With the first week of 2021 lessons done I found myself having to play a role of motivator a little bit more. I could sense that most of my students were maybe losing grips with worth ethic and feeling a bit untethered. It makes sense. With us being online and having no performances to look forward to, it is often difficult for them to find the motivation they need to be productive. And this has led me to an interesting problem as an educator. How do I convince my students that improving as musicians is a worthy goal?
For those of my students who are new and just learning their instrument, it isn’t that hard to motivate them. Every week they see real improvement and that is often enough to keep them engaged. However my students who are around 10-13 years old who have been drumming for a few years are really missing those opportunities to perform. I have had to convince them that improving themselves as musicians is something worth working towards. It hasn’t been easy, but I have found that coming up with a real system that they can track has been helpful. This week I want all my students to record themselves playing something manageable. Then in two months I will have them record the same thing so they can see their progress. It is something that I hope will prove to them that this online time wasn’t a waste.
Fingers crossed they don’t lose too much steam! I will have to keep you posted on the results. If all goes to plan this time away from performing may forever change the way they view their improvement and help them to see the importance of working towards being a better musician.
Hilary