The use of studies to conform to the ideals of deliberate practice and overcome its inherent constraints with particular reference to Georges Gillet's Studies for the Advanced teaching of the Oboe and Antonino Pasculli's 15 Capricci a guisa di Studi

The thesis proposes a way to overcome motivational problems inherent in deliberate practice of music. Deliberate practice (in all fields) is a highly structured activity which does not generate its own immediate extrinsic rewards. The state is anecdotally known to be effortful and unenjoyable, and constraints to its performance arise from these characteristics. A thorough definition of deliberate practice as proposed by KA Ericsson, R Krampe and C Tesch-Romer in their 1993 article The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance is set out in the first part of the thesis; definitions and examples of different types of studies and a discussion of motivational research follows and then by means of two case studies, I show how practising studies can achieve deliberate practice in a more fulfilling manner, thus overcoming the motivational constraint.