Motivating Students

[carrie10]

What are some ways you've motivated students that are in a 'slump'?

[honeywill]

New material, perhaps something a bit easier, so that they can get on with it quickly. A change of style - pop, jazz, classical, something they haven't tried before.
Something very manageable and bite sized eg Dozen a day exercises - these always seems to go down well.
Change of approach - learning a piece by rote, making up a simple chordal accompaniment to a well known tune.
Duets are always good for providing a satisfying musical experience for the student.
Provide a performance opportunity - student concert, local festival etc.

Final throw of the dice for me is sometimes entering them for an exam, so that they have something definite to work towards.

Most important of all, though, is to discuss the situation with the student in a friendly and non-judgemental way. Find out what is going on in their life - are they bored, too busy to practice, disheartened, feeling that they have gone as far as they can or want to? Maybe it is time for a break, or even a change of teacher or instrument? We can't always fix the problem, but acknowledging that there is something amiss and showing willing to make some changes can be enough to show the student that something can be done and get them started again.

[carrie10]

Thank you so much for all the ideas.  I appreciate the time you took to consider my situation.  I I plemented a change in our routine, and assigned a duet.  Those small changes alone have seemed to help; night and day difference!  I'm going to keep your other ideas on file too, should I run into this problem again in the future.  Thanks again for your help!

[pianisten1989]

Sometimes I feel it's enought to be shown (I am no teacher myself, so I just say what feels good for a student) that hard work pays out. I actually got really motivated (this was like 5 years ago, when I basically didn't play the piano) when my teacher said "Good job" and offered me a candy from his locker.

[fleetfingers]

Surprise rewards are great motivators. I have rewards in place that the student is aware of and working toward. In addition to those, if they do particularly well with an assignment or 'wow' me in a lesson, I make a really big deal about it and give them a sticker in their notebook (where I write down what they're to work on each week). I do this very, very sparingly and reserve such an unexpected reward for when I can tell they've really worked hard. It's just a sticker, but for them to have something there showing that I was pleased with their work - a student takes great pride in that and it motivates them to 'wow' me again.

honeywill's ideas are all great, too.

[omar_roy]

Sometimes we have "talking" lessons where we'll basically just talk for the hour they have their lesson.  I don't have students back to back, so sometimes we'll go longer than that and end up having a cup of coffee or some snacks or something and basically just shoot the breeze and talk about music, piano, goals, life, etc etc.  It gives them a brief respite.

Usually they come back the next week having accomplished a lot more than usual, even given the extra time.

I think it's important to maintain that "teacher" part of the student/teacher relationship, but with the older students sometimes you need to be their friend too.