Conductors' views on individual practice activities




Jossberger, Helen; Huovinen, Erkki; Ritter, Martin; Gruber, Hans

PublisherSAGE PUBLICATIONS INC

THOUSAND OAKS

2025

Psychology of Music

PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC

PSYCHOL MUSIC

53

3

321

336

16

0305-7356

1741-3087

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1177/03057356241311817(external)

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03057356241311817(external)

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/492316749(external)



This study explored how professional conductors understand the role of individual (purposeful) practice and how they describe the contents of such practice. Twelve professional conductors were interviewed and content analysis was used to analyze the data. The results show that the participants understood conducting as a lifelong learning process. Through intensive individual practice, they had built up a significant repertoire of musical works. Being well prepared allowed them to impart knowledge, which helped them to achieve an authoritative and communicative relationship with musicians. While technical aspects such as baton technique had been important during early career stages, these were mostly no longer practiced. Studying the score was perceived as the most central practice activity aiming at performance improvement. It required disciplined, persistent, and goal-oriented learning, and thus carried the marks of purposeful practice. Individual activities during score study were mainly carried out mentally and in particular situations supported with external tools (e.g., piano, audio recordings). The findings shed light on differences in opinion and implicit tensions, especially regarding memorization and the use of tools.


The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.


Last updated on 2025-09-06 at 13:44