Process Over Product:
The Importance of Teaching "How to Practice", not "What to Practice" Dr. Joseph Montelione
Educators struggle each day with balancing the need to produce results with finding the time to dive deeper into the intricacies of learning how to play an instrument. To help bridge the gap, educators expect students to go home each day and practice. But what is practicing and how effective is it? Why is an educator asking a student to practice? – to help speed up the learning and execution of their band music?...to memorize scales for the sake of assessments?...why? With enough time, anyone can learn a musical instrument—but how well? The question is can I instill a thirst of learning to grow in my student’s mind? The answer is yes! But how? In my studio, I make sure to teach my students how to practice before I can expect them to know what practice. Getting students to practice is a challenge because most do not know how to practice. Just because students have been playing their instrument for a couple of years, doesn’t mean that they know how to practice. Students may get a result, but how well does the information stick? For example, a young principal trumpet player struggles with playing the last note of the first movement of Holst’s First Suite for Band—a c above the staff. So, the student goes home and tries to play that note repeatedly until he can produce the note. However, repeating something ad nauseum and potentially getting that note once or twice does not mean it will translate into the student being able to play that same note consistently, accurately, in tune, with a good sound, and nuance. I have found that the best students are always thinking about ways to improve how they play. Imagine an ensemble of all “best players”. Believe it or not, you can have this! A good strategy to convert all of your players to become the “best” player is to instill in them the concept that the value of learning music is not about any one particular note (product) but the training of the mind to think musically (process). This is accomplished by teaching students how to practice. So how does an educator teach students how to practice and focus more on the process of learning? There are a myriad of practice tips and strategies available, but many of them center around “what” to play. “What” to practice is a vital component to the learning process, however too much emphasis TEMPO
on the “what” will only yield short-term results. Paying closer attention to “how” they practice the “what” will yield a longterm sustainable outcome. So, how do the best musicians improve the quality of their performances and train their minds to think musically? Teaching students how to practice involves helping them understanding how to manage two different kinds of thought. For most, practicing for students involves figuring out some sort of concept or musical passage. What happens when students cannot figure something out? Most become frustrated and put their instrument away, become frustrated and choose not to practice, or worse become frustrated and possibly quit forever. When learning to play a musical instrument or a passage of music, challenges can be a daily occurrence. I typically begin by explaining to students that when they practice, they will use two different types of thought—what I like to call Attached and Detached. If a student can maneuver between both types of thought processes, then there is hope that a student practicing can avoid frustration as a daily occurrence. Attached Thought What I like to call attached thought is a thought process where most students think they can be the most effective. Attached thoughts involve an alert state that centers on the most important information blocking out all distractions. This can be a highly effective way to problem solve. However, this thought process can also become a problem in itself. I have found that my students become too attached to whatever they are trying to fix, that they themselves become the roadblock to the solution. Detached Thought Enter detached thought processes! A detached thought process is a state of repose. This mental rest isn’t a shutting off of the thought valve per se, it is more of allowing the mind to be open to a broader perspective. A detached state can and most often happens while engaging in other activity, such as a long walk or even as simple as standing up, stretching or walking out of the room. Detached thought creates an envi52
JANUARY 2021
