Performance Pays in Many Ways!

Think back to when you saw a performance. Whether it was a musician, comedian, singer, dancer, actor, public speaker, etc. - each performs in his or her own way. In the art world there are natural performers (those who are naturally blessed with the drive and seemingly innate ability to speak, sing, act, entertain, and naturally feel or appear comfortable being in front of others) and there are those who are not natural performers on their own (most would rather die then be in front of an audience), but with a little coaching anyone can become a performer to some level.

The best part is each of us is performing in the greatest production of all - life! As we live life to the fullest, we all are invited to perform on a daily basis. It may be as simple as speaking in front of a group of friends, hosting a party, accepting an award and being asked to give an acceptance speech, or even coaching a little league team.

When it comes to the musical world, musicians of all ages thrive on the performance. It quite literally becomes their nourishment. Without the performance the performer does not exist.

With that in mind, it is imperative for younger musicians to experience what it feels like to perform in front of others. Recitals often seem redundant and sadly, some turn into a group practice rather then a concert. Younger students have many opportunities to perform, but don't take advantage of them. Encourage younger musicians to try the following:

- Invite your friends over to your house and have a piano party. Play 1 - 2 songs for your friends and encourage them to play an instrument if they play one.
- Ask your school teacher if your class can have a class talent show.
- Try out for your school musical, drama production, choir, band, orchestra, etc.
- Try to write a song for your school reflections competition.
- Ask your local church if you can play prelude, postlude, or accompany others when they sing.
- Find out if you can perform at the local retirement center.
- Find out if you can play the piano at the local hospital.
- When you feel more comfortable playing, play the piano at the mall or shops during the holidays (if you play well enough - you may even get paid for playing).
- Play the piano at every holiday family or neighborhood party.
- Have family activity nights where you play for your family and friends.
- Hold a backyard concert. Invite family, friends, and neighbors over. You can even make up flyers and make it a big deal because it is.

Performing in front of others pays great dividends. When younger musicians perform in front of others they gain confidence in themselves and their talent. They become more motivated to practice because the more they perform the more they need to. It nourishes them and soon they crave it. And when all is said and done, they become performers simply because they perform. Performance pays in many ways.

Written by Jerald M. Simon
Copyright © 2008 Music Motivation®
All Rights Reserved

Why a musical instrument?

Some people might ask, "Why learn a musical instrument in the first place?" That question alone is very in depth, extremely complicated, and difficult to answer. To answer effectively would require volumes of books (too much time - not enough patience, etc.) Instead of delving into the physiological, psychological, neurological, and every other "ogical" factor for what learning an instrument can and should do for someone, I will instead share my sentiments from what I have experienced and the feelings others have shared with me. Rather than the logical, this will be the "emotionogical" influence, which, by the way, happens to affect every other "ogical" objective - subjectively speaking of course.

I was brought up in a musical family. Individuals who grow up playing instruments and experiencing music in the home on a daily basis, are generally more likely to fall in love with music and make it a part of their lives (because it already is). Then when they become adults with children of their own, they pass on the baton (so to speak) and encourage their own children to love music through their example.

It is true that by learning a musical instrument, people gain confidence, learn discipline, improve their self esteem, tend to be more outgoing, get better grades, stimulate the neurological brain waves (I had to throw in one of the "ogicals") and so forth, but there is more to music than simply improving our physical, mental, emotional and societal needs. Music can be a heritage, a legacy, and a tradition we pass on to our posterity. Think of the great masters from the past. Each musical master, whether they were a concert musician/professional performer, composer, or teacher, left a legacy to their family members. As we learn to appreciate, respect, revere, and be humbled by their music we in turn become part of their musical family.

Not only can we be an example to our own families by learning and playing an instrument, but we can create wonderful experiences and memories with music by sharing them with other families. Some of my fondest family memories involve music. Whether it was music recitals, concerts, ballets, operas, movies, Christmas caroling etc., they all involved the family participating in music. Something happens to a family when they can perform with each other. Even if the entire family doesn't participate or play an instrument, the family connects in a way that is entirely unique and all its own. I remember singing with my family as we stood around the piano. The children sang while my father played the piano. As we grew up and improved our musical talents, we took turns playing our instruments, singing together, and performing for our friends and neighbors. We loved performing, and always felt a sense of accomplishment and family harmony (pun intended).

Make some music with your friends, family, and neighbors. You'll make memories, laugh together, and experience the tradition of music!

Written by Jerald M. Simon
Copyright © 2008 Music Motivation®
All Rights Reserved

How to Motivate Beginning Musicians

Motivation is a key factor in the making of a musician. Motivation is paramount in every aspect of our lives, but how we are motivated - or more important - how we choose to motivate ourselves or be motivated by others, is very different.

The two main types of motivation are extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.

Extrinsic motivation is external. It has been referred to as "dangling the carrot" in front of someone to motivate him into action. This is motivation through incentives, rewards, gifts, inheritances, allowances, and anything that has been promised, guaranteed, offered, bribed, expected, or inferred. People do something in exchange for what they have been told or led to believe they will receive after its completion. This is an important step in motivating people, but it is a form of momentary motivation because it will not and cannot last. It ends when the reward has been received. It is not continuous because it is contingent upon external expectations and if not fulfilled it fails because the people being motivated rely on everyone and everything else - other than themselves.

Intrinsic motivation is internal. It comes from within. It does not rely on external factors or influences because it is self-sustaining. This means intrinsic motivation is eternal rather than momentary because it never ends. There is a beginning, but there is not an ending because internal motivation does not need incentives. It is satisfied with having fulfilled the goal, or accomplished the task at hand. It does not comprehend rewards, guarantees, bribes, expectations, or promises. It has no use for them because intrinsic motivation is influenced by itself. It is the self-propelled motor within us that wants to accomplish and progress because we want to. We enjoy the gratification for doing something because we want to and not for the anticipation of what we will receive or get back in return. Extrinsic motivation is solely about what we will receive when everything is said and done. Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is about what we experience during the process and how we feel about ourselves before, during, and after we have completed the task. The prize is the change that comes over us as we succeed in doing what we have said we would do - because it is what we want.

Here are a few ideas to motivate students to want to play the piano - because they want to.

1. Compliment and Praise your music students on every exercise, practice and performance piece they play. It may be a simple scale to a teacher or parent, but to the music student it is a triumph. It is as though they have scaled the first mountain top of the their long journey toward musicianship.

2. Reward your students when they complete an exercise, practice, or performance piece. In the beginning extrinsic motivation may be needed to teach them how to motivate themselves. Incentives, rewards, and gifts my be suitable to help maintain their enthusiasm. But, it must not become an expectation because then they will continue as long as the promised reward gets better and better (and students will only continue if the rewards continue to get better) and when that fails to happen their motivation to continue playing their instrument will end. Make the transition from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation.

3. Ask your students what they want to learn and teach them what they want to learn. It may sound simple, but students, whether young or old, know what they want to play. Ask your students to choose the songs they will play. When students are given the opportunity to select the songs they want to play they feel more motivated to learn the pieces. When people don't feel well, they go to the doctor and the doctor asks them where it hurts. If music students want to learn a certain style of music, they should be able to. Music teachers should follow the doctors' example and ask students what they want to do. It will motivate them because they'll feel good about what they're playing. If they've selected the songs they must like them which helps them want to play them (they will practice because they have chosen the songs themselves).

4. Help your students know what they are doing (the technical side) and why they are doing it (the emotional side) in everything they do. If students don't comprehend what they are doing (the technical side of it) and don't understand why they are doing it (the emotional side of it) they won't play and won't progress. It won't be enjoyable to them, the parents, or the teacher. Always explain the reason(s) for playing an exercise, drills, scales, chords, particular songs, etc.

5. Once a student can play a song as it is written, teach them to change the style of the music. They can change the rhythm, harmony, and overall feel of the piece. If the song is happy (in a major key) help them play it in a sad style (in a minor key). Try the piece as a jazz piece, blues, rock, classical, etc.

6. Challenge the student to compose one new song per month. Creating or writing music gives the composer (in this case the student) ownership. Instantly they are excited about music because it becomes their music.

7. Hold a concert and have the students play two songs (one they've been working on and one they've written). Having a concert where students can perform in front of an audience is essential. Playing in front of others is a wonderful way to build confidence, improve self esteem, and have fun. When students play one of the pieces they have personally written, they feel a greater connection to music, to their instrument, and to the audience because they are sharing their ideas. They are sharing themselves.

8. Have the parents take lessons and learn with the student (this becomes a challenge for the student and parent to be better than the other). When parents are involved in what their children learn they connect with their children in a unique way. They are actively involved instead of being passively preoccupied with what their children are doing. When parents partner with the music teacher and learn what their children learn they also become a teacher to their child and an amazing example. When children see their parents doing the same activities with them, they are more determined to progress and improve.

9. Have fun music camps such as jazz, compositional, etc. Bring in a presenter who can excite and entertain the students. This will encourage the students to want to be like the professional they have met. Professional musicians can be wonderful role models for younger musicians. The students will look up to these professionals and want to play their music, imitate their style, and do what they have seen them do. When they meet a composer or professional entertainer they connect with the music on a personal level because they know the artist and feel special because they do.

10. Ask students to learn the piano music from their favorite video game. Believe it or not, but video games are starting to produce beautiful scores to accompany their animation. Students are excited because their friends will more readily recognize the soundtrack to a video game as opposed to a major symphony or classical work. Please still teach the masterpieces from the masters. This is not meant to replace anything the student is currently learning or the teaching style of the teacher. This is merely to augment what the teacher is already doing to help motivate the student.

11. If they're bored playing their music as it is written, have students turn their music upside down on the piano and play it that way. Students can play their music "upside down and backwards". It is often very entertaining, unique, and may give students compositional ideas.

12. Have the students learn about the great composers' lives from Bach to Bon Jovi.
When students find out interesting facts and trivia about the great composers the music comes to life. It no longer remains a symphony from the past, but it becomes something familiar to them because they learn stories about why it was written, for whom it was written, stories about performances, etc.

13. Encourage the students to listen to their favorite music on the radio, CD player, internet, ipod, itunes, etc. and try to play it by ear. Not every student learns the same way. Many students are visual, but many are audio. These students can hear something and play it. They must be encouraged to excel in this area. Many teachers want the students to read notes, which is a necessity. But, if they do not learn how to play by ear as well they will be able to read sheet music and if the sheet music is not present they cannot play anything.

14. Teach students, jazz, blues, ragtime, new age, show tunes, popular, etc. Not everyone is a classical musician. Some prefer jazz, blues, ragtime, new age, show tunes, popular, or any other type of music. If that is their preference they must be encouraged to primarily focus on the style of music they enjoy. They should be taught how to play all types of music, but if they are interested in one type more than the others they should pursue that interest (it will help them want to continue practicing because it is what they want).

15. Teach with technology (use digital recorders, computers, camcorders, the internet, etc.). Record every lesson with a digital recorder and have the students review their lessons. Film one lesson a month with a camcorder so students can visually see how they look when they play the music.

16. Create a blog where students can ask questions, see lessons, assignments, teaching tips, advice or anything you want to share with students. This is the information age and the majority of students (especially younger ones) are more technologically minded. It is an effective way to connect with students.

17. Create a YouTube account and post videos of your students playing on it. Record your students playing and post it on your YouTube account. Students can tell their friends to visit your YouTube site to see their recital, concert, master-class, etc. Nothing is more motivational than seeing a student perform a well practiced piece in front of an audience. Why not capture that moment and showcase it to the world. With the internet, that is possible.

Written by Jerald M. Simon
Copyright © 2008 Music Motivation®
All Rights Reserved

What do you do when a music student won't practice?

I have often been asked "What do you do when a music student won't practice?" I often think that question is a cover up. It doesn't get to the root of the problem because as music educators, we don't know why they aren't practicing. They can tell us why they haven't practiced, but that may or may not be the real reason they have chosen not to play their instrument. The problem is not that they aren't practicing, it is questioning why they don't want to play their instrument. If they play their instrument every day but won't practice the assigned music then there is a problem with the music that has been assigned and the lack of interest the student has in playing those pieces or exercises.

If the student won't play their instrument at all - to practice, perfect, perform, or just to play it - maybe they're not as interested in the instrument as their parents are or want them to be. The real question that must be asked is "What is preventing my music student from practicing?"

Is the music not exciting enough? Is the theory being taught in such a way that the student doesn't enjoy the instrument? Is the student feeling overwhelmed by what the teacher is teaching? Is the student not being challenged? Is the student's progression stagnant because the teacher is not fully qualified or doesn't exactly comprehend the material as they should? Is the student not interested in the instrument at all because they would rather draw all day, build model trains, create complex mathematic equations to be solved, work-out, play sports, watch TV, play on the computer, game stations, etc.? Is the student too involved in extra-curricular activities so they feel they don't have time and quite honestly don't have time because of everything they are doing? Why do they feel practicing/playing their instrument is not as important as all of their other activities they are doing and choose to do instead of practicing/playing their instrument?

Everyone has the same amount of time allotted to them. What we choose to do with our time tells us and those around us what we feel is important to us. It shows our preferences, our likes, our interests, what we choose to see, hear, do, experience, learn, and be. By participating in certain activities and not in others, our priorities are on public display to everyone else.

When children are younger, their priorities are primarily chosen for them by their environment. What they see they parents or guardians do or neglect to do often pave the way for what they will do or not do in their own lives.

I ran into my third grade teacher a while ago and asked how he and his family were doing. We were actually in the same neighborhood growing up so I knew him and his family very well and always admired them. I then asked how his teaching was going. It was interesting to converse with him as one adult to another even though at one time we had done so when I was the child and he was the adult.

He said he had just finished a parent-teacher conference and was always surprised to meet the parents of the students. He said you could tell so much about the reason the child was they way they were after meeting the parents. Certain good and bad qualities he noticed in his students were simply a reflection of the good and bad qualities in the parents. He then related a very interesting experience with one set of parents. The student was doing poorly in school, couldn't read very well and didn't enjoy reading aloud or silently to himself. He simply didn't like reading. He didn't enjoy it and wanted to do everything except learn. He had said that he hated books and thought it was a waste of time. His parents of course were furious when they heard this. They then accused the teacher and said, 'What are you doing to help him improve his grades and finish his required reading?' The teacher then said, "What are you doing to help him with his grades?" You see, the parents actually believed it was the teacher's responsibility to teach and help the student's grades improve. They thought their child would succeed or fail because of the teacher and believed if the student succeeded or failed it must have been a result of what the teacher taught or did not teach.

A thought came into the teacher's mind and he asked the father how often he reads books. The father said, almost defiantly, that he hated books and never read them. He said he's not in school anymore and doesn't need to read. The teacher said, "That is exactly what your son is seeing. He sees that you don't care about reading and since you never do it, neither should he. He knows how unimportant learning is in your life, and as a result he has chosen to follow your example. He is doing exactly what you do."

I've told that to several parents of the music students I teach. They can't understand why their child won't practice their instrument. I simply ask them (the parent) if they can play an instrument. Many of the parents say they would love to, but they've never had the time to learn. Many have said they took lessons when they were younger but quit or gave up because they were not interested in playing instruments. I hear some relate to me how they were so involved in sports or school, work, hobbies, etc. and were too busy to practice their instruments and have regretted it ever since. All of these other activities are essential to life and without them we would be incomplete, but if we do something someone else wants us to do and don't do what we want to do, we become incomplete.

Many parents felt forced to play the piano, violin, flute, etc. by their parents and never wanted to do anything with it because they did not learn to enjoy it or appreciate it. When the parents are grown up they look at individuals who have learned to play instruments and feel pained because they know they could have and should have continued playing their instrument(s), but they quit. For whatever reason, they did not stick with it. As a result they want to make their children play an instrument and think their children will miraculously stick with it when they haven't learned to enjoy it either. Do you see a pattern here?

Many parents are doing the same thing to their children that their parents did to them. They read the statistics about how playing an instrument can actually help a child improve their grades. They see how playing an instrument can be a wonderful self-esteem builder to give their students more confidence and an improved self image. The same thing happens with sports. I tell my music students they should play an instrument and play sports. Don't be one or the other (a jock/athlete or a musician) - be both. The only down-side to sports is that eventually your body will age and won't be able to do what it used to do. With music, you can play your instrument regardless of age or frailty of body (unless your hands stop working, then you might be in trouble).

If we can teach our children to love their instruments, to enjoy the music their instrument produces, to listen to various artists - past and present - and to really connect with music because they want to and not because they feel they are being forced to, then they will appreciate music. They will practice and play music because it is music they enjoy, music that makes them feel good and everyone else who hears them play as well. Students don't practice because they have not learned to love their instrument or the music they can produce. Until they play their instrument because they want to and not because they are told to, they will never improve because they won't want to play their instrument. In reality it will never be their instrument, their music, or their talent until they want it.

Written by Jerald M. Simon
Copyright © 2008 Music Motivation®
All Rights Reserved

Theory Tip - Playing Chords

"I'd rather see a sermon preached than hear one any day, I'd rather one would walk with me than merely show the way." These profound lines are from a poem that is dear to me. Children learn how to speak long before they learn how to read. This is because we are born as natural mimics. We copy what others do simply because we can associate ourselves with what we have seen and heard. The same goes for the aspiring musician.

When teaching chords it is easier for the student to play the chords first before they ever see what the chords look like when notated on paper. A simple way to explain chords is to talk about the quality of chords. Chords are like emotions. Sometimes we are happy, sad, devastated, excited, elevated, tense like we want something to happen or change, cool and collected, or any other emotions you can think of, describe, or feel. Each of these emotions can also be expressed through the chords. Happy chords are major chords, sad ones are minor chords. When we think of extremely devastated and depressed emotions we think of diminished chords, excited and elevated emotions lead us to think of augmented chords. When we feel tense like we want something to happen or change we can refer to suspended chords. Cool and collected chords can be expressed by major sixth and seventh chords. When students think of chords as emotions instead of little black dots on a page they understand the feeling of the piece and know how to play the songs. They think about the emotions and can play the piece with feeling.

When teaching chords to students of all ages, simply begin by explaining that chords are individual notes that have been stacked on top of each other. Chords are vertical whereas a melody line is horizontal. I tell younger students to think of their fingers as being individual notes. I tell them to look at their right hand (beginning with the thumb) and count to five. The thumb is one, the index finger is two, the middle finger is three, the ring finger is four and the pinky is five (this is the same for the left hand). I tell students to place their thumb on middle C. With their thumb on middle C students can then place each of the other fingers on each of the white notes to the right of middle C. Those notes are C D E F and G. The fingering is C = 1, D = 2, E = 3, F = 4, and G = 5 (the fingering changes for the left hand because the pinky - the 5th finger - is on C).

Next I tell the students to create what is called a triad chord (a chord with three notes). I tell the students to take the odd numbered fingers (1, 3, and 5 which would be CEG stacked on top of each other with C on the bottom, E in the middle, and G on top) and play the notes together at the same time. They can then move every finger to the right by one (only on the white keys to begin with). The students are playing chords all up and down the piano instantly. They haven't learned the name of the chords yet, but they are playing chords. What's more is that they are accomplishing much more than playing one note at a time. This encourages them to want to keep playing because they see how simple it is to create chords. Music is created from scales (individual notes - the melody that is on a horizontal line) and chords (the individual notes stacked on top of each other in a vertical line). Once students can play the chords then they can be shown on paper what the chords look like when notated and receive an explanation of how to create the various chords (i.e. major, minor, diminished, etc.).

Written by Jerald M. Simon
Copyright © 2008 Music Motivation®
All Rights Reserved

Get Motivated with Music Motivation®

Piano students, parents, teachers and commentators start your engines. The metronome is ticking while the piano students rock back and forth on their benches anxiously waiting to play the piano. The tension is rising and the anticipation overwhelming. This is the performance of their lifetime. But what if they aren't prepared? What if they haven't practiced? Performance is a reflection of one's practice. If you would like to improve your piano playing, you must practice. Professional performers are just that - they perform because they've practiced and perfected their practices. I want every music student to practice like a performer. Pretend like you are a concert pianist or professional rock star. Many professionals practiced their songs thousands of times before they even had one concert. Have you played though your songs a thousand times? I would like to make some suggestions for practicing the piano. Unless you practice to perform you will not have effective practices. The practices must be well thought out and planned. Detail is a very important part of daily practice.

1. Practice for at least 30 minutes every day. Students who are just beginning must practice for at least thirty minutes every day. Make this a habit. Plan and prepare for your daily practices. Set aside the same 30 minute spot every day for practicing. If you do it at the same time every day it becomes a habit. It becomes second nature. If you don't practice the piano, you will not improve. If you have been playing the piano for at least 2 years, you must practice at least 45 minutes everyday (and realistically it should be an hour a day).

2. Practice until the piece or exercise is as perfect as you can make it. This may mean you need to practice more than 30 minutes on some days. Don't be afraid to practice. Don't worry if you make a mistake in your practice. That is what a practice is for. Mistakes just mean you're closer to improving. Even the greatest composers and concert pianist have made mistakes (and many still do) when they play. Don't worry about not playing a piece correctly. You should be more worried about not playing the piece at all than not playing it correctly.

3. Set annual, monthly, weekly, and daily goals with your music teacher. Every week you should carefully set and reach realistic goals about your piano playing. Goals are the greatest influencing factor in becoming better at the piano. If you have goals about playing the piano you will improve at the piano. If you don't have goals about playing the piano you will not improve. Make your goals personal. Your teacher can help you understand what you should do to practice and how you should practice, but only you should set your goals. They are your goals. Your teacher cannot and should not set your goals for you. Initially, your goal may be very broad and general. You may say something like "I want to be a rock star one day". You may say "I want to teach music when I grow up", "I want to be a concert pianist", "I want to compose and arrange music", "I want to play the piano at church," "I want to play jazz music or any other kind of music" or "I'm learning the piano first because I want to learn another instrument and my parents want me to learn the piano before my other instrument". You may simply say, "I just want to be able to sit down and play some songs on the piano". What you may not say, however, is that you are only taking piano lessons because your parents are making you. No one can make you do something you don't want to do. If that is the case, your parents are forcing you to go to piano lessons once a week, but they are not making you play the piano. You are refusing to play the piano and as a result you do not progress and your parents pay money to see you procrastinate your piano playing. Decide what you want to do with the piano and go for it. Create an outline with your teacher and work together to achieve your goals. Without goals you have no direction and will never progress.

4. Practice word for word what your music teacher wants you to do. If the music teacher asks you to play a particular exercise in every single key, that must happen everyday. When you practice the piano you should focus on 5 primary areas.

They are (1) Music Theory, (2) Music Technique, (3) Music Repertoire, (4) Music History, and (5) Music Mastery.

Music Theory is paramount because without it we can't fully understand what music is. If we don't know what music is how can we effectively practice it, perform it, master it, and enjoy it? Music Theory helps us understand how to read music. Music is a language and the theory helps us understand what the words mean, how to create them, how to conjugate them, how to abbreviate them, articulate them, add specific meaning to the words by how we pronounce them, and an overall understanding of how to effectively communicate with others through the medium of our musical vocabulary. When we understand the theory of music we connect with our audience who listens to everything we say musically with their hearts and souls. Our music touches them because we are in touch with the fundamental components of the musical language.

Music Technique helps us express what we have learned to say. Once we understand how to read musical symbols, dynamic markings, articulation markings and so forth, we know what we're reading and in many cases can effectively convey to others what we've read, but until we understand what the artistic techniques are and how to use them, we can't effectively communicate with someone else. It's as if we've learned how to speak Latin but we do it with a southern accent. People may understand what we say, but we don't sound as natural or as authentic as someone who learned that language as their primary language. For them it is second nature. For us it may take a second to understand the nature of the vocabulary because it is not our primary language. We must learn technique.

Music Repertoire helps us enjoy the journey of our musical experience. We play familiar pieces written by familiar composers and we get excited playing well known pieces for our friends and families. They recognize the music and have already connected with the songs. They have personal experiences, memories, and feelings for the music which helps them appreciate it and makes us want to play them. Music Repertoire helps us continue practicing the piano.

Music History helps us realize the development of music. When we understand how music was first created, who invented which instruments, and why various composers have written the music they have, we connect with them. We appreciate what the great musicians of the past have done and what current musicians are doing. We connect with them and they connect with us through their music.

Music Mastery helps us make music a part of our lives. Music students can be taught to read notes on a page, to understand rhythms and rests, to effectively sightread and play beautiful music, but until they make it their own, they are simply repeating what others have repeated before. When musicians can create, arrange, compose, and generate new musical masterpieces that is when the musical world expands and they become part of music history. To take concepts taught about music theory, music technique, music repertoire, and music history and make or create something of our own moves us into music mastery. This is where we give back to the great composers who have come before us.

Written by Jerald M. Simon
Copyright © 2008 Music Motivation®
All Rights Reserved