🎼 How to Use Deliberate Practice for Music

When it comes to music, homework, therapy, or any skill, just doing something repeatedly isn’t enough. Research calls this “shallow practice.” What really creates real improvement is what researchers call deliberate practice—practice that’s structured, effortful, feedback‑driven, and aimed at improvement.

First, I’ll highlight three studies on deliberate practice, then I’ll suggest 5 simple steps to implement more deliberate practice in your home or music studio.

🎻 Research Highlights on Deliberate Practice

1. Childhood Habits Matter

• Specifically, early, focused, and intentional effort set child prodigies apart from their peers.

2. Children as young as 5 can understand effective practice.

• And children as young as 6-7 are capable of implementing deliberate practice on their own!

3. More than any other factor, deliberate practice accounts for musical skill.

• Early and focused attention sets more skilled musicians apart from others.

4. It’s About Quality, Not Just Hours

• Mindless repetition doesn’t lead to growth. Instead, results came from deliberate, thoughtful practice with feedback and correction.

(See sources to these 4 studies at the end of this post)

So yes—the science backs it: it’s not just how much you do, it’s how you do it, and how you support it.

Here are five key steps your family can use to instill deliberate practice—and yes, parents and adult musicians play a key part too.

1. Define a Clear, Specific Goal

Instead of: “Practice your piece,” try: “I will play bars 12–15 at 60 bpm with no mistakes.”

🎯Try it: At the start of each practice session, ask: What exactly am I improving today?
When kids and adults set a specific target, practice becomes purposeful—not just routine.

2. Focus with Intention and Remove Distractions

Research shows experts perform better when concentration is strong and distractions are few.

🎯Try it: Create a “focus zone” during practice. Phone off. Timer for 10 minutes. Parent or teacher monitoring quietly.

When your child knows “this segment is for improvement,” their brain engages differently than during a casual run‑through.

3. Get Feedback + Reflect

Deliberate practice requires more information: what worked, what didn’t, how to change it. 

🎯Try it: After each short burst of practice, ask: What improved? What still needs work? Use a recording or teacher check.

Adult Modeling: You—not just the child—should talk about how they practiced, not just that they did.

4. Use Varied Repetition, But Stretch the Challenge

Repeating the same exact task doesn’t help you improve much. What matters is variation, increasing difficulty, and keeping just outside comfort zones

🎯Try it: If your child plays the same section, now try slower, then faster; or try starting from bar 15 then back to 12; or focus on just rhythm or dynamics.

Adult Modeling: apply the same to your own instrument or learning goal. Show your child you’re doing this too.

5. Reflect, Celebrate, Then Reset

Improvement doesn’t always mean perfect. The key is noticing progress and using it to fuel the next steps

🎯Try it: End each session asking: “What did I do better than last time?” Then write or say a mini‑celebration—“I played two fewer mistakes” or “I stayed focused the whole 10 minutes.”

Adult modeling: Share your small improvement too. “I struggled with this fingering passage, so I slowed it down and recorded it.” When your child sees you practicing with purpose, they learn that growth isn’t casual—it’s intentional.

✅ Final Takeaway

Deliberate practice is structured, targeted, feedback‑driven effort. Scientific research shows children can engage purposefully at a young age and adults benefit when they apply the same discipline.

For music families, studios and teachers: make each session count, model it for your child, and watch focus, independence, and progress grow.

 

Need help?

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Research Studies Highlighted

1. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.566373/full?utm

2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29063600/

3. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614535810

4. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610373933