How To Use Distracted Practicing

By Dr. Logan Chopyk

Many greats like Nathan Zgonc, Brian Hecht, and Aaron McCalla have been watching TV or listening to music while practicing for years to great effect.

At first glance, this flies in the face of the popular music education dogma surrounding the "10,000 hours of deliberate practice." Deliberate practice absolutely has its place, but by strictly adhering to it, we might be missing out on a powerful tool. We can actually unlock new doors in our playing through distracted practicing.

So, what exactly is distracted practicing, why does it work, and how should we use it?

What is Distracted Practicing?

In the realm of motor learning psychology, Distracted Practicing is the deliberate introduction of a secondary cognitive or sensory stimulus (such as watching television or listening to a podcast) during the repetition of a physical skill.

It is a form of dual-task practice designed to promote implicit motor learning. By occupying the conscious working memory with a distraction, you prevent hyper-analytical self-regulation—often called "paralysis by analysis." This allows your autonomic nervous system to execute, refine, and proceduralize complex motor patterns naturally.

The Benefits: Why It Works

• Blocks the Critical Voice: We all have that analytical, hyper-critical feedback voice in our heads. When it gets too loud, it can cause our neural circuits to short out in an act of over-regulation. Distraction acts as a circuit breaker for that voice.

• Prioritizes Sensation Over Sound: We are often extremely sensitive to the sounds we are making in the practice room. Distraction allows us to focus on the physical sensations of playing instead. Getting it to feel good physically is often a better long-term outcome than just getting it to sound good in the present moment.

• Painless Repetitions: It is an incredibly effective way to rack up high volumes of repetitions on fundamental drills without succumbing to mental fatigue.

• Motivation and Task Initiation: Using a dopamine driver—like a screen, a show, or background music—can significantly improve executive function. For many people, simply getting the instrument out of the case is the hardest part. The promise of watching a favorite show can be the exact motivation needed to get started.

Usefulness in Niche Populations

The science of distraction is particularly life-changing for specific neurodivergent populations and those dealing with movement disorders:

Musician’s Focal Dystonia (MFD) People with dystonia tend to be hyper self-critical, hyper-analytical, and hyper-aware of what is going wrong as they try to "manually" fix their mechanical problems. Recent research into MFD by experts like Dr. Anna Détári shows that this creates a negative feedback loop that scrambles the motor cortex. Distracted practicing is a massive tool to turn that "mental monkey" off, allowing the musician to bypass damaged pathways and focus simply on the freedom of energy flow.

ADHD and Autism For individuals with ADHD, task initiation and sustained focus are heavily dependent on dopamine levels. Background stimulation provides the necessary neurochemical environment for the brain to engage. Similarly, some of my autistic students find it difficult to focus on a piano with so many other attractive objects in the room to explore. By using a screen to play something like a Yamaha Primary Series play-along video, that same student will focus for nearly the entire lesson. The dopamine helps them stay engaged, we improve at the piano, and we build our teacher-student relationship. Eventually, they build the skills and interest to play without the screen, and they're off to the races!

How To Do It: Considerations & Tools

If you want to integrate distracted practicing into your routine, you have to find the right environment.

The Sweet Spot of Distraction Your distraction should be engaging, but not too distracting. You want something you don't mind paying half-attention to.

• Avoid Subtitles: Foreign language shows (like K-Dramas!) require too much visual and cognitive focus.

• Avoid Short-Form Video: TikTok or Instagram Reels require constant physical engagement (scrolling) and cause erratic dopamine spikes.

• The 15-Minute Rule: Choose long-form media where you can practice in minimum 15-minute chunks without having to click, scroll, or physically engage the technology again.

Tools of the Trade: Practice Mutes and Noise Cancelling Headphones are a distracted practicer's best friend. Not only do they preserve our hearing during long sessions, but they further cut out the inner voice that hyper-analyzes our sound. They are incredibly useful for feeling the freedom of energy in your playing.

• Try this: Do alternating sets of fundamentals with and without the practice mute. Check the sound without headphones once in a while

• Double Dipping: Practice mutes allow for considerate night-time practice. You can get your reps in during the evening hours when you (and your neighbors) would normally just be consuming media anyway.

Annotated Bibliography & Further Reading

For those interested in the pedagogical and psychological research behind these concepts, here is the science that backs it up:

Détári, Anna. "Musician’s Focal Dystonia: A New, Holistic Perspective." PhD diss., University of York, 2022.

Annotation: This large-scale mixed-method study steps away from viewing Musician's Focal Dystonia purely as a medical issue. Détári explores the psychological and behavioral risk factors of MFD, noting that sufferers frequently exhibit hyper-analytical, perfectionistic traits and exercise negative practice behaviors. This supports the assertion that turning off the critical feedback loop via distraction can help those with dystonia focus on the physical sensation of energy flow rather than micromanaging their mechanics.

Kal, Elmar, et al. "Is Implicit Motor Learning Preserved After Stroke? A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis." PLoS ONE 11, no. 12 (2016): e0166376.

Annotation: While focusing on stroke rehabilitation, this systematic review highlights the mechanics of implicit motor learning. It demonstrates that learning a motor skill without conscious awareness (implicit learning) requires fewer working memory resources and holds up better under "dual-task" conditions (doing two things at once). This provides the neurological backing for why practicing fundamentals while watching TV successfully ingrains motor habits without requiring intense cognitive focus.

Mornell, Adina, and Gabriele Wulf. "Adopting an External Focus of Attention Enhances Musical Performance." Journal of Research in Music Education 66, no. 4 (2019): 375-391.

Annotation: In this study, skilled musicians were asked to perform with either an internal focus (focusing on their fingers/mechanics) or an external focus (focusing on the sound/audience/environment). The research proved that an external focus led to higher technical precision and musical expression. This validates the "Constrained Action Hypothesis," proving that distracting the brain from bodily mechanics prevents the motor system from short-circuiting.

Sikström, Sverker, and Göran Söderlund. "Stimulus-Dependent Dopamine Release in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder." Psychological Review 114, no. 4 (2007): 1047-1075.

Annotation: This paper outlines the Moderate Brain Arousal (MBA) model, which explains how individuals with ADHD require higher levels of external noise or stimulation to trigger the dopamine release necessary for cognitive performance. This explains why the background stimulation of a screen or music provides the necessary neurochemical environment for an ADHD or Autistic student to initiate and sustain instrument practice.