A Survey of Practice Behaviors among Middle and High School String Players

Abstract

We were interested in middle and high school string musicians’ reports of how they spend their practice time and how often they use specific practice strategies. These 211 middle and high school participants reported an average of 5.64 years (SD = 2.61) of string playing experience, with an average of about four years of private instruction. Students in the most advanced of three ensembles reported more private lesson instruction than students in the other two ensembles. There were no differences in how students in the three groups rated the occurrence of the following strategies: self-recording of practice, varying articulations, varying rhythms, left-hand only practice, and right-hand articulation practice. Advanced students reported significantly more: listening to recordings, using a metronome, isolating shifts, repeating of short sections, part marking in general and marking half steps. Students made frequent comments regarding strategies used to improve intonation, such as use of a drone, practice with a tuner, and using open strings as a reference. When asked to provide advice to a peer, the most frequent advice was to practice slowly.