Page 52 - How to Shine on Stage

needs for safety, love, respect, status, and self-actualization. The model
assumes that in order to satisfy the needs of the higher order, the needs
of the lower order have to be satisfied. This would imply that a musi-
cian whose primary motive is acclaim (winning a piano competition)
has their physiological needs—the needs for security and love—met.
There are many musicians who are trying to satisfy their desire for ac-
claim through their profession. Their aim is to establish themselves in
musical society, to gain recognition in musical competitions and through
50 high-profile performances (Hargreaves, 1997). Beyond this level lies the

need for self-actualization, the attainment of which is considered to be
progressive. This means that it does not require prior fulfilment of the
lower-order needs. It is characteristic of self-actualized people that they
How to Shine on Stage that any such satisfaction changes their personality in a fairly permanent
accept their impulses, that satisfaction of a need leads to growth, change,

way, that goals are individualized, behaviour quite independent of cir-
cumstances, that they are inclined to ego-transcendence, and that they
perceive other people objectively (Kobal & Musek, 2009). An analysis
of artists’ biographies demonstrates their innate need for artistic expres-
sion, where the actualization of talent stimulates the creative capacities
(de la Motte-Haber, 1990).
When it comes to motivation, we tend to emphasize its role in pro-
ductivity. Motivation means the willingness to persevere in an activity
which can produce observable, measurable, and comparable results, and
to be committed to it. Atkinson (1976, in de la Motte-Haber, 1990) de-
fines achievement motivation as a situation of conflict, because it arous-
es both the hope of success and the fear of failure.
McClelland (1953, in de la Motte-Haber, 1990) devised a pro-
gramme to increase achievement motivation, in which he advocated the
need to choose an appropriate manner of practice and performance con-
ditions (positive feedback) and stressed the importance of learning by im-
itation (the importance to be in contact with people who are motivated
by success). He also considered the importance of shaping one’s self-im-
age, as one must imagine oneself as successful. He believed that the suc-
cess motive had to be satisfied in reality and not just in dreams, and that
optimal environmental conditions had to be built.
In essence, the success ( achievement) motive is one of the major mo-
tives for musical performance (Kohut, 1992; Persson et al., 1992). The
influence of motivation on musical performance takes as its baseline the
level of aspiration, which determines the level of future achievement
based on past experience. Internal or external motivation is needed to