Why do students want to learn music, and what motivates them to continue learning?
Talking to one of our more eager students, who had come in 2 hours early, led to a discussion of this question. From my point of view, younger children tend to come in following their parents, who wish for their children to become learned in music. Of these children, I think that there are only a handful who learn to enjoy their chosen instrument and become passionate about music. For the others, music becomes more of a pressure and stress – from both their parents and music teachers.
We both came to the conclusion that like himself, students need to have a strong internal drive that allows for their own creativity to develop. These students need to seek out for themselves their own passions, the instrument of their choice (not their parents), and have their own role models (this can also be a parent!). It is these students who become deeply passionate about their music and very successful!