Researchers have studied music practice for decades: what separates practice that sticks from practice that doesn’t, and what keeps children going. This page sets out what they found, how each finding shaped Allegrow, and where the evidence stops.
Duke, Simmons & Cash (2009) · Journal of Research in Music Education
Seventeen advanced pianists learned a difficult passage and played it back the next day. How long they had practiced and how many times they had repeated it did not predict who played best. What did was the way they worked: finding the exact trouble spot, slowing down, and repeating it until it was right.
Keep in mind: a small study of advanced players, and it observed them without assigning methods, so it shows a pattern and not a cause. Read the study
In Allegrow: a teacher’s assignment says what to work on and how: the bars, a tempo for the built-in metronome, minutes a day and a note on what to listen for. The timer counts playing, not minutes in the room.
McPherson & Renwick (2001) · Music Education Research
Seven children, aged 7 to 9 at the start, filmed their home practice over three years. Most of it was playing a piece through once or twice. Errors were mostly ignored, and the children showed little ability to check and steer their own work.
Keep in mind: a very small group, studied closely. Read the study
Miksza (2015) · Psychology of Music
College wind players who were taught how to plan, monitor and review their practice improved more than a comparison group who were not.
Keep in mind: older students, over a short period. Read the study
Varela, Abrami & Upitis (2016) · Psychology of Music
A review of the studies on self-directed practice in music found it is linked to better results, and that teaching it directly showed the strongest link.
Keep in mind: the links it found were positive but weak. Read the study
In Allegrow: the child opens the app to a short list from their teacher and ticks items off as they go. They can record themselves for the teacher to hear, and for a single-line passage the app shows which notes came out right.
Harkin and colleagues (2016) · Psychological Bulletin
This review pooled 138 randomized studies with about 20,000 people. Prompting people to track their progress made them more likely to reach their goal. The effect was larger when progress was written down, and when someone else could see it.
Keep in mind: most of the studies were about health goals such as exercise and diet, not music. The effect was small to moderate. Read the study
In Allegrow: each child has a daily goal and a ring that fills as they play. The week is saved automatically, and their parents and teacher can see it.
Davidson, Howe, Moore & Sloboda (1996) · British Journal of Developmental Psychology
Interviews with 257 young musicians and their parents found that the children who went furthest had the most involved parents in the first years of learning. The children who gave up had the least involved parents. The parents did not need to be musicians themselves.
Keep in mind: this shows that the two go together, not that one causes the other. Read the study
Creech (2010) · Music Education Research
A study of 337 violin pupils with their parents and teachers found that the way the three work together affects how the child gets on.
Keep in mind: a survey of one instrument. Read the study
In Allegrow: parents get their own page with each child’s week, what was assigned and what’s coming up, and a short weekly summary. Nobody has to know how to play.
Sailer & Homner (2020) · Educational Psychology Review
A review of studies on adding game elements to learning found small positive effects on what people learned, on motivation and on behavior.
Keep in mind: the effects were small, and only the effect on learning held up in the most careful studies. Read the study
In Allegrow: badges, streaks and theory games are there to make practice a bit more inviting. They sit beside the teacher’s assignments and never replace them, and a parent can switch them off with the “Calm look” setting.
Upitis, Boese & Abrami · a case study of the Cadenza practice tool
Three teachers and their students used a digital practice tool for ten months. It motivated many of the students, and some weaker students improved markedly. Others did not benefit.
Keep in mind: one small case study of a different tool, with mixed results. The link goes to a later paper describing the tool. Read the study
In Allegrow: the teacher stays at the center. The app carries what the teacher asked for into the week and brings back what happened.