Practice is of interest to music teachers and students since it is an essential aspect of motor skill acquisition and performance. The Music Practice In- struction Inventory (MPII) was designed to ascertain the extent to which studio music teachers teach certain practice strategies. The MPII consists of two sections. The first section requests information about the age level of students and. the type of studio setting. The second section contains 26 statements about teaching students to practice, each with a response scale ranging from 5 (Always) to 1 (Never). The MPII was administered to 94 members of the MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) in the USA. Frequencies were tabulated for all data, and means and standard deviations were calculated for responses to the 26 statements. Differences between college teachers' and pre-college teachers' responses were compared via Pearson Chi Square. Most teachers reported that they always or almost always discuss the importance of practice and specific practice techniques with students, but responses to other items varied among different teachers. Results indicate that teachers' approaches to practice are not always consistent with the literature and that practice strategies endorsed by college teachers often differ from those used by teachers of pre-college students.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Anderson, J. R.
(1981). Cognitive skills and their acquisition. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
2.
Applebaum, S.
and Applebaum, S. (1972). The way they play. Neptune City, N.J.: Paganiniana Publications.
3.
Barry, N.
(1990). The effects of different practice techniques upon technical accuracy and musicality in student instrumental performance. Research Perspectives in Music Education, 1, 4-8.
4.
Barry, N.
(1992). The effects of practice strategies, individual differences in cognitive style, and gender upon technical accuracy and musicality of student instrumental performance. Psychology of Music, 20, 112-123.
5.
Brokaw, J. P. (1983). The extent to which parental supervision and other selected factors are related to achievement of musical and technical-physical characteristics by beginning instrumental music students. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan, 1983.) Dissertation Abstracts International, 43, 3252-A-3252-A.
6.
Brown, R. A.
(1928). A comparative study of whole, part, and combination methods of learning piano music. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12, 235-248.
7.
Chronister, R.
(1986). An exciting musical experience today!Keyboard Arts Magazine, p. 5-7.
8.
Dennis, D. M. (1986). A guide to practising selected passages in the piano sonata in b minor by Franz Liszt. (Doctoral dissertation, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1986.) Dissertation Abstracts International, 47(6), 1918-A-1918-A.
9.
DeNicola, D. N.
(1990, November). The development and evaluation of a twelve-step sequential method to teach class piano sightreading. Paper presented at the meeting of the Southern Division of the Music Educators National Conference, Winston-Salem, N.C.
10.
Folts, M. (1973). The relative aspects of two procedures as followed by flute, clarinet, and trumpet students while practising on the development of tone quality and on selected performance skills. (Doctoral dissertation, New York University.) Dissertation Abstracts International, 34, 1312-A-1312-A.
11.
Gagne, R. M.
(1985). The conditions of learning (4th Ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
12.
Gruson, L. M.
(1988). Rehearsal skill and musical competence: Does practice make perfect? In: J. A. Sloboda (Ed.), Generative processes in music (p. 91-112). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
13.
Leimer, K.
and Gieseking, W. (1972). Piano technique. New York: Dover Publications.
14.
Locke, E. A.
and Bryan, J. F. (1965). The effects of performance goals on level of performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 50, 286-291.
15.
Madsen, C. K.
and Geringer, J. M. (1981). The effect of a distraction index on improving practice attentiveness and musical performance. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 66-67, 46-52.
16.
Merrick, F.
(1958). Practising the piano. London: Barrie and Rockliff.
17.
Newell, A.
and Rosenbloom, P. R. (1981). Mechanisms of skill acquisition and the law of practice. In: J. R. Anderson (Ed.), Cognitive skills and their acquisition (p. 1-55). Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
18.
Nuki, M.
(1984). Memorization of piano music, Psychologica, 27, 157-163.
19.
Oxendine, J. B.
(1968). Psychology of motor learning. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
20.
Pearce, E.
(Autumn, 1992). The other teacher: Home practice. Keyboard Companion, p. 8-9.
21.
Price, H. E.
(1990, March). Sequential patterns of music instruction and learning to use them. Paper presented at the meeting of the Music Educators National Conference, Washington, D.C.
22.
Rosenthal, R. K.
(1984). The relative effects of guided model, model only, guide only, and practice only treatments on the accuracy of advanced instrumentalists' musical performance. Journal of Research in Music Education, 32, 265-273.
23.
Rosenthal, R. K.
, Wilson, M., Evans, M. and Greenwalt, L. (1988). Effects of different practice conditions on advanced instrumentalists' performance accuracy. Journal of Research in Music Education, 36, 250-257.
24.
Ross, S. L.
(1985). The effectiveness of mental practice in improving the performance of college trombonists. Journal of Research in Music Education, 33, 221-230.
25.
Rubin-Rabson, G.
(1939). Studies in the psychology of memorizing piano music: I. A comparison of the unilateral and co-ordinated approaches. Journal of Educational Psychology, 30, 321-345.
26.
Rubin-Rabson, G.
(1940a). Studies in the psychology of memorizing piano music: II. A comparison of massed and distributed practice. Journal of Educational Psychology, 31, 270-284.
27.
Rubin-Rabson, G.
(1940b). Studies in the psychology of memorizing piano music: III. A comparison of the whole and part approach. Journal of Educational Psychology, 31, 460-476.
28.
Rubin-Rabson, G.
(1941a). Studies in the psychology of memorizing piano music: IV. The effect of incentive. Journal of Educational Psychology, 32, 45-54.
29.
Rubin-Rabson, G.
(1941b). Studies in the psychology of memorizing piano music: V. A comparison of pre-study periods of varied length. Journal of Educational Psychology, 32, 101-112.
30.
Rubin-Rabson, G.
(1941c). Studies in the psychology of memorizing piano music: VI. A comparison of two forms of mental rehearsal and keyboard overlearning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 32, 593-602.
31.
Rubin-Rabson, G.
(1941d). Studies in the psychology of memorizing piano music: VII. A comparison of three degrees of overlearning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 32, 688-696.
32.
Santana, E. L. (1978). Time-efficient skill acquisition in instrumental music study. (Doctoral dissertation, the Florida State University.) Dissertation Abstracts International, 40, 732-A-732-A.
33.
Schmidt, R. A.
(1987). The acquisition of skill: Some modifications to the perception-action relationship through practice. In: H. Heuer and A. F. Sanders (Eds.), Perspectives on perception and action (p. 77-103). Hillsdale, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates.
34.
Singer, R. N.
(1980). Motor learning and human performance: An application to motor skills and movement behaviors (3rd Ed.). New York: Macmillan.
35.
Sperti, J.
(1970). Adaptation of certain aspects of the Suzuki method to the teaching of the clarinet: An experimental investigation testing the comparative effectiveness of two different pedagogical methodologies. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 37, 46-48.
36.
SPSS
(1990). SPSSIPC+ 4.0 Base Manual. Chicago: SPSS Inc.
37.
Street, E.
(1987). Bridging the gap between sight-reading and memorizing. American Music Teacher, 37, 32-33.
38.
Suzuki, S.
(1969). Nurtured by love: A new approach to education. New York: Exposition Press.
39.
Thompson, J. C. (1986). A practice manual: Jacob Dont's Twenty-Four Studies, Opus 37. (Doctoral dissertation, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical Col., 1986.) Dissertation Abstracts International, 47(9), 3236-A-3236-A.
40.
Uszler, M.
, Gordon, S., Mach, E. (1991). The well-tempered keyboard teacher. New York: Schirmer Books.
41.
Wagner, M. J.
(1975). The effect of a practice report on practice time and musical performance. In: C. K. Madsen, R. D. Greer and C. H. Madsen (Eds.), Research in music behavior: Modifying music behavior in the classroom (p. 125-130). New York: Teachers College Press.
42.
Wapnik, J.
, Gilsig, M. and Hummel, T. (1982). Relative effects of psychomotor practice, mental rehearsal, and guided mental rehearsal on performance of undergraduate brass and piano music majors. Paper presented at the meeting of the Music Educators National Conference, San Antonio, TX.
43.
Whitley, J. D.
(1970). Effects of practice distribution on learning a fine motor task. The Research Quarterly, 41, 576-583.
44.
Wolfe, D. E.
(1984). The use of behavioral contracts in music instruction. In: C. K. Madsen and C. A. Prickett (Eds.), Applications of research in music behavior (p. 43-50). Tuscaloosa. AL: University of Alabama Press.
