Improve Practice with Motivational Contracts

otivating students to practice is a perennial concern for teachers and parents. This problem is especially common when dealing with beginning students. After the initial excitement and novelty of playing wanes and as the pieces become increasingly difficult, requiring concentrated effort to perform musically, the daily practice routine quickly becomes a chore. This is the time students verbally disguise their lack of motivation with a chorus of superficial complaints: "I don't like these pieces," "Can't I play something else? ," or "Practicing is boring. " A few innocently profess that "It's just too hard. " Parents become frustrated with watch a favorite TV program or their role as task master, having to play video games on the home comprod the child to practice each day, puter? Clifford Madsen and Charles and soon find themselves at the Madsen suggested that teachers asstudio door inquiring, "What can I sume students should want to learn do to get Janie to practice? " And as what they, the teachers, want them teachers realize, even when some to learn. It is difficult for teachers to students do practice, the quality of realize that some children just do time spent with the instrument is not want to learn. Others do not highly questionable. want to learn what teachers think they should learn. Insert "practice" Learning to practice in place of "learn" in the previous Some experts claim that the mathree sentences, and they should jor task of the instructor is to teach sound very familiar. the student how to practice and to Practice behavior, like social guide the student in forming good skills, historical facts, or mathematpractice habits. It cannot be asics, has to be learned. Some teachsumed that young students know ers claim that the student "just how to make practice periods prodoesn't have it" or "lacks the selfductive. Merely telling a student to discipline to succeed. " The self-dispractice, without specific suggescipline it takes to practice is not tions and plans, may be of little something that a child either has or benefit for the student practicing at does not have. If a student is motihome. vated to practice, it is because he or How can a student be taught the she has learned to associate certain self-discipline necessary to practice behaviors with certain outcomes. each day? Can the process of teachIn order for practicing to be proing implant in the student motivaductive, the teacher must assume tion to practice in a constructive responsibility for assisting the stumanner? Should a child want to dent in structuring the practice roupractice when it is much easier to tine (music environment) so that the student will learn behaviors necessary for achievement. When David E. Wolfe is director of music therapy the student responds favorably to at Utah State University, Logan. music instruction, activities associated with it function as a reward for the student. But when this is not the case and the student lacks the desire or motivation to practice consistently and productively, he needs to learn behaviors that will give him the important skills necessary to make continual progress. Some students find the reward for learning inherent in music activity. These students create little worry for the instructor. For others,