*This article is also posted to the blog in the GOLD Method app. I plan on writing and releasing more articles on that blog, so if you want more information like this, click the link at the bottom of this article*
Deliberate Practice and the GOLD Method
By Ryan Beach
It is becoming increasingly clear that as helpful as the GOLD Method is, it is not enough to ensure efficient and effective practice. The more I work with people and explain what the GOLD Method is, I am not able to fully explain it without discussing deliberate practice as well. This blog post will explore what deliberate practice is, and will provide a look at what a combination of deliberate practice and the GOLD Method might look like.
What is deliberate practice?
Deliberate practice, coined by Anders Ericssen (click here for his seminal paper from 1993), is “a highly structured activity, the explicit goal of which is to improve performance. Specific tasks are invented to overcome weaknesses, and performance is carefully monitored to provide cues for ways to improve it further.” Unlike work, which is externally motivated, and play, which is motivated by enjoyment, the motivation to engage with deliberate practice is the desire to improve performance.
My friend Jason Haaheim, the principal timpanist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, provides a simple, yet powerful definition of deliberate practice that we as musicians can connect with in his blog post titled, “Deliberate Practice is a Riddle - And Here’s the Answer”. He writes, “Deliberate practice is the scientific method applied to music.”
Why is deliberate practice important?
Deliberate practice is necessary for meaningful improvement in anything we do. The hallmark quality that defines this kind of practice is whether or not you are receiving regular feedback. Whether this comes from a teacher, a coach, or your own recording device, in order to improve, we need accurate data that we can intelligently interpret for maximal learning.
Deliberate practice is also defined by being “effortful”. There’s no getting around it - practicing deliberately is hard work. Those that are not trained to maintain a high level of focus can only maintain this intensity of work for about an hour (although, much like building physical strength/endurance over time, individuals can build up the ability to maintain mental intensity for longer periods through continued effort over time). This work is not glamorous and it is often not fun. But it makes you better, and that’s what keeps you motivated.
Musical scientists
Let’s quickly refresh ourselves on the scientific method. In its basic form, you begin by observing a problem. Then you make a hypothesis about how to fix that problem. Then you design an experiment and you test your hypothesis. Finally, you observe the result of your test, refine your hypothesis, and do another test. This pattern can continue indefinitely as long as your creativity and curiosity never run out.
In our practice sessions, our work should generally reflect this same approach. We should identify a problem we have, make a hypothesis about what will fix it, perform an exercise (and record it to get the most accurate data), reflect on the data we collected, and start the process over again with the information we have gathered. If you are using the GOLD Method app, or building your own structures with the GOLD Method principles, and your practice is not characterized by this kind of work, you’re leaving progress on the table.
It’s worth mentioning that the amount of feedback you receive (I’m mostly speaking about self-recording) will be completely dependent on your individual goals at any given moment. If you are working to implement a change in the way you approach your instrument, you may need to record significantly more than someone who is confident in their abilities. A general rule to follow is if you are unsure of what you actually sound like when playing, self-recording is the best way to get accurate feedback.
Deliberate practice and the GOLD Method
I believe using the programs in the GOLD Method app, or programs you have designed that are similar, makes practicing deliberately much easier. To illustrate, I’ll use a sample progression from the etude program. On this particular day, you would practice a section of music for four repetitions - 60, 62, 64, and 67 BPM. After you complete these repetitions, you move onto the next section of music.
Without deliberate practice, a player might simply play the repetition at 60 BPM, rest for a minute, then play the next repetition at 62 BPM. After a short rest, they might continue on with their third repetition at 64 BPM, and then finish up with their last one at 67 BPM. In this example, there was no problem solving. It’s possible progress will have been made, but slowing things down by itself doesn’t guarantee improvement.
To contrast the previous example, let’s keep the same parameters and look at it through the lens of deliberate practice. Before the player even plays the first repetition, they might think to themselves, “What do I want to sound like on this repetition?” or, “What’s my goal for this repetition?” After answering that question, they turn on their recording device and perform their first repetition at 60 BPM. Upon finishing, they listen back and make observations about when they were successful at reaching their goal, and where they might still need improvement.
Now when they do their second rep, the player will have a clearer idea of what they need to do to reach their goal. They perform their second rep, this time without recording. They think back and make some observations. They realized that without a recording, it was harder to make decisions on what would improve their next repetition, so they decided to move on to their third repetition at 64 BPM, and to record this one. They repeat this process on the fourth repetition, and they move on to a different section.
Conclusion
In a different section of Ericsson’s paper on deliberate practice, he writes, “In the absence of adequate feedback, efficient learning is impossible, and improvement is only minimal even for highly motivated subjects” (emphasis mine). Going through the GOLD Method programs without practicing deliberately will result in inefficient learning and minimal improvement. If you read this post and recognize you are not a “musical scientist” in the practice room, I would encourage you to start by asking more questions about why you’re struggling, and seeking accurate feedback on the methods you use to address those struggles.
I’d like to leave you with this powerful, thought provoking quote from page 113 of “Peak”, also written by Anders Ericsson:
"To date, we have found no limitations to the improvements that can be made with [deliberate practice].... In pretty much any area of human endeavor, people have a tremendous capacity to improve their performance, as long as they train in the right way.... You can keep going, getting better and better and better. How much you improve is up to you...."