Firstly, what exactly is motivation?
It's the driving force behind why piano students practice and play.
It can be classified into two main types: intrinsic and extrinsic.
Intrinsic motivation
Motivation that comes from within the piano student.
Characteristics:
Driven by personal enjoyment and love for music
Practicing for the pleasure of playing and improving
Interacts regularly with the piano
Examples of intrinsic motivation:
Playing piano because you enjoy the sound and experience
Learning a challenging piece for personal satisfaction
Composing music out of pure creativity and curiosity
extrinsic motivation
Motivation that comes from external rewards or pressures.
Characteristics:
Driven by rewards or avoiding negative consequences
Practicing to achieve specific outcomes or receive external validation
Can be effective for short-term practice goals
Examples of extrinsic motivation:
Practicing to win a piano competition
Learning a piece to earn praise from a teacher or parent
Playing piano to receive a reward or allowance
basically...
Intrinsically motivated students will happily sit and practice the piano because they enjoy it.
Extrinsically motivated students need rewards, incentives, or a goal.
how sustainable are they?
Intrinsic motivation tends to be more sustainable and will lead to lifelong engagement with the piano.
Extrinsic motivation may decrease once rewards are no longer present.
BUT
Extrinsic motivation can lead to intrinsic motivation.
Example:
Izzy started lessons when she was 6. From the first few lessons, I could tell that she was musically talented.
But Izzy was lazy with a capital L.
She would never practice.
But she had the desire to perform.
But would only perform if she felt confident.
I would tell her the confidence would come the more she practiced her piece.
She still wouldn't practice.
I introduced her to a practice incentive - a donut token in a box every time she came to her lesson and showed me she'd been practicing.
Suddenly, Izzy was practicing. Every morning before school (and this was backed up by her mum and her newfound ability to play her piece with confidence).
She performed in a school assembly and was met with glowing reviews from her friends.
Fast-forward 5 years, and Izzy is still having lessons. She is also one of my students who practices the most!
She'll even sometimes source her own music because she wants to learn something specific to perform to her friends.
We continued with practice incentives for a while, but eventually, she didn't need them. She developed a massive love for playing the piano and music in general. Sure, it might have developed without the incentive, but the donuts certainly sped up the process!
finding a balance
To enhance intrinsic motivation, you could...
Choose pieces that align with personal interests
Set personal goals that are challenging yet attainable
Create a supportive environment that values creativity
To use extrinsic motivation effectively, you could...
Use rewards to complement, not replace, intrinsic goals
Ensure that external rewards are meaningful and constructive
Combine extrinsic rewards with opportunities for personal expression
Where do you stand on intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation for your piano students?
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