Implicit vs Explicit 

Figure 8.7 in Spielman, R. M., Dumper, K., Jenkins, W., Lacombe, A., Lovett, M., & Perlmutter, M. (2014). Psychology. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology/pages/1-introduction. CC-BY 4.0.

Now that we’ve covered how memories are formed, it’s time to look at the different types of long-term memory. Research has determined that there are two types – implicit and explicit. 

  1. Implicit (or motor) memory consists of skills and habits, and are formed by sheer repetition. An example would be tying your shoes, or catching a ball. Instrumentalists demonstrate this whenever they tune their instruments or adjust the height of their seats before performing.
  2. Explicit memory, on the other hand, consists of facts and events, and this has two further subtypes worth noting. 
    • If it’s a personal experience, it falls under the episodic subtype. This might be a memory of that perfect trip you took to Greece with your family last summer, or a particularly moving performance of your favourite symphony.
    • If it’s an abstract concept, we would refer to it as semantic. An example of this would be knowing that ripe apples are usually red, or that a musical ornament is played differently depending on when it was written.

Implicit Learning – Stages of Motor Learning 

Implicit memory has its own system for developing long-term memory, which we call motor learning. The learning theory by Fitts & Posner (1967) divides motor learning into three stages. 

  1. The first is the cognitive stage, where the performer sets out to understand what’s required to execute the physical movement. In this stage, control of the movement will be largely conscious and require high attention and effort (Weaver, 2015). We all know the feeling of dread that we get when starting a new piece of music, and that it only gets easier after a lot of focused practice.
  1. In the associate or intermediate stage, the performer learns how to execute the movement, by converting their episodic memory into the procedural. This is a slow process where there are incremental improvements in accuracy and automaticity. 
  1. Near-total automaticity is achieved in the final, autonomous stage, and all aspects of the execution are secure. Now that the movement is instinctive, you can focus on things like phrasing and expression more than you could in the earlier stages. In this way, motor learning involves a transition from explicit (conscious recall) to implicit (automatic) memory. Since each stage involves different regions of the brain, different strategies work better according to the stage (Dahms et al., 2019). 

6 Practice Strategies

Now that we understand how the learning process works, there are a variety of practice strategies we can use to improve our learning process and memory, often at the same time. Naturally, individual differences will mean that not all strategies will work for everyone, but I’m confident that at least some of these will be helpful to you.

1. Be deliberate and self-regulate.

The first way to improve practice is to do it purposefully. Being focused is important because the consequences of practicing mindlessly can be detrimental for our learning. The first stage of motor learning requires multiple correct repetitions of finger movements, so if you’re making a lot of mistakes during this fragile period, those mistakes may be difficult to unlearn (Watson, 2009). Therefore, practice should be goal-oriented and involve moment-to-moment reflection for continuous improvement (Leech et al., 2022). 

If this makes you burn out, you may need to lower your expectations of how much you can physically practice in a day, or increase breaks between practicing so you can always return to your instrument with a fresh mind. 

2. Practice in short intervals.

Taking short breaks between practice has other benefits too. Another way to structure our practice routines is to use spaced repetition, a style of learning that’s gotten a lot of attention for its profound implications in improving long-term retention (Pashler et al., 2006). It involves practicing material in short durations (distributed), as opposed to one continuous period (massed). 

Experiments among adolescents in STEM field courses have yielded promising results, but similar studies in the music context have been mixed (Kelley & Whatson, 2013; Wiseheart et al., 2017). While researchers hopefully spend the next few decades arriving at some conclusive evidence, it appears that practicing for short periods of time, with breaks in between, can improve acquisition speed and long-term retention. 

3. Know the structure.

Beethoven, L. van (n.d.). Sonate op.2 no.1. In Ludwig van Beethoven’s Werke (Serie 16, Band 1). E. F. Kalmus. (Original work published [1862]). Retrieved from https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/4/45/IMSLP77992-PMLP01446-Beethoven_Werke_Breitkopf_Kalmus_Band_20_B_124_Op_2_scan.pdf.

Organization is an important way we make sense of our lives. If you leave your keys in random places around the house, you’ll never get to work on time – so it’s no wonder that extending this approach to music can be useful. Structural analysis is about building a mental framework for organizing information, like in the example above, which follows the form of a musical sentence. If the music isn’t highly technically demanding, structural analysis is instrumental for improving memorization (Bernardi et al., 2013). This was also shown in a study observing a pianist’s learning process of a work by Bach, where the performer depended largely on structure to memorize the music (Chaffin & Imreh, 2002). 

4. Chunk!

Now that we’ve covered some strategies that can be used when preparing to practice, let’s get to the action. Chunking is a well-known method of learning that involves breaking up large amounts of information into smaller and more meaningful pieces for our brain to better handle. This is particularly important in the intermediate stage of motor learning, where success appears to depend largely on chunking ability (Dahms et al., 2019). Similarly to analyzing form, chunking can help us deconstruct music into its many parts – phrases, notational patterns, and harmonies. As we become more familiar with the material, the chunks increase in size. When learning a piece, the sections (or chunks) that a musician practices will increase until eventually the entire piece has been learned in this way (Miklaszewski, 1989). 

As we become more knowledgeable in a given domain, unbelievable amounts of information can be reduced to single chunks. De Groot (1965) found that an expert chess player could completely remember a presented position almost every time after seeing the board for only seconds, while a novice could not. As musicians get better at chunking, they are able to accelerate their learning process because elements of the score (like chords, harmonic progressions, and figures) start to become instantly recognizable. These are the benefits that await us from a lifetime of learning by chunking. 

Just as there are many ways to organize information, there are many approaches to this strategy (West, Farmer, & Wolff, 1991). High-achieving learners have been found to utilize a combination of chunking approaches instead of just one (Lah et al., 2004). 

5. Come up with cues.

Performance cues are an important retention strategy that utilizes the senses (episodic memory) to help us recall information about our music. These are the broad range of descriptive terms we may associate with passages, such as spirited for a melody by Mozart or violent for a passage in Prokofiev. In the study by Chaffin & Imreh mentioned above, performance cues were found to be a crucial aspect of retrieving music during performance. 

Remember that implicit memory can be episodic (personal experience) or semantic (abstract knowledge)? Maybe there’s a passage in a piece that reminds you of the taste of chocolate, or a moment when you were angry at a good friend, or on the other hand, a phrase you know is exactly 5 measures long. Coming up with performance cues that tap into both emotional / sensory experiences and impersonal concepts can help solidify a piece in your mind. No wonder that in addition to forming a safety net during a recital, this method has been found to help form secure memories (Ginsborg & Chaffin, 2007). 

6. Practice in your head.

Once you feel like you’ve done enough physical practice for the day, there’s one last method that you’ll want to end with, perhaps in the comfort of your home. Mental rehearsal is a habit that I’ve personally benefited so much from. 

The idea is to imagine yourself playing the piece without involving any physical movements. The aspects of the performance you can imagine while doing this are visual, auditory, spatial, and motor, although research comparing these approaches is scarce (Bernardi et al., 2013). Despite not commonly being taught, it’s been found to be almost as effective as physical practice (McHugh-Grifa, 2011). It should be used in combination with physical practice for optimal results (Iorio et al., 2022). What makes it an excellent method is that you can do it anywhere, even while doing automatic activities like walking and washing the dishes. The other benefit is that you can allow your body to rest from physical practice, reducing the risk of injury. 

Final Thoughts

We’ve now covered a wide array of practice strategies that can help us take our musicianship to the next level. While students have a responsibility to discover these for themselves, I believe that there needs to be a greater push to have these practices discussed more in music education settings. Unfortunately and for reasons that aren’t very clear, practice habits are not often discussed between teachers and their students. This can make it difficult for students to progress in their studies, and even develop injuries from overuse. So I hope that you (dear reader) will openly discuss practice strategy with your students, so that all of us can become better, more informed musicians. Happy practicing! 


Further Reading

Sources

Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In K. W. Spence & J. T. Spence, The Psychology of Learning and Motivation: II. Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-7421(08)60422-3 

Bernardi, N. F., De Buglio, M., Trimarchi, P. D., Chielli, A., & Bricolo, E. (2013). Mental practice promotes motor anticipation: Evidence from skilled music performance. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 451. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00451

Broadbent, D. E. (1975), Cognitive psychology and education. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 45: 162-176. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1975.tb03241.x

Chaffin, R., & Imreh, G. (2002). Practicing perfection: Piano performance as expert memory. Psychological Science, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2002.00462.x 

Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x01003922

Dahms, C., Brodoehl, S., Witte O. W., & Klingner, C. M. (2020). The importance of different learning stages for motor sequence learning after stroke. Human Brain Mapping. 41(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.24793

De Groot, A. D. (1965). Thought and choice in chess (2nd ed. 1978). The Hague: Mouton. 

Fitts, P.M., & Posner, M.I. (1967). Human performance. Brooks/Cole.

Ginsborg, J., & Chaffin, R. (2007). The effect of retrieval cues developed during practice and rehearsal on an expert singer’s long-term recall for words and melody. International Symposium on Performance Science. 

Iorio, C., Brattico, E., Munk Larsen, F., Vuust, P., & Bonetti, L. (2022). The effect of mental practice on music memorization. Psychology of Music, 50(1), 230-244. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735621995234

Kelley, P., & Whatson, T. (2013). Making long-term memories in minutes: A spaced learning pattern from memory research in education. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, Article 589. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00589

Lah, N. C., Saat, R. M., & Hassan, R. (2014). Cognitive strategy in learning chemistry: How chunking and learning get together. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 2, 9-15.

Leech, K. A., Roemmich, R. T., Gordon, J., Reisman, D. S., & Cherry-Allen, K. M. (2022). Updates in motor learning: Implications for physical therapist practice and education. Physical Therapy, 102(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/pzab250 

McHugh-Grifa, A. (2011). A comparative investigation of mental practice strategies used by collegiate-level cello students. Contributions to Music Education, 38, 65-79.

Mornell, A., Osborne, M., & McPherson, G. (2018). Evaluating practice strategies, behavior and learning progress in elite performers: An exploratory study. Musicae Scientiae. 24. 102986491877173. 10.1177/1029864918771731. 

Miklaszewski, K. (1989). A case study of a pianist preparing a musical performance. Psychology of Music, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735689172001

Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2). https://doi.org/10.1037/h0043158

Paller, K. A., Creery, J. D., & Schechtman, E. (2021). Memory and sleep: How sleep cognition can change the waking mind for the better. Annual Review of Psychology, 72. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050815

Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105-119. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x

Vargas, P. T. Vargas & Yoon, S. (2004). Advertising Psychology. In Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology, (53-64). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-12-657410-3/00001-5. 

Watson, A. (2009). The biology of musical performance and performance-related injury (pp.232-275). Scarecrow Press. 

Weaver, J. (2015). Motor learning unfolds over different timescales in distinct neural systems. PLoS Biology, 13(12), e1002313. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002313

West, C. K., Farmer, J. A., & Wolff, P. (1991). Instructional design: Implications from cognitive science. Allyn and Bacon. 

Wiseheart, M., D’Souza, A. A., & Chae, J. (2017). Lack of spacing effects during piano learning. PLoS ONE, 12(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182986