PROBLEM STATEMENT

The age-old adage of practise makes perfect can be applied to many things in our lives. From
daily activities such as driving, doing the laundry and cooking are an example of things of which a
repeated action of it would tremendously help in perfecting a given task or skill. Not only that,
specialists such as athletes, actors, race car drivers and all manner of sportsmen need constant and
prolonged practise to correctly hone their skills to their fullest potential. This is also true for the
common, everyday musician.
In todays music scene, we can find all sorts of musicians of varying degrees of musicality and
musicianship. From guitarists who play only power chords to those that can play at a million notes
an hour, and bassists who play only root notes to immensely complicated walking basslines, we find
musicians whose practise regimes vary from up to 10 hours a day to hardly nothing at all. The better
musicians might not necessarily practise very much, and those that practise religiously might not be
up to par with their peers. These are factors in which we are trying to determine how the role of
practise plays a part in the development of a musician.
PURPOSE OF RESEARCH PROJECT
The purpose of this research project is to find out in what aspects, if any, does the role of practise
play in the development of a musician over an extended period of time. We will look at several
factors such as the different ages that musicians began playing their primary instrument, what sort
of formal musical training they might have had (if any), what their different practise regimes consist
of, and several other factors that may or may not influence the musicality of a given musician.
With the studies and questions conducted to a wide array of musicians in the above fields and many
more, the purpose is to accurately determine whether practising an instrument plays an absolute
detrimental role in the development of an aspiring musician, especially those who are heavily
immersed in a performance background. In a performance context, musicians are expected to play a
given piece flawlessly, as well as improvise on the spot in certain sections of a song, particularly in
a jazz or rock ensemble. As with any task that needs to be done over and over again, repeated and
constant practise is important to help a performing musician develop the necessary skills required to
pull of a face-melting show that would accurately showcase a musicians or a complete ensembles
talents.
Not only that, the results that will be garnered from all the research and studies conducted may not
only be able to answer the hypothesis or thesis statement given, but also may help future buddying
musicians to improve their practise habits and skills, therefore helping them realise their talents to
the maximum capacity.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In trying to accurately determine the role of practise in the development of a performing musician,
we must first identify the various variable factors that may or may not determine practise routines
and their outcome. Due to these numerous factors, I have compiled a few questions that would help
to unbiasedly and correctly identify these differences and come out with scientifically based
research results:
1. Does prolonged practise help develop better musical skills compared to lesser or no practise?
2. What are the effects of repeated musical practise on other short term human skills?
3. What are the different ways of developing good musical practise methods, in accordance to the
test subjects?
4. Does parental enforcement of a practise routine or regime affect musical outcome?
5. Are there long term effects of music practise on mental abilities?
These questions were chosen because they encompass almost, if not all, aspects that may or may
not determine whether practise plays a role in the development of a performing musician. These
questions may or may not be answered in a holistic scale, but they will definitely be able to in a way
show the average layman whether or not practise has any affect on playing outcome.
IMPORTANCE OF STUDY
The importance of this particular study is to not only help future and aspiring musicians accurately
determine the amount of practise they might need to hone their skills, but also musicians who are
already in the industry to maybe improve their playing as well as their performance skills. Most
musicians do not realise that being able to play well in their own bedroom does not necessarily
mean they can play well in a live setting. With the findings that we may procure from these studies,
it may help create and map out a proper rehearsal or practise routine for musicians of various
playing skills and styles.
Apart from that, this study is also important to determine what would be too much practise, as well
as what would be not enough. Certain musicians with different musical backgrounds may need
lesser practise time than others, whereas some may require long hours to achieve similar results as
their better-off contemporaries. This, in the future, may help shape music lessons catered more
towards individuals of different musical strengths, instead of relying on the student themselves to
bring themselves up to par with already written lessons and examinations. This may help them
develop according to their own pace, which would be better for a beginner or amateur musician.
Ultimately, the main beneficiaries of this study would be other musicians in the future, who would
have scientifically backed studies to help them better their practise techniques and routine. As a
performing musician, I myself may find these studies and research helpful, as one can never have
too much practise or over-prepare.
LITERATURE REVIEW
HISTORICAL AND CURRENT STUDIES
The Effects of Prolonged Practise on Musicians
A lot of people have known that there is an obvious correlation between the amount of practise done
by a musician and their playing abilities. According to a study by Sloboda, Davidson, Howe and
Moore (1996), a research conducted on 257 instrumentalists between the ages of 8 to 18 whom
played at different skill levels, found that some students pulled of a high grade with little to no
practise, whereas other participants needed up to four times the average practise time to achieve a
given or similar grade. Another study by Gary McPherson (2005) consisted of 157 children between
the ages of 7 and 9 over a span of three years. The number of hours that the children put into their
practise came up to between 9% to 32% in according to scores on rehearsed pieces. However, these
hours of practise showed no conclusive effect on other music tasks such as playing by ear, playing
from memory or even sight-reading.
Many people believe that the sole reason for musical development in a performing musician would
be prolonged hours of practise over an extended period of time. This may or may not be true,
considering that the subjective area of natural talent may or may not play a role in a musicians
skill set. The study of early development of musical education amongst children in accordance to
their other skills, such as academics and motor skills, has not been extensively covered enough by
other researchers, save for a few. The development of a childs ability to develop strategies and the
development of their metacognition may lead in us better understanding how children develop these
important skill sets that they may require in their future learning. In the study conducted by
McPherson (2005) as mentioned above, he sought to find an answer to these questions over a long
period of three years