Learning How to Practice Takes Practice

Authors

Micah Killion, Montclair State UniversityFollow
Robert Duke, The University of Texas

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-16-2025

Journal / Book Title

Music Educators Journal

Abstract

Effective music learning depends on effective music practice. Although time spent with teachers is an important component of young musicians’ development, time spent alone practicing is perhaps even more consequential. Researchers and teachers have offered many prescriptions about effective music practice, yet observations of young musicians’ actual practice reveal that their behavior in the practice room is often quite unlike what teachers envision. The most important aspects of effective practice are the thinking, perceiving, and decision-making that serve to organize how musicians spend their time. We discuss how to help students focus their attention in ways that lead to the successful accomplishment of musical goals.

DOI

10.1177/00274321251377454

MSU Digital Commons Citation

Killion, Micah and Duke, Robert, "Learning How to Practice Takes Practice" (2025). John J. Cali School of Music Scholarship and Creative Works. 49.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/cali-facpubs/49

Rights

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Published Citation

Killion, M., & Duke, R. (2025). Learning How to Practice Takes Practice. Music Educators Journal, 112(2), 26-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/00274321251377454 (Original work published 2025)