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Learning to play music : Exploring massed versus distributed practice regimes for non-musicians.
Besselink, Merijn (2019) Learning to play music : Exploring massed versus distributed practice regimes for non-musicians.
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| Abstract: | The aim of this study was to see what the effect was of different training regimes, for non-musicians who learned to play a song on a piano. The study consisted of a massed practice group, who practiced in a single two-hour session, and a distributed practice group, who practiced in four 30-minutes sessions across four consecutive days. They were trained using a software program in which a prerequisite of sight-reading is not necessary. The data was analysed on three components; correctly played notes, mistakes and duration accuracy. It was expected that the participants with a distributed practice regime would score better on these components than with massed practice. Results showed that the distributed practice group scored significantly better on correctly played notes and mistakes. Furthermore, it was expected that the effect of overnight consolidation would occur for the distributed practice group and would decrease after a second night of sleep. Consolidation was found for the number of correctly played notes. However, the effect did not decrease after the second night. Despite found limitations, it can be concluded that distributed practice indeed appears to be a more effective training strategy than a massed practice regime, on musical skill acquisition for non-musicians. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology, 81 education, teaching |
| Programme: | Psychology MSc (66604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/79881 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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