Music motivation and the effect of writing music: A comparison of pianists and guitarists

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine a set of motivation variables within guitar and piano players. We also tested for motivational differences among three groups: those who write music, those who plan to write music in the future, and those who do not write nor intend to write. An international sample of 599 musicians was obtained (guitar: N = 292, piano: N = 307) through the use of an online survey. Self-Determination Theory, a prominent perspective in the motivation literature, was utilized along with other motivational constructs, including perceived competence, musical self-esteem, effort, desire to learn, willingness to play, and possible musical selves. Findings revealed differences between pianists’ and guitarists’ levels of motivational intensity, desire to learn, introjected regulation, perceived competence and willingness to play. Results also indicated that the group who write music had significantly higher levels of musical self-esteem, willingness to play, motivational intensity, desire to learn, and perceived competence. Findings from this study suggest that pianists and guitarists both are intrinsically motivated, but for different reasons. The underlying motivational needs that are met by the instrument’s “culture” appear to focus on competence for pianists and on autonomy and relatedness for guitarists.

Psychological Needs and Motivational Outcomes in a High School Orchestra Program

“…In summary, it is clear that SDT has received support from music education research as a conceptual framework for understanding important motivational outcomes (Evans, 2015b) and that this empirical support has come from beginning musicians in childhood and adolescence (Evans et al, 2013;Freer & Evans, 2017;Legutki, 2010;Renwick & McPherson, 2002) to older and more advanced music students (Bonneville-Roussy et al, 2011;Bonneville-Roussy et al, 2017;Bonneville-Roussy & Bouffard, 2015;Evans & Bonneville-Roussy, 2016) and adult musicians (MacIntyre et al, 2017;MacIntyre & Potter, 2013), in general agreement with conceptually similar research. On one hand, it is not surprising that the robust SDT research conducted in countless other life domains is replicated in music education.…”

“…Notwithstanding the limitations described so far, the study, combined with previous theoretical (e.g., Evans, 2015b) and empirical (e.g., Evans & Bonneville-Roussy, 2016;Freer & Evans, 2017;MacIntyre & Potter, 2013;Valenzuela et al, 2017) findings, may have several implications for orchestra directors and music teachers more generally. Before we embark on a speculation of what some of these implications might be, it is important to note that the results from any single study, no matter how it is conducted, have limits on generalizability.…”

“…In a broad sample of adults (respondents to a survey of musicians, some of whom were in formal learning and others who were not), positive effects of SDT’s internal regulations (e.g., intrinsic, identified) were more strongly associated with outcomes such as desire to continue playing, motivational intensity, willingness to play music, and global self-esteem than external regulations (e.g., external, introjected; MacIntyre, Schnare, & Ross, 2017). In a study comparing pianists with guitarists, MacIntyre and Potter (2013) found mean differences in SDT motivation regulations and other motivation constructs (though not in consistent directions), and the structural relationships between the motivation constructs may have differed between the guitarists and the pianists.…”

Self-determination theory and motivation for music

“…Results such as these suggest the value of applying SDT to understanding music motivation, but might best be seen as a starting point rather than an end point for the development of theory in this area. Following the theoretical contributions of Evans (2015) and MacIntyre and Potter (2013), the present study will statistically test a model of music motivation using data collected via an online survey. We will evaluate how strongly the motivational variables correlate with each other in a sample of musicians that includes more than pianists and guitarists.…”

“…Therefore, specific recommendations for music educators and learners must be considered in light of the developmental phase of learning and the unique configuration of needs, motives, and experiences present among a group of aspiring musicians (for specific suggestions, see Jones, 2009). The specific instrument being learned also might affect the approach teachers can take to increase motivation to learn, such as emphasizing autonomy for guitar players or emerging competence for pianists (MacIntyre & Potter, 2013).…”