‘If I play my sax my parents are nice to me’: opportunity and motivation in musical instrument and singing tuition

Abstract

Little consideration has been given to the factors which motivate children to take up music tuition, or their reasons for giving up. In part, this is a reflection of the limited extent to which children have been consulted directly in relation to issues exclusively affecting them. This study considered opportunity and motivation for young people taking up music tuition, and the most influential factors in their decisions to discontinue. Young people aged 13Á14 were surveyed by means of questionnaires to 33 schools in one English local authority. The findings highlight key issues in relation to equality of access and gender differences in take up and discontinuation. Analysis confirms a sharp increase in discontinuation rates on transition to secondary school. The most commonly cited reasons for discontinuation are considered, together with the relative importance of family and peer support amongst this age group.

Longitudinal associations among adolescents’ organized activity involvement and sociopolitical values

“…Adolescents who support group‐based hierarchy may avoid involvement in arts and music to limit potential affiliation with “lower‐status” peer crowds. Additionally, adolescents often report that their involvement in arts/music is intrinsically motivated (Driscoll, ), and greater materialism has been linked with lower intrinsic motivation within the school context (Ku, Dittmar, & Banerjee, ). Youth who prioritize material gain may be less intrinsically motivated to engage in arts/music activities and choose to invest their time in activities that provide more tangible benefits (e.g., working).…”

Case studies of factors affecting the motivation of musical high achievers to learn music in Hong Kong

“…Their long-term involvement suggests that their intrinsic interest was strengthened.The above findings confirm those of many previous studies that children are influenced mostly by their parents, siblings and peers in their music learning. For example, positive teacherÁstudent relationship contributes to sustained learning, and other external factors are also detrimental to the learning motivation (Driscoll 2009). In this study some interviewees suggest that their formal study is important for their entrance of university, which echoes the issue of 'too much school work' reported by Driscoll (2009).…”

“…For example, positive teacherÁstudent relationship contributes to sustained learning, and other external factors are also detrimental to the learning motivation (Driscoll 2009). In this study some interviewees suggest that their formal study is important for their entrance of university, which echoes the issue of 'too much school work' reported by Driscoll (2009). The higher achievers reported here attribute their success to internal and stable factors, such as their musical skills, which supports the Attribution Theory (Weiner 1986 As reported earlier, although Hong Kong children find music more interesting and easier than academic subjects, they regard it as less useful for their future career.…”

“…Intrinsic motivation refers to the enjoyment and pleasure obtained in participating in tasks or activities (see Amabile 1996). Driscoll (2009) found that what youngsters enjoy most in instrumental learning include playing along for pleasure, performing in a group, and working out tunes from the instrument. She further indicated that many other external factors would lead to discontinuation of instrumental learning including: (1) expensive tuition fees, (2) other activities are more attractive, (3) too much school work, (4) boring instrumental lessons, (5) bad pupilÁteacher relationship, (6) negative peer pressure for adolescents and (7) entering into a new learning environment such as the secondary school.…”

The Relation Between Adolescents’ Music Activity Participation and Character Development

“…The psychological aspects of music playing and listening have generated sustained research interest only relatively recently (Driscoll, 2009;Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003;Rentfrow, Goldberg, & Levitin, 2011) and the range of research questions and variations in methodology has been broad, so that comparing and generalising results can be challenging (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003;Zentner, Grandjean, & Scherer, 2008). This may, in part, be due to the complexity of music and related experiences, but improved representations and understanding of neurological functioning have also revealed more of the processes involved (Hallam, 2010;Krumhansl, 2002).…”