[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement:
Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor
of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users'
privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your
privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket
to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we
also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.
Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your
contribution is not tax-deductible.)
PayPal Acct: 
Feedback: 
Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):
[ Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message ]
Date Posted: 18:42:31 04/04/05 Mon
Author: Nickie
Subject: Practicing
This is a pretty open-ended discussion starter... How do you all think is best to go about motivating students to practice? Does it take a different kind of motivation for an instrumentalist vs. a vocalist? Let me know what you guys think. I'm just curious as to what the best way is to get students to practice and practice regularly.
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Replies:
[>
Re: Practicing -- Hayley, 11:46:11 04/05/05 Tue [1]
I think that a good way to motivate students to practice is to find music that the student likes. When I have to learn a song in band, choir, or any kind of lesson if I like the song then I'll practice but if I'm not playing anything I like then I don't really want to learn it. Find something that has a fun melody or something that's really pretty I think that would make it easier to practice.
[ Edit | View ]
[> [>
Re: Practicing -- Nickie, 09:38:48 04/06/05 Wed [1]
Well what about those pieces that students have to learn? You know, "the classics." I know that for me, there was a set of Italian arias that I was "supposed" to have seen/worked on before college. They're the soprano "classics." I am sure there are some of those for all instruments. How do we get students to practice those which they may not like? And what about other languages? I know I hate singing in German but it's part of being a singer. I have to work extra hard and practice more on the things that are harder for me... So how would we get our students to do the same even if they may not like the piece they are learning...?
[ Edit | View ]
[> [> [>
Re: Practicing -- Lisa, 15:02:00 04/07/05 Thu [1]
Maybe give the student an incentive, or if someone in the area is performing that piece or one similar to it, take them to see it. It might inspire the student to want to be better at the song. An example of an icentive would be to tell the student if they learn the song well and perform it well, they will be able to pick the next piece to work on.
[ Edit | View ]
[>
Re: Practicing -- Heather Gosche, 19:04:09 04/10/05 Sun [1]
Your students must have intrinsic motivation in which they feel a sense of achievement without any external reward for the practice they are doing. Students must learn to be disciplined enough to want to practice toward personal goals in which they set themselves. You can assist students in setting goals, however they have to be motivated themselves to practice and achieve the goals.
[ Edit | View ]
[>
Re: Practicing -- Chad, 12:22:13 04/13/05 Wed [1]
I do see it best to motivate a student by associating with him/her in a friendly matter, but clearly outline what goals are to be met in order to be successful. If the student appears to not be taking practicing seriously, come down upon them harshly. Try to pair this with performance, either make the student perform, or ask the student to observe professional musicians. This worked for me.
[ Edit | View ]
[> [>
Re: Practicing -- Hayley, 06:59:11 04/14/05 Thu [1]
I'm not sure that if you come down on a student harshly it will help motivate them to practice. I know that when I get in trouble for not doing well or practicing enough it makes me want not want to take lessons any more. But I do think seeing a professional perform could be helpful. Because if the student was impressed by what they saw you can tell them that in order to get that good at their instrument or singing they need to practice.
[ Edit | View ]
[> [> [>
Re: Practicing -- Nickie, 14:18:33 04/19/05 Tue [1]
Good point, Hayley. We actually talked about this in my Leadership class. We discussed what motivates boys vs. what motivates girls. We all sort of collectively came to decide that males may respond better to "harshness" from an instructor, while females may find this offensive and, like Hayley expressed, want to quit. I find that that is true for me, also. We decided that girls usually respond better to positive feedback and gentle constructive criticism. I know in my private lessons, the more I get "yelled at" (no professor REALLY yells, but we always say that!), the more I get discouraged. But if it's a slight nudge, just a bit of constructive criticism and I feel like it has been said in order to REALLY make me a better musician, then I am more than happy to march right up to the practice room and fix whatever it may be.
[ Edit | View ]
[>
Re: Practicing -- Laura, 18:30:53 02/19/06 Sun [1]
I think the best way to motivate to practice is to make music fun for the student. Find music that he or she will enjoy playing. Anyone is more likely to practice if it is something that they want to do. I know that as a student my motivation to practice was always to get better, to strive to achieve the next level. Therefore, I think auditions for chair placements are great motivation. Especially, if you have it so that you can challenge someone for their chair position. This makes it so that a lot of the students will come to class prepared because they know that they may get challenged for their chair position.
[ Edit | View ]
[>
Re: Practicing -- Rita, 20:48:44 02/19/06 Sun [1]
I think it's important to give and take with your students when getting them to practice... Start out giving them something that they neccessarily wouldn't pick off hand, one of the "italian hits" for example, and do your best to make them understand that it is important that they have a well rounded literature list to be a well rounded musician, but also get to know your students and find something that they would want to work on, a jazz piece or musical therater peice... All types of music have thier place, time, and techniqual skills that students can learn... And when they understand the music, enjoy what they are singing/playing, and see the imporatance in it, they are more likly to be self motivated...
[ Edit | View ]
[>
Re: Practicing -- Amanda, 08:08:32 02/20/06 Mon [1]
There have been some good points brought up in this discussion, I just have a different point to consider. Sometimes it goes beyond the actual music... Show students that YOU are motivated with their goals in mind, and they may be more motivated to achieve those goals. Students usually look up to their teachers, especially early on. Being a good model for the students meaning being prepared, having a plan, and being motivated yourself can also give you some credit.
[ Edit | View ]
[>
Re: Practicing -- Devin Bramel, 07:04:24 03/27/06 Mon [1]
I would just like to add to this discussion, that one method that helps inspire me to want to practice is the setting of goals. Working cooperatively with one's teacher, one can develop a series of short and long-term goals.
For example, if one is preparing for their senior recital, as I am right now, the first thing I did was, with my teacher, create a list of the music I want to play on the recital (a long-term goal). I then proceeded to break that list down into what I want to play for my jury this semester, what I want to play for perf class next year, and what I want to especially focus on over Christmas break (all a series of short-term goals). These goals could be further subdivided into weekly goals, such as mastering sections of pieces, etc.
The point is that, for me at least, setting goals is extremely helpful as a motivation to practice. By creating goals, I am able to avoid becoming overwhelmed and stressed at the thought of not having any sort of plan; it is important, however, to make sure that the goals are attainable and reasonable (for example, one's goal should not be to master and memorize an entire piece in one week).
[ Edit | View ]
[>
Re: Practicing -- Benjamin Lupo, 12:18:39 04/09/06 Sun [1]
Recording lessons with a student will often encourage them to practice more. When I am singing a piece in my voice lesson, I am more likely to focus on those things I consider bad instead of those I could/should be pleased with. Its easy to get discouraged when you are focusing on the negative. By comparing recordings at the beginning and end of a card-marking period or semester, the student will hear their progress or lack thereof. This way of looking at your performances encourages goal-oriented practice time.
My high school director recorded a piece we had worked on for two weeks for Back to School night for our parents to listen to. When the concert rolled around a month later people were astounded by the amount of growth the ensemble had made. It made the audience more excited about our performance. The same thing would work using these recordings in a one on one setting.
[ Edit | View ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]
Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
