Metacognition in Teaching Music Performance, Part 9: MetaPractice

“I often wish I could see my students every day, the way public school teachers do. But, this is a practical world, so we have to find ways to follow through at home, to be with them in every practice period, even without being there personally.” Louise Goss Most students […]

Metacognition in Teaching Music Performance, Part 8: The 1-to-3 Rule

As mentioned in article #6, it’s difficult to generalize about specific problems that arise from acquisition goals. But the biggest acquisition goals of them all, such as “begin learning new piece” or “continue learning piece,” are quite a different story. While these goals may sound too general to be worthy […]

Metacognition in Teaching Music Performance, Part 7: Independence vs. Modeling

“A man cannot search either for what he knows or for what he does not know. He cannot search for what he knows: since he knows it, there is no need to search; nor can he search for what he does not know, for he does not know what to […]

Metacognition in Teaching Music Performance, Part 6: Reflection

So far, this series of articles have described how to give students and parents clear and accurate feedback each week, as well as ways to organize and understand goals to more effectively assign and practice them. This article will examine how reflection on practicing can be used as an opportunity […]

Metacognition in Teaching Music Performance, Part 5: Goal Interactions

While this is part 5 in the series, it also acts as a second part continuing the previous article (Goal Types), aiming to develop a generalized, robust framework for understanding goals. This both empowers students to more effectively strategize when practicing goals, and empowers teachers in writing them down. This […]

Metacognition in Teaching Music Performance, Part 4: Goal Types

“We classify things for the purpose of doing something to them. Any classification which does not assist manipulation is worse than useless.” Randolph Bourne In the quest to help students practice more effectively through the use of metacognitive skill, we must empower students to select and implement various practicing strategies […]

Metacognition in Teaching Music Performance, Part 3: PIT Practicing

“For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.” Benjamin Franklin Those who practice effectively utilize strategy (planning) when practicing. Some do it naturally and may not even realize there is strategy in their routine, while others might do it deliberately in one way or another. Regardless of how […]

Metacognition in Teaching Music Performance, Part 2: Quantifying Practice Quality

“Problem-solving skills mean little if a person is not motivated to use them.” Zimmerman & Campillo (2003) When I moved across the United States in 2012, I went from a studio of 45 intermediate and advanced students to zero students. As I waited for my first students to trickle in, […]

Metacognition in Teaching Music Performance, Part 1: Defining The Problem

“I am absolutely convinced that there is, overall, far too little rather than enough or too much cognitive monitoring in this world. This is true for adults as well as for children, but it is especially true for children.” Flavell, 1979 This nine-part series of articles is the result of […]

The Art of Rubato: The Musical Expression of Tempo

I have completed and released a 6-hour online video course teaching in great detail how rubato works! It is called The Art of Rubato: The Musical Expression of Tempo. The price is now $19.99 (when the course first premiered, the price was $39.99). Rubato, in my own words, is the […]