Daniel Coyle on the Concept of Deep Practice

“Deep practice feels a bit like exploring a dark and unfamiliar room. You start slowly, you bump into furniture, stop, think, and start again. Slowly, and a little painfully, you explore the space over and over, attending to errors, extending your reach into the room a bit farther each time, building a mental map until you can move through it quickly and intuitively.” 

-Daniel Coyle from The Talent Code

I can not recommend the book The Talent Code enough for both teachers and players alike.  It is a fascinating look at practicing and talent with lots of very easy to understand science to back it up.  A lot of it immediately ended up influencing how I approach the horn and how I teach my students.

Every musician should read this book.