Page 75 - How to Shine on Stage

1993, in Hargreaves, 2009). A stable and structured family life contrib-
utes to sustaining and motivating learning activities. Some evidence sug-
gests that top performers have parents who were present at instrument
lessons and encouraged practice (Howe & Sloboda 1991a; 1991b; Man-
turzewska 1986; Sloboda & Howe 1991; Sosniak 1985; 1990; in Har-
greaves 2009). Parent-child interaction has been identified as one of the
most important factors of fostering intellectual development, provided
this interaction was non-threatening to the child’s self-confidence (Brun-
er, 1973, in Davidson, 2011). 73
Lehmann (1997, in Hargreaves, 2009) has performed an interesting
bibliographical analysis of the top pianists in music history. He has found
that 13 out of 14 pianists, including Handel, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven,
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt, and Debussy, received regular practice su-
pervision from their parents. At certain points in their lives, 12 of them
lived in the same house as their teachers, who assumed a quasi-paren-
tal role.
Jane W. Davidson et al. (1996) has found that the most successful
children have parents who are highly involved in their learning activity.
After each lesson, these parents wanted the teacher’s feedback on their Indirect Factors of Musical Performance Success
child’s progress or even wanted to be present during the lessons. They
were thus involved in the instrument learning process until their child
reached the age of 12. Father and mother moderately encouraged the
child to practise, usually with verbal reminders. They were not directly
involved in the actual practice, but only asked the child about the prac-
tice or offered some advice. Although the top musicians’ parents were
closely involved in their child’s musical activity, they were not perform-
ers themselves, but only engaged in music listening. As their children be-
gan to learn the instrument, the time they devoted to music increased.
Bastian (1989) conducted interviews to determine the family back-
ground of 62 winners of a German music competition (aged 14–22). The
interviews revealed that the families’ musical backgrounds differed, that
the parents had university education, that at least one instrument was
available at home, that most parents assumed an active role in superviz-
ing and encouraging their child’s development, and that parents were
willing to make sacrifices in terms of finances, time and lifestyle to sup-
port their child’s ambitions. In addition to motivation, Sloboda (1994)
also refers to the family environment as the most important factor influ-
encing one’s musical development.
Parents serve the most important function in a child’s journey to-
wards musical success (Jeppsson & Lindgren, 2018) by providing emo-