Ages 12-14

9
8

Number of People

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

5.5

Estimated Hours Per Day

Figure 2: The graph above shows the practice hours of the thirty-six
percussionists interviewed between the ages of 12-14.

While most of the percussionists interviewed practiced between zero and three hours per
day, at this stage of their early lives, Paul Rennick is the obvious outlier at six hours per
day. The average practice time for the thirty-six percussionists interviewed between the
ages of twelve and fourteen was 1.6 hours of practice per day.

21

Ages 15-18
10
9
8

Number of People

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

5.5

6.5

7.5

Estimated Hours Per Day

Figure 3: The graph above shows the practice hours of the thirty-six
percussionists interviewed between the ages of 15-18.

The outliers in the group include Paul Rennick, Gary Cook, and Joakim Anterot, who
practiced an average of six, seven, and seven hours per day respectively. The average of
the thirty-six percussionists interviewed during this age, fifteen to eighteen, was 2.3 hours
of practice per day.

22

Ages 19-22
8
7

Number of People

6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Estimated Hours Per Day

Figure 4: The graph above shows the practice hours of the thirty-six
percussionists interviewed between the ages of 19-22.

The average daily practice time of the thirty-six percussionists interviewed was 4.8 hours
per day at this age, nineteen to twenty-two. According to Ericsson, Levitin, and Gladwell,
the thirty-six successful percussionists interviewed should have reached a total of
10,000 by around the age of twenty. To find the average sum of the percussionists
interviewed, a few things must be assumed. As previously mentioned, the percussionists
interviewed were not asked how many hours per day they practiced during the first three
years of study because according Ericsson, during this time, everyone practiced roughly

23

Figure 19: Survey Learning New Music

A. General Overview of Piece
Are you good at sight-reading?
Do you typically play very advanced keyboard repertoire?
Are you a weak at sight-reading
Are you a big picture type of person?
Do you have a background on the piano?
Do you routinely learn pieces incorrectly?
Are you a visual learner?
Are you an aural learner?
Do you enjoy music theory?
Do you dread learning a new piece of music?
B. Scheduling Goals
Are you an extremely organized person?
Do you get overwhelmed easily?
Do you live by your weekly planner?
Do you have a strict performance deadline?
Do you have an inconsistent practice schedule?
C. Order of Learning
Do you struggle with remembering the chronology of events?
Do you typically feel unprepared for performances?
Do your performances usually start off strong and finish poorly?
Do you typically have glaring problem spots leading up to the performance?
Do you struggle with memorization?
Do you experience memory slips on a regular basis?
Do you enjoy composing?
D. Philosophies and Approaches
Would you classify yourself as an inaccurate player?
Are you currently preparing for an audition?
Do you enjoy routines?
Do you stop and start a lot in the practice room?
Are you typically have limited time to learn new music?
Do technical issues sometimes prohibit you from learning music quickly?
Are you preparing a piece of an unfamiliar style?
Do you typically get off-task while learning new music?
Do you get frustrated easily?
E. Memorization
Are you good at sight-reading?
Are you a very systematic person?
Do you typically learn a piece from beginning to end?
Do you enjoy music theory?
Do you have memory slips on a regular basis?
Are you a visual learner?
Do you create strong emotional ties to particular locations?
Do you routinely get songs stuck in your head?
Do you have a hard time memorizing music?
F. Avoiding Memory Slips
Do you find yourself going on auto-pilot during performances?
Have you had a memory meltdown on stage?
Do you have to be at the instrument to trigger your memory?

167

If yes, try method

A3
A2, A4
A1, A4, A5
A3, A5, A4
A2
A1
A4
A5
A4
A3, A5
If yes, try method
B1
B2
B1
B1
B2
If yes, try method
C1
C2, C3
C2
C3
C4
C4
C1, C4
If yes, try method
D1, D2
D1
D12
D1
D3
D4
D3
D2
D4
If yes, try method
E1, E5
E2
E2
E3
E3, E4
E4, E5, E6
E4
E7
E3, E4
If yes, try method
F1, F8
F5, F7, F10
F1, F2, F3, F4

Do you commonly miss more notes than usual during a performance?

Do you commonly find yourself thinking random thoughts during
performances?
Do you commonly get lost during repeated phrases or similar passages?
Do you have a hard time recovering from mistakes?
Do you typically rely heavily on muscle memory?
Do you have previously corrected mistakes randomly occur during
performances?
Do you usually have a memory slip after you start thinking about having a
possible memory slip?
Do your memory slips usually occur in the same places?
Do you have a hard time recovering from memory slips?
Do your memory slips typically occur during transitions?
Do your memory slips always occur in new and random places?
G. Listening to Existing Recordings
Are you a beginner?
Do you struggle with being creative?
Do others easily influence you?
Does your phrasing lack variety and contrast?
Do you have a limited knowledge of the standard repertoire?
Are you playing a piece in an unfamiliar style?
Are you playing a piece by an unfamiliar composer?
Do you commonly learn music incorrectly?
Are you a slow learner?
Are you an aural learner?
Do you commonly get bored of playing a piece?
Is your practice time limited?
Are you playing a highly complex piece?
Do you commonly play with ensembles?
Do you have limited amount of ensemble rehearsals before the performance?

168

F1, F4, F8
F8, F9
F11, F12
F2, F3, F4, F5, F13
F1, F2, F3
F6
F7, F8, F9
F9, F12
F10, F13
F4, F11, F12
F2, F14
If yes, try method
G1, G2
G1, G2
G1
G3, G4
G5
G3, G6
G3, G4, G6
G2, G3
G3
G3
G2, G4
G3
G3, G4, G6
G3, G4
G6

Figure 20: Outline Learning New Music

A.

B.
C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

Method
General Overview of Piece
1.
Slow and Accurate Read-Through
2.
Read on the Piano
3.
Slop Through
4.
Score Study Away from the Instrument
5.
Existing Recordings
Scheduling Goals
1.
Scheduled Timeline - Day One to the Performance
2.
Short-Term Goals
Order of Learning
1.
Beginning to End
2.
End to Beginning
3.
Hardest Sections First
4.
Based on Form
Philosophies and Approaches
1.
Perfect Practice
2.
Slow Methodical Repetition
3.
Written Tempo as Soon as Possible
4.
Eliminate Certain Musical Elements
Memorization
1.
Organic Memorization
2.
Chunks and Memory Packets
3.
Identify Structure
4.
Associations
5.
Visualize Score
6.
Visualize Instrument
7.
Aural Recognition and Memory
Avoiding Memory Slips
1.
Slow Practice
2.
Mental Practice
3.
Transcribe Music
4.
Increased Run-Throughs
5.
Triple Channel Learning
6.
Correct Input
7.
Focus on Positives
8.
Sing Inaudibly
9.
Designated Focus Point
10.
Learn to Improvise in Style
11.
Analysis Form, Harmony, and Phrases
12.
Create Triggers
13.
Develop Ability to Stop and Start Anywhere
14.
Develop Ability to Look Anywhere
Listening to Existing Recordings
1.
Never
2.
Late in the Process
3.
Early and Often
4.
As Many Examples as Possible
5.
Only to Pick Repertoire
6.
Use as a Play-Along

Copyright Colin Jeffrey Hill 2013

169

Pages
93-98

99-100

101-109

109-118

118-135

139-156

156 - 166

the same amount, about two or three hours a week.13 Therefore, for this study it was
assumed that the percussionists interviewed averaged 2.5 hours per week, which equates
to about twenty minutes per day, for their first three years of study, ages nine to eleven.

Average Hours Per Day (Ages 9-22)

6

Average Hours Per Day

4.80
4

2.30

2
1.60
1

0.36
9 - 11

12 - 14

15 - 18

19 - 22

Age (Years)

Figure 5: The graph above shows the average practice hours per
day of the thirty-six percussionists interviewed between the ages
of 9-11.
13

K. Anders Ericsson, et al., The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance,
Psychological Review 100 No. 3 (1993): 363-406.

24

degrees, and during this time, the average practice hours dropped back down equal to the
average time spent during their undergraduate degree. This was typically attributed to
their increased teaching responsibilities, changes in personal lives, and an increased
emphasis on research for their dissertation.

Average Hours Per Day

6

6.00

5
4.80

4.75

Average Hours Per Day

Undergraduate

Masters

Doctoral

Figure 9: The graph above shows the average practice hours per
day of the percussionists interviewed that continued on to a
doctorate. The statistics for the undergraduate degrees and
masters degrees are shown as a means of comparison.

29