For music teachers, I think it’s safe to say that repetition plays a huge role in how we guide our students’ practicing. Week after week and year after year, we encourage students to use repetitious practice as the secure route for achieving automaticity and fluency in their musical development and performances. What’s fascinating about repetition is how neuroscience researchers agree that everyone needs a certain amount of isolated repetition to become familiar with any new skill or material. That’s a basic. But neuroscience researchers also point out there’s a problem with repetition that may not be obvious at first glance.
The Problem with Repetition - The problem is that repetition creates a powerful illusion of success as skills improve quickly and then subsequently plateau. It’s the classic result that things do get better - followed by not really any progress or positive development. As an alternative to isolated repetition of a single task, neuroscientists suggest “varied practice” as the most effective tool to assist students in achieving musical mastery. Neuroscientists emphasize that when students’ practicing involves varied practice, they strengthen their practicing/learning in ways that straight out repetition cannot accomplish. Why is this so?
Firstly on a cognitive level, because varied practice makes demands on different parts of the brain. So students’ proficiency ends up stronger and more reliable because it’s spread over different areas of the brain. Secondly on a physical level, because varied practicing develops a broader understanding of different conditions and the movements required to succeed in them. As a result, students develop more flexible and reliable cognitive and physical competencies that, in the end, provide them with the ability to transfer learning from their home practicing and apply it successfully during lessons and public performances.
In my own studio, I incorporate the strategy of “varied practice” by helping students to explore an endless stream of what I call “challenges”. That means instead of asking students how they will “vary” their practice this week, I typically use the phrase “What challenges do you want to use?” And over the weeks, months, and years of their lessons, we put together an entire array of varied practice strategies. (You can see what that looks like on pages 185 to 188 of my More Than Music Lessons book. So be sure to take a look for a quick reminder.)
What does Varied Practice Look Like? Here are a few categories of the challenges that I use in my studio: tone challenges, visual challenges, tempo challenges, accuracy challenges, physical challenges, interpretive challenges, beat/rhythm challenges, creativity/imagination challenges, teacher's favourite way, student's favourite way, composer's way challenges, opposite challenges, exaggeration challenges. And more...
Challenges work especially well when we make sure they're age and level appropriate. After all, challenges for a beginner may not resonate with an advanced student. Similarly challenges that worked for my student Nathan at 7 years of age may not be all that interesting for him as a teenager. And there's a goldilocks level of challenges. Challenges can’t be so easy that students will think they’re a waste of time and challenges can’t be so hard that students have little possibility of successful completion. Challenges may be applied to an entire piece, to specific bars within a piece, and activities outside the repertoire. They may extend over long periods of time and short-term processes. And I always want to keep in mind that challenges may instil inspiration and dedication one day, and not the next.
Beyond Repetition - I appreciate how the challenges of varied practice invite students to think, adapt, and stay curious rather than simply repeat what already feels comfortable. When music teachers frame practicing as a series of meaningful challenges, we help students move beyond the illusion of progress and toward learning that is durable, transferable, and alive. And that feels like something we can all support.
How often do you include “varied practice” in your studio? How could you be more intentional about this strategy?
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