The strategic young musician: Practice strategies based on scientific research made simple for young musicians! By Mathieu Boucher

A music performance can last only a couple of minutes, but these minutes are but a small fraction of the time that was devoted to prepare it. Research tells us that young musicians usually practice in a messy and unstructured way but that this problem would originate in a lack of knowledge on how to practice rather than a lack of motivation to play the instrument. This poster was designed to remind young musicians of the most effective strategies to use during practice. Presented in a colorful look with a simple vocabulary, the suggested strategies are based on the latest scientific research in the field of music performance. With this product displayed at home in sight of the young musician where he or she is practicing, teachers can stop (or at least diminish…) repeating these good practice advices during the weekly lessons and the parents (even the non-musicians) can suggest practice strategies to their child, thus fully playing their « assistant-teacher’s » role at home. By working efficiently, young musicians can hope for satisfying results and be able to reach their full potential, with the motivation to persevere as a logical consequence. Mathieu Boucher, lecturer at Laval University’s Music Faculty (Faculté de musique de l’Université Laval) and student/researcher member at the Ear-Training and Instrumental Pedagogy Research Lab (Laboratoire de recherche en formation auditive et didactique instrumentale).  

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