Fun Ways to Motivate Young Musicians

1. Have younger musicians read books about great musicians (past and present) and learn about their lives.

2. Help them learn upbeat well-known fun songs they think are cool (ask them what they want to play, they'll tell you).

3. Encourage them to attend a symphony, ballet, musical, concert, etc.

4. Watch 'music movies' with them so the young musicians can visually see someone acting like the composer or professional musician.

5. Have them draw a picture about every piece they play.

6. Have them create a comic book about the music they are playing or would like to play.

7. Teach younger musicians how to write their own music and have them tell you what it reminds them of and why they wanted to write it.

8. Ask them to be an assistant teacher and help the teacher teach someone who is even younger than they are (teachers do learn the most).

9. Have a piano pizza party or any other themed instrument party.

10. Ask older music students to do duets with the younger musicians (preferably fun jazz pieces or upbeat and exciting songs).

11. If you can, have college aged students perform and teach about their instrument(s) for high school students, have high school aged students perform for jr. high aged students, and jr. high aged students can perform for elementary aged students (when younger musicians see older musicians who are somewhat close to their own age performing and get to meet with them personally - they look up to them and want to do what they see the more advanced students doing).

12. Film the students playing and make a "music video" of the students playing their instrument.

13. Record a CD of the students playing their instrument.

14. Do workshops with the students. Have them be a guest presenter (once they have mastered a specific technique, scale, or chord) and show the rest of the music students.

15. Ask them to enter local talent competitions

16. If they like sports have them create a song using the athletes stats on the back of the card.

17. Use the computer for games on music.

18. Have the students create mini-plays about the different composers. Have them assume the role as the composers and act like the composer (maybe pretending to write a certain song or a certain event from the composers life).

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