DISCOVER YOUR REAL POTENTIAL
In 1977, the great computer scientist Donald Knuth published a paper called The Complexity of Songs, which is basically one long joke about the repetitive lyrics of newfangled music (example quote: “the advent of modern drugs has led to demands for still less memory, and the ultimate improvement of Theorem 1 has consequently just been announced”).
Check the analysis of the repetitiveness of a dataset of 15,000 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1958 and 2017 here.
Repetition, repetition, repetition
In general, getting more practice repetitions is a good thing that leads to greater learning of a skill (as in this article on overlearning). However, there is such a thing as too many repetitions. Because at some point, we begin to get fatigued (mentally and/or physically), which can lead to a drop in the effectiveness of our practice sessions.
A recent study sheds some light on this issue.
A group of 32 college students were recruited to learn a finger tapping task (which you’ve done something similar to, if you ever practiced a tricky passage away from your instrument by tapping out the fingerings on your thumb or arm).
Participants in both the 80-repetition group and the 160-repetition group increased the speed of their performance from the first test to the last. But when it came to accuracy, participants in the shorter 80-repetition practice session made significantly fewer errors when tested 24 hours after their training session.
Participants in both the 80-repetition group and the 160-repetition group increased the speed of their performance from the first test to the last. But when it came to accuracy, participants in the shorter 80-repetition practice session made significantly fewer errors when tested 24 hours after their training session.
And the magic number is 37! No, seriously, I hate to disappoint, but I don’t think it’s about counting repetitions or recommending half as many repetitions for students with ADHD as those without. I also don’t think the study suggests that folks with ADHD only need practice half as much (or that they can’t practice more).
(via)