Thanks for checking out my booklet on Effective Music Practice! I hope you’ve gained a few extra insights on how you can improve your practice for the future.

For those of you wanting to dive a bit deeper into the research, here’s a list of the references I’ve used in creating this booklet. However, this is just scratching the surface of really mastering your practice routine. If you would like to learn more about how to get the most out of your practice using the most up-to-date methods in performance psychology and cognitive science, then send me an email and we can explore the research even more!

Email Mark@PerformanceUP.com.au and I’ll be in touch.

Happy practising!

Cheers, Mark

EFFective Music Practice References

Books

Brown, P. (2014). Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

Colvin, G. (2008). Talent is Overrated

Coyle, D. (2012). The Little Book of Talent

Coyle, D. (2009). The Talent Code

Ericsson, A. & Pool, R. (2016). Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise

Griffin, M. (2013). Learning Strategies for Musical Success, 2nd Edition

Griffin, M. (2019). Metacognition, Improving Teaching and Learning

Syed, M. (2010). Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice

Online resources

Bosler, A, and Greene, D. (2017) TED-Ed. How to practice effectively…for just about anything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2O6mQkFiiw

Bjork, R., & Bjork, E. (n.d.). Bjork Learning and Forgetting Lab. https://bjorklab.psych.ucla.edu/research/

Bjork, R (2016), How We Learn Versus How We Think We Learn. University of California Television, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxZzoVp5jmI

Clear, J. Avoid the Second Mistake. https://jamesclear.com/second-mistake

Haaheim, J. (2020) Deliberate Practice Bootcamp. https://jasonhaaheim.com/

Happier Human. Goal Setting Research. https://www.happierhuman.com/goal-setting-research/

Happier Human. Goal Setting Theory. https://www.happierhuman.com/goal-setting-theory/

Kageyama, N. (2017). Beyond Practicing, Version 2.5, online course

Kageyama, N. (2020). Beyond Practicing, Version 3.0, online course

Kageyama, N. (2020). Performance Psychology Essentials for Educators, online course

Mole, G. (2020). Condor Performance. Goal Setting – Done Right. https://condorperformance.com/goal-setting/

Rae, K. (2017). The Ultimate Debriefing Process. (Result, Reason, Response) https://youtu.be/4IcRJugiUcY

Shen, J. (2013). Buffer. Why Practice Actually Makes Perfect: How to Rewire Your Brain for Better Performance. https://buffer.com/resources/why-practice-actually-makes-perfect-how-to-rewire-your-brain-for-better-performance/

Research papers

Cleary, T. J., Zimmerman, B. J., & Keating, T. (2006). Training physical education students to self-regulate during basketball free throw practice. Research Quarterly for Exercise and sport, 77(2), 251-262.

Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological review, 100(3), 363.

Locke, E., & Latham, G. (2015). Goal-setting theory. Organizational behavior, 1, 159-183.

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2019). The development of goal setting theory: A half century retrospective. Motivation Science, 5(2), 93.

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American psychologist, 57(9), 705.

Ludovico, L. A., & Mangione, G. R. (2014). Self-Regulation Competence in Music Education. International Association for the Development of the Information Society.

McPherson, G. E. (2005). From child to musician: skill development during the beginning stages of learning an instrument. Psychology of Music, 33(1), 5–35.

McPherson, G. E. (2022). Self-regulated learning music microanalysis. In The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance, Volume 1.

McPherson, G. E., Miksza, P., & Evans, P. (2018). Self-regulated learning in music practice and performance. In D. H. Schunk & J. A. Greene (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation of learning and performance (pp. 181–193)

McPherson, G. E., Nielsen, S. G., & Renwick, J. M. (2013). Self-regulation interventions and the development of music expertise. In H. Bembenutty, T. J. Cleary, & A. Kitsantas (Eds.), Applications of self-regulated learning across diverse disciplines: A tribute to Barry J. Zimmerman (pp. 355–382)

McPherson, G. E., Osborne, M. S., Evans, P., & Miksza, P. (2019). Applying self-regulated learning microanalysis to study musicians’ practice. Psychology of Music, 47(1), 18-32.

McPherson, G. E., & Renwick, J. M. (2011). Self-regulation and mastery of musical skills. In B. J. Zimmerman & D. H. Schunk (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation of learning and performance, 234–248.

McPherson, G. E., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2011). Self-regulation of musical learning: A social cognitive perspective on developing performance skills. In MENC handbook of research on music learning. Oxford University Press.

Mornell, A., Osborne, M., McPherson, G. (2020) Evaluating practice strategies, behavior and learning progress in elite performers: An exploratory study. Musicae Scientiae, Vol. 24(1) 130–135.

Zarza-Alzugaray FJ, Casanova O, McPherson GE and Orejudo S (2020) Music Self-Efficacy for Performance: An Explanatory Model Based on Social Support. Frontiers in Psychology, 11:1249.

Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. Theory into practice, 41(2), 64-70.

Zimmerman, B. J., & Campillo, M. (2003). Motivating self-regulated problem solvers. The psychology of problem solving, 233262.

Zimmerman, B. J., & Moylan, A. R. (2009). Self-regulation: Where metacognition and motivation intersect. In Handbook of metacognition in education (pp. 311-328). Routledge

Useful websites

https://bulletproofmusician.com/ - The Bulletproof Musician by Dr. Noa Kageyama

https://jasonhaaheim.com/ - Principal Timpanist in the MET Orchestra, and Deliberate Practice expert

https://thelearnerlab.com/ - Trevor Ragan unpacks the science of how to get better at getting better

https://www.musiciansway.com/ - Musician's Way by Gerald Klickstein

https://jamesclear.com/ - Best selling writer James Clear on ways to improve your habits

https://mollygebrian.com/music-and-the-brain/ - Neuroscientist and Viola Professor, Dr. Molly Gebrian

https://www.retrievalpractice.org/ - Unleash the Science of Learning