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ERIC Number: EJ1356962
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1461-3808
EISSN: EISSN-1469-9893
Available Date: N/A
An Exploration of the Practice Habits and Experiences of Professional Musicians
Vellacott, Christine; Ballantyne, Julie
Music Education Research, v24 n3 p312-326 2022
Practice occupies an essential and significant place in every musician's life, yet the practice habits of highly experienced, professional musicians, remain under-researched. As such, this study sought to contribute to the emerging body of knowledge into professional musicians' practice. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with six such musicians, and through the qualitative content analysis of the resulting transcripts, and an evaluation of the findings in relation to current literature, insights into professional musicians' practice time, practice strategies, and motivation were uncovered. The analysis of participant transcripts revealed that, due to greater work and family responsibilities, as well as greater efficiency, the participants spend significantly less time practicing now as professional musicians than they did as university students. The practice strategies reported by participants to be the most helpful in their practice were listening to recordings, slow practice, and employing a mindset of focus and self-awareness. The analysis also revealed that each participant reported intrinsic motivation towards practicing, and used the strategies of taking breaks, and simply picking up their instruments, to increase their motivation. The findings from this study are useful to those who might seek to one day be a professional musician, as well as to professional musicians who might find it interesting to know how their own practice habits align with those of other professional musicians.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A