trouble motivating students

[derekph]

I'm having second thoughts about my effectiveness as a teacher for beginners. I feel that I can teach them the right things, but I'm having a huge problem with motivating them to practice; even doing the simplist of exercises. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[fuzzyjon79]

I've had the same problem also. I think I tend to push them more to learn boring fundamentals and don't make it fun for them. I haven't taught in a long time, but if I ever teach a beginner again... I think I will focus more on trying to make the lesson fun and exciting for them.
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[trumpetmike]

I have this habit of teaching fundamentals (long notes, scales, flexibility etc) as games. When doing individual teaching of young beginners, if you start setting them challenges (NEVER say that these are the boring bits, always make them sound fun!) such as a 20 second held low C, they then start trying to push themselves. Challenge them to a long note duel - if they say that it is unfair, I say that to make it fair I will play left handed! We all know that this makes no difference, but they seem to accept the fact without hesitation.

When it comes to scales, again, try and create games with it. If they can go up in one breath - hooray, now try up and back down. Working both the breathing and the scale at the same time. I frequently find myself teaching beginners in pair lessons (not always by choice, that's just the way things work out), when this is the case one player plays the scale, the other holds the fundamental. When the first reaches base again they swap roles.

You can also work scales as a round. The first player plays the scale, after two notes have been played the second player joins in, meaning they should be ascending in thirds. You can then get them listening to see if they can hear when they are both playing the same note (it should be the 7th, one ascending, one descending). I use this in almost all my lessons, with either pairs or individual, when I play the other part.
I have also found this to be a great tool for working with a beginner ensemble (one of which I run). The first week I just split the group in two and we did it just as mentioned above. Last week we had 6 groups (each having a bass instrument (euphonium or trombone) and 2 or 3 trumpets) spaced around the large hall we rehearse in. Each student was then asked to come and stand in the middle to hear how the scale got passed around the room. They seemed to really be fascinated by it, especially the way that each group sounded slightly different, but all playing the same notes.
A fun exercise in listening.

Two other things I have found to be invaluable when treaching beginner and early grade players;

A book of tunes. One that has absolutely no technical stuff in it, just tunes. If this book can be incorporated into lessons alongside the more technical literature I have found that they don't mind learning the "boring" stuff nearly as much - they can see the benefits when the tunes become easier and they are able to play more of them.

A sense of humour! Young students can be intimidated by a teacher who is very serious. Show them that you do have a sense of humour, encourage them to tell you a joke every now and then (laugh at it! even if it really isn't that funny - encouragement is a good thing), respond with jokes of your own - NOT the filthy ones you learnt in college, silly jokes are often the best.

[ValveMaster]

Ah, good question. Even though I do not teach, I am a private student. During the first 6 months that I played alto sax, I couldn't get a sound out of it because I wasn't blowing the right way(needless to say, I didn't know that at the time.)
But when I had my first private lesson, my teacher told me within the first 5 minutes, when he wanted me to try playing something. I tried it, and I felt really good! I could actually play this instrument! My private teacher gave me cartoon theme songs, and theme songs to sitcoms, and movies. It really worked to get me excited about playing alto, and now I'm staying with it for as long as I can play.
The point I'm trying to make is that you have to make it fun, not just some stupid chore their parents and you make them do all the time. It wouldn't hurt to give them rewards like candy or something when they play good. This might make them feel like babies, but it might make them realize that they can play, and have fun.

[LFRoberts5]

True Motivation comes from WITHIN! There is nothing you can do to motivate them. You can only show them the way.
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It's not about us....It's about God!

[trumpetmike]

Good encouragement from a teacher brings about their self motivation.
Very, very few are motivated to start with, it is the teacher that will inspire them to want to learn.

Oh, one more thought - NEVER call anything boring. If that word is heard in relation to any aspect of trumpet playing, a student will tend to think of it as that from then on. The only ones of my students who ever call the fundamentals boring were either started by somebody else or have heard other students call them boring. Ones that have only had me from the start just treat them as something you do - not a chore, something that will improve them - they see that it works, I set them the same sort of exercises I use myself!

[Sixaddict]

I had the idea a little while ago of using rewards. IE, the student plays a scale right and gets a "fun size" candy bar. The harder the challenge, the bigger the prize. This, of course, with early beginners. Slowly, phase the reward out until they get that the feeling of playing is the reward. Has anyone ever tried this with their students, or known someone who has? if so, how did it turn out? I see the possible negative in making the student only want to play in order to get a physical reward, but, I think that if you were to phase out this physical reward soon enough, before the end of their first year studying (or maybe their second), and always give lots of support, this might be a great aid in fostering desire to play in the student.

[derekph]

I think maybe part of my problem is that I'm too concerned with turning them into trumpet players first instead of just getting them interested, no matter how, and THEN turning them into a trumpet player if they want to.

[patrick32378]

I have only browsed the the posts so maybe it's been mentioned, but get them involved outside of "practice." Concerts, Events, Recordings.....I T G !

[mike ansberry]

I don't know about motivating private students, but in my band program, a lot of the kids are motivated because they want to make my select band. Possibly kids could be motivated to work by hearing amazing players on their instruments.

My principal contends that today kids are only motivated by 2 things: money and pizza.

[trpt.hick]

It really doesn't matter what age the student is. If there are no goals, practice will get boring very quickly.

All students need to have live performances scheduled. Sometimes, putting together small groups (trumpet trios, quartets, etc.) of same age/ability players will make it more fun and motivating. Even if all they do is play for each other.....trumpet parties.....at someone's house, this will make it more interesting.

Candy bars as rewards won't help in the long run. It is their egos that need to be challenged and rewarded for jobs well done. Compliments by their peers (or audience members) usually are more meaningful than from parents and teachers.

Dave Hickman

[mafields627]

Get those kids out to a Maynard or Wynton concert -- or have the local orchestral principal trumpet come in for a clinic. I always practiced the most after being inspired by a great live performance.
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No representation is made that the quality of this post is greater than the quality of that of any other poster. Oh, and get a teacher!

[DaveH]

I had absolutely no motivation or interest in the trumpet whatsoever until my father took me to a good private teacher who played for me and then asked me this question: "Would you like to be able to play like that?"

I was highly impressed with his playing and had never heard anyone up close and in person play so well. So, I said, "Yes, I'd like to play like that."

He told me that if I worked at it, and with his help and lessons, I could end up as the best player in my high school band. That also interested me, because I thought I would increase my status in the eyes of my peers - the never ending "holy grail" for teenagers - peer status...

So, I got busy and things started to happen. Further success from my rapidly improving abilities caused me to work even harder and become even more motivated.

My point is that it is all about "internal" motivation. The students have got to want it for themselves. External rewards are usually not very effective, especially for any length of time, and if any kind of sustained effort, hard work, and commitment is going to be necessary, like that which is needed for learning to play an instrument. There must be a desire that comes from within. You could have given me all the "candy bars" in the world - or whatever it is that motivates someone at the junior high age that I was at then - and it wouldn't matter much.

Not until the desire comes from within the individual...that is when things change and success happens.

[Billy B]

Children can not be expected to understand the relationship between work and reward. They are still in the realm of immediate satisfaction. We can have fun scooping manure if we have the right attitude and attitude must be taught by example. You must be genuinely excited about the student's progress for the student to get excited. The other part of the equation is the parents. No matter how much the student respects the teacher, the parents have more influence over the student than any other person(s). So now you have to educate the parent. Bach/Selmer has a nice pamphlet that helps parents understand their role in the band/orchestra experience. I also speak with the parents as well as give them some written suggestions.
1.They must schedule daily practice time and help the student remember what time it is. Practicing in their spare time doesn't work because they don't have any spare time. It's like me painting that bedroom in my spare time; it never gets done.
2.They must sit down with the student and listen to recommended recordings as they would when they read to/with the student.
3.They must take the student to recommended live performances. You can't be a player unless you are a fan. This is true of baseball and trumpet.
If parents will just do those three things, I can handle the rest.
Eric Bolvin has a book of 179 tunes for beginner/intermediate. Kids love them. You can easily use these to teach tone, technique. etc...
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink; Unless you salt the horse.

[EddieLewis]

I don't remember EVER having this problem and I've taught literally hundreds of beginners.

I think the reason my students have always maintained their interest in the lessons and practicing is because I set the lessons up in a way that they can see the progress they're making. And they can't see the progress if you don't tell them when something is wrong.

There are new age teachers out there who think that everything in education should be possitive. They think that every word we say as teachers should be uplifting and encouraging. But when you do that, not only are you lying to the students, but you're also denying them the opportunity to see their progress on their own. By lying to them this way, you rob them of their motivations.

Of course, I believe in uplifting and encouraging statements. All I'm saying is that they lose their effectiveness when you don't contrast the possitive with the criticism.

When I teach beginners, I help them to understand what exactly is wrong with the way they play. I guess some people like to sugar coat it by always mentioning something good along with the bad. I don't do that. I tell them what's wrong and I don't appologize for it. However, I also plan which things to criticize and in which order. This is important because you should only criticze them for stuff they can fix. You don't take an absolute beginner and crticize him for not being able to high notes......or something else that's going to take a while to fix. You criticize only those things that can be fixed soon. In some cases, they are things which are fixed in the very first lesson.

Then, the next step is obviously to teach them HOW to fix it. That's another rule I have for myself as a teacher. If I don't know how to fix it, then I have no business criticizing it. But that's usually not a problem because I've been teaching for over twenty years now. There's not much a beginner can do that I haven't seen yet. So I give them step by step directions about how to fix the problem. As I said already, sometimes we can fix the problems right there in the lesson. Other times I rely on them to do the work on their own at home.

And that is where the motivation comes in. When the students fix a problem that I pointed out to them, I make a big deal out of it. The bigger the problem was, the more I celebrate and congradulate them.

That said, I think the problem with the way some teachers teach rudiments is that their reasons for the rudiments are never made clear to the students. Giving the students these rudiments becomes more of a right of passage than a problem solver for physical problems on the instrument. If the students never enjoy the success that rudiments bring, how can you expect them to be motivated enough to practice them?

Anyway, that's my approach and I've never had a problem with it. In fact, even though beginning trumpet students are supposed to be short on attention spans, I commonly teach hour long lessons where the younger kids never seem to act as if they want to leave. I REALLY think this pattern of criticism and encouragement is why I don't have that problem. They enjoy our lessons because they know we're getting somewhere with it all.

[ This Message was edited by: EddieLewis on 2004-07-26 02:16 ]

[stukvalve]

start each lesson with a shotgun blast warning shot.
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[vivace]

I am teaching some beginners. One year students who have played some, but not a lot. My biggest trouble is for them to try new things.

i.e. OK..... you are holding your trumpet all wrong... lets try something ok?

aww, do I have to? what is wrong with the way i am holding it.

explanation of how the valves stick when pressed at such a harsh angle, no dexterity in the fingers, etc.

aw, but i don't want to.
This one girl never practices and comes in to waste my time. I am getting paid, but they are free lessons for the kids. I should have to waste my time tellling kids they need to practice. This one girl knows the notes (all 5 they use where she is at) but she is so negative. I think she is about to cry everytime i ask her to play something. awww i can't do it. I don't know the notes! i don't want to play.

ok, lets figure out the notes, shall we?

but i dunno what they are.

sure you do. I don't believe you.

but I AM TELLING THE TRUTH.

no you are not. You know whta this note is right?

yah, its a C.

so what comes after a c.

i dunno!!!!!!!!!!1

yes you do!

its a D!

see! you know it.


and that is how the whole lesson is. I get really really frustrated with it. But she thinks that I am the best trumpet player in the world, and I tell her that if she practices, she can get better than I am.

I have one student with a lot of potential though. She is just such an annoying little brat of a 7th grader. I hope she gets very very serious with her playing. She has only been playing for 2 years now, and is fantastic for her age/ability. She just needs to get disciplined, and she willbe awesome. i hope.

Thankfully next week is my last week. I don't know how much more I can handle .
_________________
"All music is folk music. I ain't never heard no horse sing no song." - Louis Armstrong

[Billy B]

Don't ask them to do something, tell them to do it. Their approval is not an option.

Ask them why they are taking lessons. The standard answer is that the parents make them. Offer to talk the parents into letting them quit. I've never had one take me up on it. Once they realize you have their number , things go more smoothly.

[jhatpro]

Don't dispair. Motivating students of any kind can be challenging. Here's an article that's not about teaching music, but it does contain some valuable advice.

http://www.virtualsalt.com/motivate.htm
_________________
Jim Hatfield

"The notes are there - find them.” Mingus

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[Carl_Hess]

I think the key to motivation is to taylor your teaching style to the indivdual. Some students might be interested in jazz. For them, you might practice major/minor scales..then teach the blues scales (along with some JA improv books or something)

With students who are more classical oriented, perhaps listen to great classical players. Have a little Q and A about their sound, technique, etc.

I also highly recommend "Daily Fundamentals" by Michael Sachs. In the back of the book, he presents the Haydn and Hummel concertos as "skeletal structures". This is a great resource for young students (as well as old guys) because it gets their chops wet with "real" pieces of music while teaching them the correct way to work on them.

When I was young, I had several private teachers. Some were band directors, others professors with their DMA in performance. All we worked on in lessons was Arbans, etc. I was not THE LEAST bit motivated to become a better player until I began studying with a guy who was still in undergrad! He exposed me to some of the literature and it got me excited about music. Although I am certainly not negating the importance of fundamentals, I think an exposure to real music is often helpful....at least it was for me.
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