Practice Expectations and Attitudes: A Survey of College-Level Music Teachers and Students

Two independent groups, one consisting of college-level studio music teachers (n = 127) and the other of music majors (n = 134), completed a written survey containing 10 questions about attitudes and expectations for practicing music. The questionnaire was designed to address four major areas of interest: (1) attitudes about specific music skills, (2) expectations concerning use of practice time, (3) expectations for routines and strategies for practicing, and (4) attitudes toward practice in general. Results indicated that teachers expected more weekly practice time to be taking place than was actually reported by students. Additionally, most teachers expected that students should follow a specific practice routine, but 55% of students indicated that they do not do so; and although nearly all teachers in the survey stated that they discussed practice strategies with students, 67% of students reported that practice strategies were not discussed in their studio lessons. Finally, teachers and students had widely differing views regarding their feelings about practice in general.