How Can I Encourage my Students to Become Self Disciplined

[@amotinyabongo5659]

Wow! Good stuff. My mom was my first music teacher by default. She was a music teacher by profession. I am both educator and musician (student/life long learner.) Routine is critical so for me songs to learn and exercises are my content. As for emotional attachment, I love a well played piano...whether I'm playing or listening. I get joy out of practicing and sharing my gift with others. The discipline; I had to find a space where I could practice other than at home and I did. While I don't mind practicing or playing in front of others when it's time to drill down and work some things out...I need to be alone. Also, exploration and expansion comes easier when I'm by myself. I consider this my therapy. On another note I'm not formally teaching anyone piano but I am sharing my journey with a friend who is also learning piano via Whatsapp video clips. Last point, I try to practice five days a week. Saturdays and Sundays are my days to listen. If I miss a day of either I feel bad, because I know there are musical creations that I may have missed out on, not necessarily lost for good, but to be found later down the line, maybe. Thanks again for your post.

[@Jazzmentl]

When you love what you do, no one has to tell you to do what you love 😁. Self discipline is then innate. It comes from within. Combine that with joy, it creates enthusiasm. The goal for the teacher/mentor is to keep that joy alive while transferring knowledge. It seems your mom did a great job with you! Thanks for sharing your story 🙏

[@amotinyabongo5659]

@@Jazzmentl Yup!!! And she made that statement (Let's see...) to EVERY student who started with her, young, old or in between.

[@Jazzmentl]

I didn't take a deep dive into "consequences" because this really depends on the relationship between mentor and student. A consequence can be as simple as "we don't get to move on from this piece of sheet music until you tell me you're comfortable with it". I believe you empower the student as much as you can. Example "because you didn't keep your end of the agreement, you can do A or B, which would you prefer". I do not advocate emotional blackmail, bullying, violence, or ANY FORM of negative conditioning in any way. The goal is to build people up. If you have questions, please ask them below.

[@amotinyabongo5659]

One of the things I noticed about good music teachers is, they get joy out of seeing the light bulbs go off with their students. As one teacher said..."Now let's see what the possibilities are..."