EFFECTIVE

MUSIC
PRACTICE
A Guide to Self-Regulated Learning

Mark Bain
 INTRODUCTION
Learning how to practice effectively is perhaps the most important skill for
anyone wanting to improve their overall performance. As musicians, we often
spend many hours in the practice room honing our skills and striving to achieve
high-quality performance. This means that understanding the characteristics of
quality practice and peak performance is key to flourishing on your instrument.
This booklet provides a framework to achieve this and will enable you to gain
the greatest rewards from your practice sessions and performances.

In the past, top performers were seen as people who were born with a “natural
talent”, be that in music, sport, business, or many other pursuits. Their effortless
abilities were seemingly so ingrained that the only explanation was that it was
a gift of genetics. Despite this assumption, the idea of the “natural performer”
has been slowly crumbling, as more and more scientific research uncovers the
true reasons surrounding how any performer can become so good at what they
do.

There have been many recent advancements in the fields of neuroscience, brain
imaging technology, and the psychology of peak performance. New findings
have enabled researchers to gain significant insights into how the brain works
as we learn new skills. This provides us with a greater understanding of the
requirements to achieve high levels of performance and how this is made
possible. Now we are able to recognise clear steps that anyone can take to
achieve continued growth and development in whatever they set their mind to.
 SELF-REGULATED LEARNING
The latest research into efficient practice has been
PLAN
conducted by Dr Barry Zimmerman and colleagues and
has focused on the area of self-regulation. One of the
main differences between less and more skilled
musicians is that higher-skilled performers are able to REVIEW PLAY
self-regulate their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours
more effectively than less-experienced performers. They
are more aware of their strengths and weaknesses and are able to come up
with appropriate strategies to overcome the challenges they face. Therefore, if
you wish to grow and develop as a musician it is important that your practice is
designed to improve self-regulation and overall awareness of your abilities.

Through Dr Zimmerman's research, a simple, yet extremely effective model of

learning has been developed. This model, titled "Self-Regulated Learning",
involves repeating 3 simple steps: PLAN, PLAY, and REVIEW*. This cycle will
help you create a clear and structured process in the practice room, ensuring
productivity and focus are maximised throughout your practice.

PLAN PLAY
Set a GOAL ACTION
Execute your STRATEGY
and a STRATEGY to
achieve that goal
ATTENTION
IDENTIFY
ISOLATE Be aware!
INCORPORATE

REVIEW
RESULT
WHAT result did you get?
REASON
WHY did you get that result?
RESPONSE
HOW can you get a better result next time?

*Zimmerman's original terminology is "Forethought", "Performance", and "Self-Reflection".

"Result, Reason, Response" is from Kerwin Rae's The Ultimate Debriefing Process: https://youtu.be/4IcRJugiUcY
 PLAN
Before picking up your instrument, you
first need to take a closer look at the
musical material you will be working on. PLAN
You can start by working out a GOAL that
you want to aim for.

What piece, etude, or exercise do you

want to play? How many bars of it will you REVIEW PLAY
play through at a time? What is
challenging about the section that might
trip you up? Can you hear what you want
it to sound like in your head?

It is important here that you are very specific

with what goal you are aiming for, as this
will help prevent any inefficient mindless
practice. Setting general, vague, or unclear
goals for what you are about to play will do
little to help your focus and concentration
when you pick up your instrument. Whereas
detailed strategic planning and goal setting
before you start playing will lead to far
better results and improvement throughout
your practice session.

Once you have set your clear GOAL to

aim for, the next step is devising a
suitable STRATEGY to achieve that goal.

A common goal for many students is to

improve their rhythmic precision and
tempo stability. One suitable STRATEGY
for this might be to consciously
subdivide throughout the challenging
passage. Another might be to use a
metronome, but only having the clicks
on every 2nd beat.
 The key idea here is not to find the perfect strategy straight away but to work
out whether a particular strategy is effective or not. Some strategies will work
better than others in certain circumstances. Therefore, it's the student's
responsibility to try out a wide variety of strategies and techniques in order to
discover which one works best in that particular situation. This is why
experimentation is so crucial for learning and development, as you never quite
know which strategy will be the one to get the best results.

Here are some coupled goals with potential strategies you can try:

GOAL STRATEGY

Start with a slow tempo

Play all of the notes at the correct pitch Sing the notes then play

Mark the dynamics in my part with

different colours
Make dynamic contrasts clearer Aim to stretch the difference between
piano and forte as much as possible

Play from bar X to bar Y without When I make a mistake,

stopping I have to keep going!

Start each phrase with a full

Improve my sound quality breath/use a full bow. Hear a beautiful
sound in my head before I start playing

Subdivide, particularly in bars X and Y

Improve rhythmic precision and tempo Practise with a metronome clicking on
stability every 2nd beat

Start each phrase softer and make the

Create more shaped, rounded phrases climax of phrases louder and more
intense
3-Step Planning Strategy - What are the ingredients?
Before attempting to PLAY your chosen section of music, it is essential
to figure out what ingredients make up the complete piece of music.
Just as if you were to bake a cake, it is important to know the
ingredients and method before you start. If you jump right into making
your cake without considering these then it will probably end up a
disaster!

To ensure that you can successfully navigate all of the ingredients in

your piece of music, you can use the following 3 planning steps:

1. IDENTIFY all of the technical and musical elements in the music

Here you are working out the recipe for your cake, and looking at the
various ingredients that make up the finished product. For your chosen
piece of music write down in your practice journal 3 to 5 key elements
that you will need to work on.

Some of the key elements might be:

Sound Flexibility
Tempo Endurance
Rhythmic patterns Range
Articulation Tone colour eg. vibrato
Dynamics Control
Phrasing Character
Intonation Emotion
Specific patterns Sequences etc.

You will probably find that some of these ingredients are more difficult
for you to execute, yet some are much easier. Therefore, going through
the music and IDENTIFYING the specific challenges will be extremely
valuable in making your practice as effective and efficient as possible.

2. ISOLATE 1 or 2 elements to work on at a time

The next step in baking your cake would be to take out all
of the required ingredients and put them individually on
the kitchen bench. In a musical sense, instead of trying to
tackle the complexities in a piece of music all at once, it is
crucial to separate the individual technical and musical
elements and work on them in a simplified way. This is to
pinpoint which ingredients are the most challenging and work on them until
they become more automatic. Then you won't need to consciously think about
the individual skills being performed, so you can divert your attention and focus
onto higher-level skills such as playing with musicality, character, and style.
Once the individual skills feel more comfortable, you can then move on to the
next step...

3. INCORPORATE the elements together layer upon

layer, one ingredient at a time
Now you can add each of the ingredients one by one,
slowly combining them all together until you have a
smooth batter. Here you are building up complexity in
the music by adding additional layers on top of the skills
that you have already established. If you started off
isolating the rhythm by clapping or tapping it, now you can add the notes that
go along with this. Then one by one add the articulations, dynamics, phrasing,
tone colour, emotional character etc.

But beware of adding too many layers all at once, as the challenging section
can easily become unstable and unplayable. Finding the right balance when
adding some layers can be tricky, so it might be a case of adding one particular
element whilst removing or simplifying another element (such as using a
slower tempo when adding each layer) to ensure it doesn't all fall apart.

3-STEP PLANNING STRATEGY

WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS?

IDENTIFY all of the technical and musical elements

ISOLATE 1 or 2 elements to work on at a time

INCORPORATE the elements together layer upon layer,

one ingredient at a time
 PLAY - GO FOR IT!
Now that you have a clear PLAN for what
you want to do, you can PLAY the isolated
PLAN section.

ACTION
This phase of the Self-Regulated Learning
model is where you apply the specific
skills or strategies that were selected
REVIEW PLAY during the PLAN phase and execute them
with strong intent. This is important in
finding out whether your chosen
strategies are effective or not, so you
know what you can repeat (or not repeat)
in the future.

ATTENTION
This section is all about having a keen awareness of what you are doing and
PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION to every note that you play. This part is considered
the most important because it is essential for accurate REVIEWING and
effective future PLANNING. Maintaining a high level of concentration and focus
can be challenging at first, but over time you will strengthen this important skill
and be able to REVIEW and problem-solve more effectively in the future.

REVIEW
Alongside planning, REVIEWING is another
critical part of any practice routine. PLAN
Consciously thinking about WHY you
produced the results that you did will help
to avoid the same mistakes in the future.

I use a simple 3-Step Review Strategy that

can form the basis of your reflection after REVIEW PLAY
playing anything – from a single note,
section, or whole piece, to a complete
program. Apply these steps and you’ll
immediately start problem-solving for
yourself and become your own teacher in
the process.
 3-Step Review Strategy
This strategy is based on a similar debrief process used by the U.S. Air Force and
enables them to have an extremely high rate of completed missions. It has also
been used in a Self-Regulated Learning study with significant improvements
shown in participant performance (see Cleary et al. 2006). This reflection
strategy requires you to ask the following 3 questions:

RESULT - WHAT result did you get?

Describe specifically what went well and what didn’t. General terms like “That
was good,” or “I stuffed that bit up” are not specific enough. Try to describe
exactly what happened:
“My sound in bar 21 was ringing and vibrant”
“I rushed the triplet in bar 5”
“I was sharp on the D in bar 20”

REASON - WHY did you get that result?

Come up with some possible causes for the outcome, good or bad. If you are
not sure, think about what a teacher or colleague might say to you if you played
the same way in a lesson or rehearsal.
“My sound was great in bar 21 because…”
“I rushed the triplet in bar 5 because…”
“I was sharp on the D in bar 20 because…”

Now you can make a PLAN on how you can improve and try it out.

RESPONSE - HOW can you get a better result next time?

Here you can experiment and come up with creative solutions to the
challenges that arise.
“I took a huge breath in bar 20, which helped me produce a great sound in
bar 21. I’ll make sure to do that again.”
“I’ll practise bar 5 with a metronome and make sure to subdivide so my
tempo stays steady.”
“First I’ll sing the pitches in bar 20, then play them on my instrument. I can
also use my tuner to make sure I know where I start going sharp in that bar.”

This simple 3-step process is a valuable tool in improving self-regulation for any
musician, at any level. It enables you to work independently and effectively,
decreasing reliance on external sources, and increasing self-reliance and
problem-solving skills. The ultimate goal is to become your own teacher when
you practise, as this indicates the highest level of self-regulation possible.
 3-STEP REVIEW STRATEGY AFTER PLAYING ANYTHING

RESULT - WHAT result did you get?

REASON - WHY did you get that result?

RESPONSE - HOW can you get a better result next time?

BECOME YOUR OWN TEACHER WHEN YOU PRACTISE!

Many students focus solely on PLAYING as much as possible in their practice.

Quite often the PLAN and REVIEW parts of the Self-Regulated Learning model
are neglected, and diagnosing problems accurately becomes a game of chance.
A high number of repetitions are churned out with the hope that progress will
be made, however, this method of practising is quite ineffective.

Whilst you will make some progress doing this, it will be significantly slower
and less consistent than if you incorporate conscious PLANNING and
REVIEWING as a part of your practice. But this means you'll have to play LESS
and think MORE when you practise.
 www.PerformanceUP.com.au

Self-Regulated Learning Guide

(based on the research of Dr Barry Zimmerman and colleagues)

PLAN

REVIEW PLAY

PLAN PLAY
Set a specific GOAL and a STRATEGY the isolated section:
to achieve that goal ACTION
GOAL Execute specific skills, methods, or
Set immediate, short, medium, and strategies as PLANNED
long term goals
ATTENTION
STRATEGY Remember that you will have to
IDENTIFY all the technical and musical REVIEW what you PLAY, so be AWARE
elements in the music of what you are doing!
ISOLATE 1-2 elements to work on at a Consciously thinking when playing
time can be difficult, but this helps to
INCORPORATE the elements together, accurately problem solve in the future
layer upon layer

REVIEW
what you've just played by asking these 3 questions:
RESULT
WHAT result did you get?
REASON
WHY did you get that result?
RESPONSE
HOW can you get a better result next time?
Become your own teacher when you practise!
"Result, Reason, Response" is from Kerwin Rae's The Ultimate Debriefing Process (2017): https://youtu.be/4IcRJugiUcY
 www.PerformanceUP.com.au
Performance Under Pressure empowers musicians to take charge of
their musical journey by developing essential preparation, practice
and performance skills in a fun and engaging way.

I believe that all musicians need to have access to the latest research
and strategies for achieving peak learning and performance.
Because if they do, they will naturally achieve amazing results
and reach their full potential in any area of life.

This is why Performance Under Pressure's Signature System is so

valuable, as it provides clear and effective evidence-based
techniques to improve skill levels, grow self-confidence and develop
certainty for performance.

The PUP Signature System

Motivation

Mindset Planning
PREPARE

Music
3 Pillars FOCUS ENERGY
Performance
CLARITY Anxiety
CERTAINTY
CONFIDENCE

PRACTICE PERFORM
INTENT

Effective Mental
Practice Skills

Learning How Performance

To Learn Practice
 The PUP Signature System
Performance Under Pressure's Signature System covers all aspects of learning
and performance, by using the latest research and techniques from the
following areas:

PREPARE
Mindset - Growth Mindset
Motivation - Self-Determination Theory, Expectancy Theory, Self-Efficacy Theory
Planning - Goal Setting Theory, Practice Planning, Prioritisation, Habit Building
and Overall Organisation

PRACTICE
3 Pillars of Music Practice - Technical, Musical, Mental
Effective Practice - Deliberate Practice and Self-Regulated Learning
Learning How To Learn - Cognitive Science, Desirable Difficulties

PERFORM
Music Performance Anxiety - What happens, why it happens, and how to
overcome performance nerves and anxiety
Mental Skills - Acceptance and Commitment Coaching, Sports Psychology
Performance Practice - Cognitive Science and Guided Exposure Therapy

All of these areas help strengthen students' FOCUS of Attention, develop a clear
musical INTENT, and direct the right amount of ENERGY into the task at hand.
Students are then able to execute their performances with CLARITY,
CERTAINTY, and CONFIDENCE!

For more information please visit www.PerformanceUP.com.au

or email Mark at Mark@PerformanceUP.com.au

Mark Bain
Tutti Trumpet
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

Founder & Director

Performance Under Pressure

Board Member
Tasmanian Youth Orchestra

Trumpet Tutor
University of Tasmania Conservatorium of Music

www.PerformanceUP.com.au
 www.PerformanceUP.com.au

Mark@PerformanceUP.com.au

0416 730 745

@PerformanceUP.com.au

Online or face-to-face lessons, presentations, online

courses, and performance coaching are available

All the best and good luck!

Mark Bain
Copyright 2024

For a full list of references from this booklet please go to:

https://www.performanceup.com.au/effective-music-practice-references