Category Archives: Practice Incentives

Monday Mailbag – Year End Achievement Awards

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“I am curious about student achievement awards.  I am wondering what you and other teachers do.  Do you give out awards based on years in lessons (i.e. 3 year award) or perhaps awards based on level of achievement (i.e. completed Faber level 2A etc.)?  Maybe some teachers simply give out a participation certificate. This will be the first time I am doing a recital and I want to give the students some kind of year end award.  I don’t do an incentive program (yet) and I want to make sure if I start something, it is something that the students will feel a sense of pride and achievement for receiving.”

This is actually a pretty thought-provoking question for me! I’ve never given achievement awards based on years of study or completion of levels, but I can see how something like that might be a good motivator for a student. Some of my students participate in a yearly Music Progressions evaluation program that is comprised of 10 levels. Those who participate receive a certificate each year, but I can’t remember a student ever caring about the certificate (I often find these crumpled in the bag months later). I think it would be kind of cool to have an award of some sort that was progressive from year to year. Extra incentive to stick with piano study through the hard times!

My year-end rewards are almost always tied to our practice incentive theme. And they are usually completely different from year to year. For example, this year the students who earned the specified number of Complication Coins can use them to purchase a custom-designed studio t-shirt. :-) You can see a list of other year-end rewards I’ve used on this post about Practice Incentives and Rewards.

My mental wheels are really spinning now, though, and I’m curious to know if other teachers give some sort of progressive award based on years of study or level completion. What do you do in your studio? I’d love to get some new ideas!

Remember, if you have a question you’d like to contribute to next week’s Monday Mailbag, leave it in the comments below or send me an e-mail sometime this week with Monday Mailbag in the subject line!

It Takes More Than Motivation

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“Deliberate practice requires sustained concentration, and the rewards are subtle and apparent only in the long term. Thus, one needs motivation in order to enter into and sustain the hard work of deliberate practice. But the learning happens not simply through putting in the hours, but through doing so intelligently.” ~Sanjoy Mahajan

>>Read the rest of the article, To Develop Expertise, Motivation Is Necessary But Not Sufficient>>

HT: The Musician’s Way Newsletter, April/May 2012

This Quote Should Be on Every Wall in My Studio…

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“If it is important to you, you will find a way.

If not you’ll find an excuse.”

I’m still pondering the results of the Practice Survey I conducted in my studio last week. It’s interesting to see how many of my students selected the option, “I am too busy; my schedule doesn’t allow time for me to practice.” I know that some of my students do have pretty crazy schedules, but I wonder if our fast-paced culture has conditioned kids to think that they’re too busy to do things that they really could fit into their day if it was important enough… In going above and beyond the call as a teacher to keep piano lessons fun and engaging, I wonder if we sometimes forget to tell students the reality:

* Sometimes daily practice will be hard.

* Sometimes you will fall short of what you want to achieve.

* Sometimes practicing will not be fun.

* Sometimes you will feel like quitting.

*Sometimes you will wonder why you are learning to play the piano.

This is normal. It’s okay to feel these things. But you must press on. You must be diligent to practice every day. You must put your whole heart into doing the best you can. Because it will be worth it. It is worth it!

Quote HT: Artiden

Practice Survey – Free Downloadable Form!

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Last week as I was doing my Bible study one morning, I was especially struck by some verses in Isaiah 26: 9b-10:

“For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the Lord.”

These verses made me start thinking about the principle of cause and effect and the importance of experiencing consequences for bad choices. This, in turn, made me think of the students in my studio who often fail to practice consistently (yes, I have some of those, too!). If a student doesn’t practice diligently in a given week, what is the most effective way for me to respond? If I’m just as pleasant as usual and let them “get away” with a typical lesson or some other fun activity, what does that teach them? That there are no felt consequences for not practicing. Of course, we know that the most serious consequence of not practicing is that the student will not progress as quickly or to as high a level as a student who does practice consistently. But this is hard for students to grasp because they can’t know the extent of the potential they are failing to develop through their lack of practice.

So, I’ve been pondering these thoughts and wondering if my responsibility as a teacher should include some sort of felt consequence for students who don’t practice. And in my ponderings, I began wondering what the #1 factor is that keeps students from practicing consistently. I came up with a variety of possibilities, but finally decided that my best bet was to get input directly from the students. With that in mind, I devised a Practice Survey that I’ve been having each of my students complete – both the practicers and the non-practicers. I thought as long as I was getting feedback, I should find out from the good practicers what it is that motivates them to practice!

The Practice Survey includes two questions:

  1. What is the #1 reason you don’t practice consistently (5-6 days per week)?
  2. What is the #1 reason you practice consistently (5-6 days per week)?

Each of the questions is followed by a list of multiple choice answers, including an option for the student to list some other reason. I just instructed students to think of weeks when they do or don’t practice consistently and then answer the question as honestly as possible. It’s been interesting to see the results thus far, and I’m looking forward to compiling all of them and sharing the feedback with the parents to see what insights and/or ideas they might have for all of us working together to help the students develop more consistent practice habits!

How to Motivate Your Kids to Practice Their Instrument

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Jason Bernstein, of the Piano Lessons World website, has a helpful post on How to Motivate Your Kids to Practice Their Instrument. He shares 6 specific ideas that are great for parents looking for practical tips on how to help their child be successful. In particular, I really appreciate #2 – Participate in Performance Opportunities. This has proved to be one of the most motivating elements in my studio. Students who attend group classes regularly and play for other students develop a great deal of confidence in their playing and are usually eager to work on polishing a piece for this purpose.

In addition, I have had numerous students come back after participating in our big annual Christmas Recital and be extra driven to learn new music and become more skilled in their playing. There’s nothing quite like watching other students perform really cool-sounding pieces well to make you want to work harder and play better the next time. And perhaps one of the most memorable expressions of this came after our 2010 Christmas Recital when my long-time student, Isabella, exclaimed to me during the reception, “Wow. I really need to kick-it-up-a-notch!” Her comment sparked an idea and last summer we launched our first-ever Kick-It-Up-a-Notch! summer piano intensive. Just last week at her lesson she was talking about the incredible progress she made from the 2010 Christmas recital to the 2011 Christmas recital and remarked that Kick-It-Up-a-Notch! was a huge turning point for her.

As I think back on the whole process for Isabella, it’s really neat to see how one thing spurs on another, all contributing to a student’s motivation and development as a musician. You never know what great experience or event will spark the drive to do better in your child or student, so make the most of whatever opportunities you have! And, as Jason points out in another of his tips, “if you stick with it, they will get something out of it and almost surely begin to truly enjoy what they have learned.”

And this Year’s Practice Incentive Theme Is…

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An Italian Intrigue: Musical Adventures in Heart, Mind, and Strength

Last month I had the amazing experience of spending three weeks in Italy! I decided to do double duty and use the trip to do reconnaissance work for this year’s theme. It was a ton of fun and now I’m excited to take my students along with me for a journey through the country! Along the way they’ll be racking up Complication Coins, trying to identify the hideout of the Mystery Musician, traveling covertly at times to get double earnings, completing Italian language lessons, and  learning to play the piano beautifully, excellently, and naturally.


I made the official announcement at the September Surprise! last Thursday. To start off the event I gave each student a strip of paper with several measures from a familiar tune. They had to try to find all the other students who had excerpts from the same tune. Once they all found each other they laid out the measures in order and then did something to get my attention. After all the groups were formed each one took a turn humming, whistling, or otherwise vocalizing their tune for the rest of us and then telling us what the name of it was.


After a round of students played their prepared “surprise” selections, I had the groups from the introductory activity re-form and spend time working together to come up with a musical way of playing their pieces. Every member of the group had to be involved in some musical capacity in the performance. I had a box of rhythm instruments and a xylophone available for them to use in addition to the piano. This group did a lovely job with their rendition of “Ode to Joy.”


“Jesus Loves Me” was the perfect selection for this group that included quite a few young and/or beginning students. I was really impressed at how well they all kept the beat together on their instruments!

Whistling, playing piano, and a few rhythm instruments made “Spring” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons sound great!


This group ended up being all girls. They had the tune “Greensleeves” and did a beautiful job playing and singing it together – harmony and all!

The evening was a great reunion after our month off and we’re all super excited about the year ahead!

September Surprise is Tonight!

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All year long we anticipate and prepare for this occasion. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of overkill, but the September Surprise! is definitely a highlight in our studio. Since I take off the whole month of August for brainstorming and planning our theme, selecting new repertoire, and traveling (more of that than the others this year!), I haven’t seen any of my students for over a month. The September Surprise! is my clever way of conning them into continuing to practice hard even when they’re not taking regular lessons fun way of welcoming everyone back and gearing up for an exciting new year of hard work!

We will be playing interactive games, listening to each other play their surprise selections, and, of course, announcing the theme for the year! I’m quite proud of myself for not slipping up and letting out anything about this year’s theme, so it will be a complete surprise to all the students. :-) And tomorrow, I will let you all in on it too! If you’ve got a theme for this year, I’d love to hear about it. Maybe we can even compile a list of themes/practice incentives that teachers are doing all around the world. Wouldn’t that be fun?!

The Anatomy of a Practice Incentive Theme

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Every year the process looks slightly different, but in a nutshell there are some tried-and-true steps that seem to work for developing a practice incentive theme that will captivate students!

  • In the spring, use year-end questionnaires to collect input on what they liked best and least about the theme, what things they’d like to focus on the next year, and specific theme ideas.
  • Spend a couple months thinking and praying about what to do. Periodically pull out the student questionnaires and review them.
  • When August rolls around, make arrangements to go to the home of a friend with a swimming pool. Make sure it’s someone who is stocked with a comfortable raft. Lay out on said raft for a couple of hours and contemplate all sorts of wild and crazy ideas that might inspire and motivate students.
  • If you hit on an idea that seems like a keeper, quickly exit the pool, dry off, grab a pen and paper, and start scribbling furiously before the idea disappears. A home that also supplies lounge chairs is of primary consideration for this portion of the planning. :-)
  • Spend the next week letting the idea develop and ferment, jotting down additional thoughts as they come. Be prepared to do lots of scratching out, too!
  • When formulating ideas, there are two sides – the objective side and the execution side. The objective side is the consideration of what you want the students to accomplish. This is primarily musical. The execution side is the imaginative, creative approach that will captivate the students and give them an exciting reason to work toward the established objectives. This is often non-musical.
  • View My PortfolioOnce the objectives, execution, and title have been decided, start scouring iStockPhoto.com (get 10 free credits when you sign up through this link!) for the perfect image(s) to capture the theme!
  • Start designing the cover. I always begin with the cover because it helps me set the mood and look for the whole theme. Once the cover is ready to go, I start working on the interior pages and all the other supporting documents and studio decorations.

It’s always so much fun to see the theme come together and to build the suspense until it is revealed at our September Surprise! I’ve had students (and parents!) asking me for months what the theme is, so I know they are “chomping at the bit” to find out. Which is also why I can’t post anything else here yet about the theme – I know there are sleuths in my studio who patrol this blog just waiting for me to slip up and give away the surprise… :-) Not happening! But I can hardly wait to tell you all about it and will do so as soon as I can!

Monday Mailbag – Quest for Capital Questions

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I’m trying to decide on a theme for the year and I’m still unsure about how Quest for Capital works.  Could you give me a little more info on how you invest in a particular stock? I guess I don’t know how stocks work myself!

I’ve been getting quite a few questions about this Quest for Capital practice incentive theme lately, so I thought it might be helpful to share a little bit more about how the process works.  Here are the guidelines that are included in the front of each student assignment book:

  • Every student will receive $12 of studio cash at the first lesson of the year.
  • Studio Stock prices will start at $2/share.
  • Each week, the Studio Stock prices will fluctuate according to the following criteria:
    *  Stock with the most shares purchased = share price doubles.
    *  Stock with the least shares purchased = share price decreases by half (with no share ever falling below $1).
    *  Stocks with the middle number of shares purchased = share price remains the same.
  • Each week, the student may purchase up to as many shares as he can afford. The number of shares purchased will be reflected on the Stock Options sheets. The student must complete as many of the stock options as he purchases for each Studio Stock (e.g. If a student purchases 3 Improvisation Stocks and 1 Listening Stock, he must complete 3 of the Improvisation Stock Options and 1 of the Listening Stock Options).
  • A Stock Prospectus is available in the studio for each Studio Stock. The Stock Prospectus provides the necessary resources to enable the student to complete the Stock Option requirements.
  • If a student does not complete the selected number of Stock Options, he will lose the money invested in that Studio Stock.
  • Each week, the student may sell up to as many shares as he has accumulated in any given Studio Stock at the current share price.
  • Throughout the year there will be special investment opportunities that will be made available to students for a limited time in order to give them a chance to earn additional capital.
  • Studio cash is the only currency permitted for the buying and selling of Studio Stocks.

Here’s a glimpse of what it looks like “in action” in the studio:

This is a pretty involved theme, but students of all ages can be a part of it. And it has been one of the most motivating themes we’ve ever done in our studio. There’s nothing like giving the students an opportunity to be creative and then make real money from their projects! :-)

Remember, if you have a question you’d like to contribute to next week’s Monday Mailbag, leave it in the comments below or send me an e-mail sometime this week with Monday Mailbag in the subject line!

3 More Days to Enter to Win All the Studio Decor for the Quest for Capital Practice Incentive Theme Package!

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If you want to get a great deal on the Quest for Capital practice incentive theme package – and a chance to win all the studio decor for use in your studio, you only have three days left! So far there are only 5 entries, so the odds of winning are pretty good. :-) Here’s the info again for anyone who missed it:

It is with a great deal of excitement that I announce the availability of the practice incentive theme that we used in our studio this year: Quest for Capital! You can get your copy today…and see below for your chance to win all the studio materials for use in your own studio!

Quest for Capital is without a doubt one of the most fun, educational, and motivating practice incentives we’ve ever done in the studio! I like to think of it as an entrepreneur-meets-music-student endeavor. :-) In addition to investing in specific piano skills (a.k.a. Stock Options) throughout the year, students could also dream, plan, and create special Capital Improvement Projects that were showcased at The Gallery at the end of the year. The students were given a small table space and encouraged to sell their projects for a small profit, thus experiencing the excitement of integrating their music talents and knowledge with other areas of life and producing something of value in society.

The practice incentive is designed to provide a framework that will spur students on to attain greater proficiency in their skills and get their creative juices flowing as they contemplate possible project ideas. Students have already been asking me if we can do the same theme next year, or at least keep some of the same elements so that they can work on new projects. I am absolutely thrilled with the outcome of this theme and about the potential for it to be used in other music studios all over to inspire students in creative musical endeavors!

And now…for the special deal! Through the end of June, you can get $5 off the practice incentive package price when you use this coupon code: 59W3E7W2.

AND – everyone who purchases the practice incentive by the end of June will be entered in a drawing to win my complete set of studio materials – all the laminated studio cash, the wall banners, and the stock folders on the wall! Just select the Quest for Capital theme on the Resources page and checkout, and you will be entered in the drawing. The winner will be chosen at noon (CST) on Friday, July 1, using a random number generator.