Date of Graduation
Spring 2021
Degree
Master of Music
Department
Music
Committee Chair
Daniel Hellman
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to observe and compare the differences in practice behaviors among middle school band students who are presented with etudes of varying stylistic, technical, or expressive qualities. Existing literature has covered practice methodology extensively, but this study was intended to help understand how students vary strategies when presented with different musical challenges. Participants were individually observed in a pre-test, practice period, and post-test for each of two musical examples to examine the strategies used and improvement from pre-test to post-test. Results showed that participants who varied their strategy-use in lyrical and technical etudes increased performance achievement from pre-test to post-test more than those who did not, suggesting that musical context is an important component for effective practice. Implications arising from the study include the teaching of explicit practice strategies, error detection, and musical context during regular ensemble rehearsal time as strategies for improving the effectiveness of individual practice time.
Keywords
practice, strategy, improvement, content, musical context
Subject Categories
Music Education | Music Practice
Copyright
© Molly N. Batchelor
Recommended Citation
Batchelor, Molly N., "Effects of Musical Content on Student Practice Judgments, Decisions, and Improvement" (2021). MSU Graduate Theses. 3615.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3615
