Page 49 - How to Shine on Stage

2.1.5 Motivation
Motivation is the driving force enabling individuals to develop their
abilities, which are essentially innate capacities. An individual may have
great musical potential, but what they get out of it depends on their envi-
ronment, which can provide external motivation (parents and teachers),
and especially on their self-activity, which stems from curiosity, interest,
and internal satisfaction (internal motivation). In Slovenia, motivation
in music was researched by Branka Rotar Pance, who summarized her
findings in her book Motivacija – ključ h glasbi (2006). 47
Motivation is what enables a musician to achieve their goals, be they
high or low. The choice of goals depends on the musician’s level of as-
piration, which is the level of future achievements based on past expe-
rience. The level of aspiration is influenced by their individual stability,
group, and previous experiences of success or failure (Lamovec, 1986).
Of course, we should keep in mind that, despite strong motivation, one
cannot become a first-rate musician if one is not sufficiently musical-
ly gifted. First-rate musicians have great musical talent, but at the same
time the motivation high enough to develop it.
Motivation-related research has been conducted on the impact of Indirect Factors of Musical Performance Success
individualism (Gaunt & Hallam, 2016), beliefs (Hallam, 2013; O’Neill,
2011), skills, and competences (Levitin, 2012) on learners’ motivation.
To be motivated to participate in a musical activity, learners need to
have a positive attitude towards it and a belief that they will be success-
ful at it. Expectancy–value theory can explain why some learners begin
to learn an instrument/singing and persist, while others do not (O’Neill
& McPherson, 2002, in Spychiger, 2021). It enables teachers to predict
a student’s decision to participate and their interests (Lehmann et al.,
2007). Students must truly enjoy the musical activity to persist with it
(Wigfield & Eccles, 2000, in Spychiger, 2021).
Researchers have studied numerous individual differences among
musicians which affect their motivation. This motivational model con-
tains four components of internal and external motivation, namely that
the student will (1) value musical activity success, (2) estimate that the
musical activity will be a rewarding and enjoyable experience, (3) antic-
ipate that the musical activity will be useful for future goals, and (4) val-
ue the musical activity highly enough to find it worthwhile to spend time
and energy on musical practice (Lehmann et al., 2007).
As young musicians develop their skills, they pass through different
stages of internal and external motivation. Internal motivation in self-deter-
mination theory focuses on the learning conditions necessary to stimulate