INFOSHEET
#6
Foundations for Excellence
Promoting health and wellbeing in young dancers and musicians
Motivation – a perspective from the instrumental teacher Paul Denegri
Summary Pupil motivation is inter wined and inspired by teacher motivation. Self motivation is the key that unlocks a simple formula of; a motivated and inspired teacher, inspires and motivates the pupil and pupil goal setting then becomes an obvious and natural progression. A motivated pupil will inspire and motivate the teacher and so the circle turns again.
Teaching in the performing arts whether it be music or dance, over a period of time and with the best will in the world, can become monotonous and repetitive. In a ten year teaching cycle it is more than conceivable that when teaching an instrument that the same problem solving reoccurs time and time again. In fact the instrumental music lesson can become just that, problem solving. Before you know where you are you are delivering lesson after lesson, by simply getting through. This is not helped by the limited repertoire choices in certain instrumental groups. Compared to academic teaching in the classroom environment the performing art teachers narrow subject band of problem solving becomes, in time, a real challenge to self motivation and the ability to constantly deliver quality, well prepared lessons day in day out. It can even challenge the very love of music making and dance itself. Soon the greatest motivation can be to simply earn a living and to do this securely is to retreat and stand by the safe, tried and tested formula that has stood so well for so many years. But every eight to ten years a new generation of young people have arrived with differing expectations from the generation before and a world that has changed considerably and is changing rapidly around them. What worked so well in teaching ten years ago, to be successful may now need a little tweaking here and there or even a complete overhaul if there is a living to be earned let alone to feel motivated and enjoy the job that is embraced by a creative umbrella. It may need a return to basics and complete rediscovery of the love of music and dance to rekindle a passion for a subject that took hold many years ago but a passion that has been battered by the very logistics of teaching the, hours, the pay and often the difficult conditions A teacher may have taught the second movement of the Haydn Trumpet Concerto fifty times a year for the last twenty five years. The very sound of this piece of music could result in the lesson becoming robotic and certainly not individualised. The teacher then becomes drained of fresh ideas and motivation on Haydn’s masterpiece as yet again the same rhythmic and technical problems occur but for pupil exploring the beauties and challenges of this work for the first time it is and should be a new exciting musical journey. How disappointing must it be for the young trumpet player on this new path, finally embarking on a masterpiece for their inquisitiveness to be met by a jaded, seen it done it all grey approach, which manifests itself in the conveyor belt teaching rather than individualised and inspired learning where the pupil is drawn out and motivated to go away and practice, discover and learn more. How we can ask our pupils to be motivated and inspired between lessons if we do not demonstrate we are motivated and inspired ourselves in the very short time we spend with them each week? After all if we are to earn a good living, have job satisfaction we will need to retain our pupil’s interest and inspire them and subsequently gather new pupils who on a tip off from friends also want to learn.
A good place to start the re-motivational journey is to ask a few basic questions answered with some home truths. >> Why did I start teaching? >> Why am I still teaching and for what purpose are my efforts? >> Is it through a love for music or dance that I am teaching, or a love of teaching, both, or neither? >> What satisfaction if any do I still find in teaching? Motivation – a perspective from the instrumental teacher >> Paul Denegri
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INFOSHEET
#6
Foundations for Excellence
Promoting health and wellbeing in young dancers and musicians
The Motivational and Inspirational Circle Inspired pupils will be motivated pupils, for motivated pupils setting goals is clear, natural and easier, the lessons are more enjoyable, the relationship between the teacher and pupil more productive, so pupil’s progress. The instrumental teacher feels his or her expertise and efforts are being appreciated and actually work. The teacher and pupil feel challenged and motivated and this in turn inspires the pupil and the pupil in return challenges and inspires the teacher. The teacher ends the day feeling they have achieved and the pupils ends their day also with a sense of momentum, inspired, energised and enthused to work alone until the next lesson. So the circle turns again. However in the difficult conditions of instrumental teaching this circle is a very difficult one to keep turning especially over many years. At the end of the day it is the teacher and only the teacher that can start the circle turning. Who will inspire the inspirer? When the inevitable moments of lack of motivation arrive a love of music, ingrained when young, doesn’t mean there is an automatic reset button to ignite personal motivation. If we had to eat ice cream every day for fifteen years after a while the very smell of it would suffice enough for us to look elsewhere for tasteful delights but somehow as dance and instrumental music teachers working in a very narrow width of study we must magically travel to work full of desire to teach, because music and teaching are such wonderful creative subjects and of course we love what we do. This is unrealistic. Dance and instrumental teachers, like many other professions need to find ways to stay motivated to inspire even within an inspirational and creative subject. This is not easy. Using the ice cream analogy, to enable a daily interest in ice cream we would need to look at different ways of eating it, different styles and techniques of holding a spoon, or eat with a fork, different ways of preparing it, different bowls to eat it from, toppings to add to it, different flavours, different conditions in which to eat it and so on. Enabling us in the end to still find ice cream fascinating and intriguing enough to keep our imagination alive and our desire to learn burning. Of course there have been many INSET’s, there are hundreds of courses on the market and of course worksheets of which this another one but at the end of the day only the teacher can push the ignition button that will fire the motivation and desire again.
Joining the Inspirational and Motivational Circle Lola’s Law – reinvention and continually recreating an interest. Of course motivation in teaching dance or instrumental music is not unique in its limited skill field and much can be learnt from other professions. A fairly recent conversation with a hairdresser by the name of Lola struck a chord of sympathy and admiration. Lola had always wanted to be a hairdresser from the age of 6 and after training and practice her dream was realised. Every client for Lola is now a way of earning a living and although many clients have the same hairstyle on every visit, Lola’s attitude always appears to the client to be fresh, interested and enthusiastic about her professional hairdressing skills and knowledge. When asked how she stays so motivated in what is a narrow skill field, cutting hair, her answer was as wise as it was thought provoking. For Lola the key to being a successful hairdresser was twofold. 1. To continually recreate an interest in her subject. In each area of hairstyling, cutting, styling, colouring, highlights although Lola knew how to put all these areas in to practice and had done so for many years, to keep her original interest fuelled she continually studied and explored deeper behind these skills and the industry as a whole. This research led to areas and levels of interest she never thought possible. She continually looked for inspiration which enabled and enthused her to bring new ideas to her clients. The research challenged her accepted practises. It also led her to discovering a talent for colouring in particular which was then encouraged by her boss to for her to have high level training and attend courses leading to yet more doors opening at a higher level and for Lola to feel as if her career was moving forward. Motivation – a perspective from the instrumental teacher >> Paul Denegri
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INFOSHEET
#6
Foundations for Excellence
Promoting health and wellbeing in young dancers and musicians
2. Reinvention. The easiest path for Lola would have been to cut, colour and style in the same way she had been taught by both her experience and by her training. It had worked but Lola realised that the lack of change in her narrow skill area was causing her to be dulled by habit and routine, which led to frustration, intolerance, lack of patience and subsequently lack of motivation. So she decided she would reinvent everything about her job, from the way she cut hair to the way she spoke to clients, to the products she used to the techniques she used to highlight, no area of her job was left unquestioned or unchallenged. Lola’s Law continues to keep Lola inspired and motivated which subsequently feeds through to her clients. She is in constant demand, tipped for bigger and better things and despite being highly regarded as a senior hairstylist she remains motivated to keep trying to improve. This can only be good for her clients. In translation for instrumental music teachers the key to reinvention and recreation has to be to strive to become a musician who plays say the trumpet or oboe player, not the other way around a trumpeter who happens on the sideline to be a musician. Looking beyond just the instrument widens the possibilities for interest and therefore much more to talk, debate and discuss with pupils and experiences and discoveries to pass on to pupils beyond the technical challenges of mastering an instrument or dance technique.
The Four E’s – Enthusiasm, Energy and Expertise with Experience A visitation to Lola’s Law will help to create and lead to ‘The Four E’s’ of Enthusiasm, Energy, and Expertise with Experience, vital to stimulate lesson preparation and delivery, inspiring pupils and therefore turning the circle to help teacher motivation. Enthusiasm is infectious and enthusiasm for a subject is inspirational and stimulates fascination. For gifted and talented pupils their dance or instrumental lessons are the highlight of their week. They look forward to that day, that time when they can learn more and demonstrate how far they have travelled. It is an area they excel and are looking to excel further in. They arrive at lessons with enthusiasm (although not always visible). Having looked forward to their lesson all week it is important to greet them with enthusiastic rapport that is focused on them. This is their lesson. This maybe the ninth hour of teaching that day for the teacher but for the pupil it is the hour and the pupil timetabled at the end of the day deserves the same freshness as those earlier. The same goes for the pupils we teach today to those we taught twenty years ago. This is their one chance at education. We expect our pupils to be energised and complain if they are not but if teachers are not energised at least of mind then we have no right to expect the pupils to somehow magically show energy for learning. Grey will always mirror grey. Expertise in the background of the subject, in the lesson preparation, the lesson delivery and the expertise in the expectation of pupils in and beyond a lesson is a block builder for confidence in both teacher and pupil and motivation needs self confidence. Gifted and talented children tend on the whole to be very confident and perform way above their age suggests they should be able to do so. This can cause teachers who no longer perform to a high level feel deep down that they are unable to take the gifted pupil further but while the pupil may have enthusiasm, energy and expertise above their years, they will never have years of performing and teaching experience. This experience can be drawn on when lessons seem to have reached a ‘dead end’. For example it maybe a pupil can actually play the piece better than the teacher can but a discussion and advice can be given about how a performance will be become different with nerves, expectation, differing performing environments such as auditions, concerts, competitions. This leads to advice on coping with the different scenarios, performing it cold or without a proper warm up should the pupils find themselves in such a situation. This leads to lessons on preparation in the long term and prior to stepping out on the stage. Suddenly what seemed like the end of the journey regarding that particular piece has turned material for learning for many lessons. The motivation for future lessons is found simply by drawing on valuable personable experiences.
Motivation – a perspective from the instrumental teacher >> Paul Denegri
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INFOSHEET
#6
Foundations for Excellence
Promoting health and wellbeing in young dancers and musicians
The Lesson Looking at how a lesson starts, runs and ends is a good way of finding new motivational challenges. The results of a well prepared and well delivered lesson brings self satisfaction that subsequently breeds a desire to simply do it again but only better Motivation is self feeding. It comes from the knowledge that a lesson has been productive that the pupil has learnt, has developed in some way and they are inspired to work before the next lesson. This feel good factor is important. How a lesson starts and how a lesson finishes is vitally important for both the work in the lesson and how the pupil will work away from a lesson. Greeting a pupil with a smile and giving them undivided attention may be obvious enough but it counts for a great deal. Spending a few valuable minutes at the start of a lesson asking a pupil about their life away from their dance or music speaks volumes to children. If they feel a genuine interest in them and their culture, they will begin the lesson more willing to work and will be interested in what the teacher has to say. Mutual respect is a powerful motivational tool. Following this a brief summing up of what was achieved and worked on at the last lesson, what will be worked on in the current lesson, what hopefully will be achieved by the end of the current lesson sets goals and in a few minutes the land has been laid and motivation set for both teacher and pupil. Ending a lesson on a positive or high note will inspire willingness on the pupil’s behalf to practise. Even if the lesson hasn’t been as productive as hoped for the last few minutes of a lesson are vital. This is important as dancers and musicians spend more time on their own practising than they do actually being taught. So a last few words of praise for a particular aspect of the lesson or a good work ethic speaks volumes as the pupil departs. A structure to lesson provides a good means of motivation. If the structure is flexible and adaptable it provides interest and enables good pace for each individual pupil. Keeping a good pace to the lesson helps to keep the teacher and pupil thinking quickly. Not all pupils are inspired by the same lesson routine. Having a structure to the lesson gives something to hang on to but going off on a new unexpected topic of learning brought about by discussion with the pupil can be deeply rewarding for both teacher and pupil. Notebooks are common place but the vast majority of notebooks have little value after a few weeks. Most are flimsy affairs and contain a shopping list of what to practice; Mozart Sonata in F, G major scale and maybe an odd piece of general advice. Notebooks can be a motivational tool for both teacher and pupil if viewed differently. A notebook that is individualised and has longevity for life provides a more productive learning resource and reference book for years to come. A hard backed book that contains technical exercises specific to the owner, tips and advice on how to practice, listening and background reading suggestions, exactly what to address in repertoire, warm up routines, objectives for next lesson or for the term and so on, is no longer a shopping list but a personalised resource and record of goals set and achieved. It also provides a place for pupils to write matters that come up away from lessons to be addressed. Their own thoughts on the challenges and experiences they have in their learning. If the teacher takes an active pride in the presentation of the book it becomes a reference point in the lessons and therefore a motivational tool to keep the progression of lessons in a logical step.
Identifying Goals To return to the circle if a pupil is inspired by their teacher through their lessons they will be motivated to work and the goal setting follows naturally by simply wanting to achieve because they are inspired. Goals can also come from outside the lesson steered by the teacher through suggested listening of live concerts, recordings, films, TV or any other related media. Goals are also peer fed by pupils wanting to play or perform like their friends. There is no doubt more formalised goal setting done correctly inspires motivation for pupil and teacher but only if the goal setting is flexible and is selected because it fits the individual pupil. Motivation – a perspective from the instrumental teacher >> Paul Denegri
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INFOSHEET
#6
Foundations for Excellence
Promoting health and wellbeing in young dancers and musicians
Different pupils are inspired by different goals, so flexibility is paramount in objectives and goal setting. Exams and competitions for some pupils (and parents) they are a worthy goal to help push a pupil on but not for every pupil. For some they become stressful or a point of conflict between teacher and pupil and can actually end up being a demoralising experience for both and therefore the intended original motivation is lost. Exams may also take away from actually learning the correct techniques as a chase ensues to have everything ready for the exam date. Some children are naturally competitive others are more team orientated finding the right path with exams and competitions is vital. Taking exams early in their school life leaves very little to aim for as regards exams as they move through the school. It is far better to pace the exams out over many years and learn the techniques correctly. Concerts are a wonderful and inspirational motivator. For gifted and talented children it is the moment for them to show the world just how good they are but concerts too must be varied. A tired formula of the same concerts at the same time of year every year in the same venue can lead to complacency and simply getting through to tick the box. Varying the venue, or time, or if that cannot be achieved, the theme and content to add interest will inspire the pupil to study outside of the tried and tested repertoire. This also motivates the teacher to create an interest for themselves by exploring new and untried waters. Combining with other disciplines, such as music and dance, or combining the concert with an art exhibition, film and other media or cross curricula work such as social or political history, geography, literature all help to set performance and learning goals as well create a new angle of interest for the teacher and therefore a new area of exploration and motivation. There are great parallels with sport and performance arts that can be exploited to provide new performing horizons and stimulate interest. Ensembles are a good goal objective, either to be good enough to join by invitation or to work towards a competitive audition. The same goes for auditions to the CAT’s group of schools. Pupil goals can be set in many areas, not always directly to do with the instrument or dance discipline but can be technical, musical, practical, involve research or written investigation. By varying the different goals an interest is maintained for both pupil and teacher. Regardless of the various strategies the most effective goals for pupils are those that contain the following: >> The pupil feels the goal is theirs and not part of a plan for all >> They are inspired by and enjoy the pursuit of the goal >> They are few in number and therefore avoiding spreading their efforts too thinly >> Does the goal suitably and realistically challenge >> The goal is clear, measurable, has a time scale to it and can be adapted as progress is made Together teachers and pupils can motivate and goal set for each other and with Lola’s Law there is a way to motivate oneself that will build opportunities and self confidence. At the end of the day only the teacher can push the ignition button to recreate and reinvent.
South West Music School, PO Box 730, Exeter EX1 9RA
[email protected] 01392 460770 Publication date: March 2012 Copyright © South West Music School 2012 and the individual authors. All rights reserved. South West Music School encourages the copying, reproduction and distribution of this document to promote health and wellbeing, provided that South West Music School is acknowledged. However, no part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or distributed for profit or other commercial enterprise, not may any part be incorporated into any other publication, without written permission of South West Music School. Disclaimer: Every care has been taken in preparing this advice but no responsibility can be accepted by the authors, South West Music School or the Music and Dance Scheme for any harm, however caused, which results from this advice Motivation – a perspective from the instrumental teacher >> Paul Denegri
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