Deep practice
Tags: deep practice, how to practice music, music performance, music practice, performance anxiety, practicing music, Stage fright, The Musician's Way
Many dedicated music students believe that if they can get through a piece in practice, they should necessarily be able to perform the piece on stage.
Then, when they become undermined by nervousness at a concert or an audition, they conclude that their performance problems must be caused by psychological issues unrelated to their practice.
Often, however, that’s a questionable conclusion.
Deep vs. rote learning
In my 30 years of professional experience, I’ve learned that college and pre-college students rarely learn their music in ways that enable them to perform soulfully under pressure.
Rather, when most students practice, they primarily implant muscle memory and develop scant awareness of the inner workings of a piece.
Such ‘automated’ or ‘rote’ learning, though, depends on automated recall, which readily breaks down under stressful conditions. When faced with high-stakes performance situations, rote practicers rightfully become skittish because they can’t be sure that their mental and physical control will hold up.
We veteran performers reject superficial learning schemes. We learn our music and prepare for concerts via a mindful process that enables us to perform securely no matter how high the pressure climbs.
I call this type of learning and preparation ’deep practice.’
Some features of deep practice
My book, The Musician’s Way, devotes multiple chapters to the nuts and bolts of deep practice.
It lays out essentials for learning new material, crafting interpretations, memorizing, practicing mentally, and much more.
To summarize, when we practice deeply, we absorb a composition in both micro and macro ways:
- We divide a piece into sections, patiently assimilate the ingredients, and then merge the parts
- We grasp technical elements while relating those elements to the emotional arc of a phrase
- We solve problems instead of letting them fester
- We image ahead to direct our music making with soulful awareness (mental imaging is defined on page 34 of The Musician’s Way).
Through deep practice, we create an expressive/technical map of a composition that’s so clear that, regardless of the performance situation, we can navigate the musical landscape without fear of breakdown.
Building performance skills
Of course, as detailed in Part II of The Musician’s Way and on this blog, coupled with the mastering of our material, our level of on-stage confidence is indeed affected by numerous psychological and other components.
For instance, we have to possess inner strength, adopt positive attitudes toward performing, and know how to manage fight-or-flight responses (see my posts under the category “Performance Anxiety“). Plus, we require fluency with backstage and on-stage techniques.
I label these ‘performance skills,’ and they need to be practiced deeply, too (see “Practicing Performance“).
The book also points out that few musicians acquire high-level practice and performance skills without help. So it explains ways in which musicians can get assistance for difficulties that they can’t remedy on their own (e.g., from therapists, coaches, and music teachers).
* * *
Ultimately, we can’t be confident under the spotlights unless we’ve practiced deeply. With our material securely learned and our performance skills in place, the energy of performing can rocket our creativity to new heights.
Bear in mind, too, that deep practice is critical to achieving excellence in all fields, as bestselling author Daniel Coyle spells out in The Talent Code.
Did your teachers guide you to practice deeply? I hope that you’ll explore the deep-practice strategies in The Musician’s Way and that you’ll contribute your opinions here.
© 2009 Gerald Klickstein
Mike Saville said:
Nov 26, 09 at 04:17Hi Gerald,
I like the tone and direction of this article and think possibly there is much of benefit in what you say.
However I’m left feeling a bit short on information when reading this. You explain clearly some of the issues that arise in performance and then some broad concepts to rectify these. I do think what is missing is any real detail on how to address the issues.
You touch very lightly on what the process of ‘Deep Practice’ involves without offering any specifics. Are these details perhaps in the book? Concepts are fine but tangible directions would be more useful to the more inexperienced performer.
Your question in the final paragraph I think is a very key issue: “Did your teachers guide you to practice deeply?”
I believe this is one of the fundamental problems in instrumental education, teachers do not teach practice. I believe that because many teachers teach the way they were taught that practice is pushed aside in favour of repertoire and technique. I also believe that many teachers have not themselves considered the practice process deeply and are therefore unable to offer much assistance in this area – it’s only discussed when it hasn’t been done.
Though not a scientific study I have taught widely over the past 20 years at all levels and have yet to be convinced that anything other than the above is true.
Gerald Klickstein said:
Nov 26, 09 at 07:48Hi Mike, thanks for the comment. Yes, the details are in the book – this post just presents an overview, but added pointers can be found in my posts “Learning new material” and “Solving problems in practice.” When it comes to whether deep practice is taught in lessons and classes, I’ve found the same as you – it seldom is. And researchers are discovering as much when they survey students and observe lessons and practice sessions (see the references in The Musician’s Way). Note to readers: for valuable practice tips, check out Mike’s site http://www.HowToPractice.com.
Steve said:
Dec 11, 09 at 11:26This is a very good post – I’m getting your book. Thanks.
Gerald Klickstein said:
Dec 11, 09 at 16:04Thank you, Steve. Please let me know how the book strikes you.
mrG said:
Jan 14, 10 at 13:42It seems to me that my muscles actually learn pieces of music far faster than I expect, and as a result I find that the mechanical mistakes I make on my first-reading are very often the hardest performance-error habits to break. Does anyone else find this?
For lack of a better strategy, to counter this I’m experimenting with quietly avoiding the more difficult passages on our first-readings, just watching my part go by in hopes the concertmaster doesn’t get too upset, then add those in once I’ve understood their place and structure.
Gerald Klickstein said:
Jan 14, 10 at 14:23Excellent point, G. I suppose that we all want to believe that we imprint less than we actually do.
Your strategy makes sense to me and reflects admirable self-awareness on your part. We musicians can learn from your example – that is, we can insist on emphasizing habits that lead to better musicianship rather than feeling forced to compromise our artistic integrity.