Why Won’t They Just Practice?

As a band director I have tried everything under the sun to get my kids to practice. For me, practice logs became a dreaded headache-inducing last resort. In this article, the author combines the tenets of Self-Determination Theory (Autonomy, Readiness, Competence) with the Music Practice Motivation Scale (MPMS) to help to determine what really motivates students to practice.

The MPMS is a questionnaire for students which asks students to respond on a scale of 1-7 for statements such as I practice because I would feel bad if I was not taking time to practice., Or, I practice because I enjoy discovering new ways of performing on my instrument. The survey tool responses are categorized as Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Motivation, and Amotivation.

It should be noted that on a point scale of 28 possible points for each category, most results averaged in the 15-20 point range. So overall, motivation to practice was not particularly high in the sample set, and probably representative of a typical high school program.

Surprisingly, the biggest finding is that extrinsic motivators such as “Sticks and Carrots” aren’t as effective as intrinsic motivators. As a band director, you would think that holding grades over students’ heads in the form of practice logs or other punishment/reward systems would work to encourage more practice. But the opposite is true. Students in this study indicated that they are more motivated by intrinsic motivators such as the desire for more knowledge, and the satisfaction of accomplishment.

Schatt further reports subgroup responses to show that seniors in high school are generally less motivated to practice than freshmen or sophomores. Additionally, students who take private lessons seem to be more motivated to practice than their non-lesson-taking counterparts.

The big implications here are that we need to move away from bribery or punitive consequences surrounding practice habits. If we find more engaging things for students to work on in their own time, they will be more likely to practice. Schatt also suggests that exposing students to musical experiences at the higher education level may increase motivation particularly for juniors and seniors. He points to ideas such as visiting university ensembles, college visits, and career-path discussions.. Also, the autonomy piece is huge, especially in the private studio. Allowing students more choice in the selection process for exercises and repertoire could increase motivation to practice.

This was always a frustration for me as a high school band director. I eventually landed on the conclusion that “the kids who want to practice will, and the ones who don’t want to practice won’t, or they will lie about their practice hours to get the grade they want.” Also, I had some equity issues, some students just couldn’t practice at home, and they had limited access to the band room before or after school. For better or worse, I stopped including practice as a calculated part of the students’ grades.

The best thing we can do is to be inspiring, choose inspiring literature, and leverage as much intrinsic motivation as we can in our students when it comes to practicing. Let’s reduce the bribery, and cease forcing practice logs for grades. While these things may work for some students, extrinsic motivators are not a one-size-fits-all solution.