Quick Tips

Quick tips for motivating beginner players

Robert Lennon considers how to keep beginner instrumentalists motivated and fulfilled
Adobe Stock / AntonioDiaz

Create a sense of achievement from the very first lesson. It should be possible to help beginners play at least part of a familiar tune. Ideally, we want them to go home and say to a parent: ‘Listen, I can play xxxxxxx!’

Turn lessons into truly musical experiences. Provide a recognisable musical context for their efforts from the very beginning. Often, the first exercises they play will be sustained or repeated notes and will have little intrinsic musical interest. However, these could become inner parts of a more complex piece, which can be played on a piano/keyboard or recorded beforehand. Either way, students are more likely to feel as though they really are making music.

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