What can Motivate?

I've been reading a book called How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen.  It's a book on how to find happiness in your life, your career, and your relationships.  It's a "guidebook for your future" as the back cover states.  I've only read two chapters, but so far I'm finding it very interesting and I can't help but apply it to playing an instrument and practicing.

So often we hear from kids that they don't like practicing or playing the violin or whatever.  (Recently in a lesson my student just said flat out, "I hate the violin.")  However, as adults we can see, not only the tremendous benefit of playing an instrument but also the rewards it brings to the player and also the world around them.  That's why we're doing this - right?

This book first discusses finding happiness and fulfillment in a career.  It states that money is not a key factor in someone enjoying their job.  To compare that to practicing - paying a child, or bribing a child may get them to practice, but it won't necessarily get them to enjoy their playing.

What really motivates a person to do well at their job and find it fulfilling are motivating factors including challenging work, recognition, responsibility, and personal growth.

This can apply directly to practicing and playing an instrument.  Without writing a dissertation on each topic - here are some of my brief thoughts.

Challenging work - a child is motivated by new and challenging material.  That's what makes them improve at their instrument.  Twinkle is an extremely hard piece for a young beginner, but it's the challenge of it that makes accomplishing it so rewarding.  When your child finished Twinkle did they get a huge celebration?  I hope so - it's the hardest piece to learn - many taking 1 to 2 years to master!

Recognition - when a child is recognized for their hard work it motivates them to practice.  I think the best form of recognition is performing.  I didn't like practicing as a kid, but my mom never let me quit because she could tell that when I performed I was proud of my playing and I enjoyed it.  I'm sure you can see that in your own children and students.  Also recognizing and rewarding them for their practicing - particularly consecutive daily practice - is a great motivator to get that practicing done.

Responsibility - even the youngest children can be responsible for their practicing.  After all - it's their instrument, their music they are playing!  My 3-year-old often guides our practicing (with my help) and makes decisions about what to practice, how much to practice, and even when she's done practicing.

Personal Growth - learning new things as an adult is what makes our jobs more interesting.  As a child, this is second nature.  Their whole lives are based on learning new things.  Each piece is a new adventure and often has a new technique to be learned.  A child will quickly lose motivation if they are stuck on a song and can't move on.  My oldest daughter has been learning the same group of pieces for months and finally got a new piece this last week - practicing has never been better.  She loves learning her new piece!