The influence of deliberate practice on musical achievement: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Deliberate practice (DP) is a task-specific structured training activity that plays a key role in understanding skill acquisition and explaining individual differences in expert performance. Relevant activities that qualify as DP have to be identified in every domain. For example, for training in classical music, solitary practice is a typical training activity during skill acquisition. To date, no meta-analysis on the quantifiable effect size of deliberate practice on attained performance in music has been conducted. Yet the identification of a quantifiable effect size could be relevant for the current discussion on the role of various factors on individual difference in musical achievement. Furthermore, a research synthesis might enable new computational approaches to musical development. Here we present the first meta-analysis on the role of deliberate practice in the domain of musical performance. A final sample size of 13 studies (total N = 788) was carefully extracted to satisfy the following criteria: reported durations of task-specific accumulated practice as predictor variables and objectively assessed musical achievement as the target variable. We identified an aggregated effect size of rc = 0.61; 95% CI [0.54, 0.67] for the relationship between task-relevant practice (which by definition includes DP) and musical achievement. Our results corroborate the central role of long-term (deliberate) practice for explaining expert performance in music.

Toward a multifactorial model of expertise: beyond born versus made

“…Average percentage of interindividual variability in musical expertise explained by deliberate practice in three meta‐analyses: (A) Hambrick et al ., (B) Platz et al ., and (C) Macnamara et al . Percentage values are rounded to nearest whole number.…”

Music of the night: Performance practitioner considerations for enhancement work in music.

“…Instead, a musician is expected to "be talented", absorb information regarding technique and 11 musicality during music lessons and autonomously engage in unsupervised practice (Evans, Only total duration estimates exist, which have included suboptimal practice behaviors rather 13 than actual duration of qualitative activities linked to deliberate practice (Platz et al, 2014). 14 Thus, existing positive correlations between practice quantity and performance outcome are 15 questionable.…”

The Role of Design and Training in Artifact Expertise: The Case of the Abacus and Visual Attention

“…In particular, evidence that the development of abacus expertise may in part be facilitated by abacus design provides a concrete example of how developing expertise with a particular tool may not solely depend on pre-existing individual differences (e.g., Gobet & Ereku, 2007;Smith et al, 1993), or extensive practice that transforms cognitive and perceptual abilities (Charness et al, 1996;Chase & Simon, 1973;Chi et al, 1982Chi et al, , 1988Ericsson & Lehmann, 1996;Ericsson et al, 1993;Gauthier et al, 2000;Platz et al, 2014;Starkes et al, 1996), but also on the degree to which that tool has been designed to fit the pre-existing perceptual and cognitive abilities of novices. In particular, evidence that the development of abacus expertise may in part be facilitated by abacus design provides a concrete example of how developing expertise with a particular tool may not solely depend on pre-existing individual differences (e.g., Gobet & Ereku, 2007;Smith et al, 1993), or extensive practice that transforms cognitive and perceptual abilities (Charness et al, 1996;Chase & Simon, 1973;Chi et al, 1982Chi et al, , 1988Ericsson & Lehmann, 1996;Ericsson et al, 1993;Gauthier et al, 2000;Platz et al, 2014;Starkes et al, 1996), but also on the degree to which that tool has been designed to fit the pre-existing perceptual and cognitive abilities of novices.…”

“…For example, auto mechanics are experts at using specialized tools like car jacks and fender rollers, and neuroscientists are experts at using magnetic resonance imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Previous studies have explored how attaining expertise might depend on pre-existing individual differences (e.g., Gobet & Ereku, 2007;Smith, Tsimpli, & Ouhalla, 1993), but also on how it can be developed through extensive, deliberate practice (Charness, Krampe, & Mayr, 1996;Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-R€ omer, 1993;Ericsson & Lehmann, 1996;Platz, Kopiez, Lehmann, & Wolf, 2014;Starkes, Deakin, Allard, Hodges, & Hayes, 1996), and how such practice transforms the cognitive and perceptual representations and processes that give rise to expertise (e.g., Chase & Simon, 1973;Chi, Glaser, & Farr, 1988;Chi, Glaser, & Rees, 1982;Ericsson & Lehmann, 1996;Gauthier, Skudlarski, Gore, & Anderson, 2000). However, the likelihood of developing expertise with a particular tool may also depend on the degree to which that tool has been designed to fit the pre-existing perceptual and cognitive abilities of novices.…”