Nintendo Practice
By Philip Johnston

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Even if you've never played with a Nintendo or Playstation before, and think that Crash Bandicoot is just another marsupial, you should read this carefully.  Your students will know exactly what I'm talking about, and will be all ears when you outline this practice technique to them.

Why? Because courtesy of their games consoles, they have already been practicing this way for years. It's just that they haven't applied it to music yet.

This article looks at the cunning practice system that is hidden inside console games, and how you can help students use it with their own pieces. It's not just a case of "if you can't beat them..." - this technique isn't just entertainment. It's addictive, and it works.

How Games Consoles teach students to practice

In amongst all the shoot-em up, martial arts and driving games, there is a genre of game known as "platform games" - they are runaway bestseller for kids of all ages, and are largely responsible for the success of games consoles in the first place. Basically, the idea is that you control a little character on the screen, and need to steer them safely to their destination as they undertake a long journey.

But this journey no hike in the meadows. The creators of the game have placed all sorts of tricks, traps and obstacles between you and your eventual goal. Pits to jump over. Gates that close if you tread in the wrong place. Sleeping lions that will wake up if you forget to tiptoe. Doors to choose between - some of which lead to safety, others to crypts filled with angry skeletons.

		What would happen if, instead of memorising the locations of waterfalls and trapdoors, they applied exactly the same practice method to memorising their music?

Do yourself a big favour. Beg, borrow or steal access to a games console, and then watch the child who owns the game play for a while. Prepare to be amazed. This child might not be able play a G Major scale reliably, but in this game they'll make their character leap from log to log across the river, deftly avoiding crocodiles, and remembering to duck at the right time for the bird which suddenly swoops down. They'll have to make an extra big jump at the end, because the final log submerges without warning, and then they have to remember to pull their parachute chord while they are in the middle of that jump, because the river suddenly turns into a waterfall, and it's now a long way down...

It will look as though they have superhuman reflexes. They don't. They were able to do all these things, not because they reacted in an eyeblink to the threats as they emerged, but because they have played the game many, many times before, and have learned what to do. In fact, if you watch closely, you will notice that much of the time they actually anticipate what's coming up, because they remember what comes next. They'll say "ok, here we go" and move their character to the left of the screen, seemingly for no reason.  Then suddenly WHOOSH! - a stampede of wild elephants obliterates everything on the right of the screen.  A London city bus would not have survived the collision.

They knew the elephants were coming, but it's not ESP. They've practiced this, and they're now very good at it. Not only that, but obviously the way they have been practicing this works, and works very well. This means that the question has to be asked:

What would happen if, instead of memorising the locations of waterfalls and trapdoors, they applied exactly the same practice method to memorising their music?

Before we try to answer that question, let's just spend a moment or two analysing how the practice system for Platform Games actually works. Because as you'll see, the fact that it works is no accident.

Oooh! Show me!