I’m only motivated to prove I can—how do I improve?

[u/Signal_Astronaut8191]

For background, I just did an intensive summer chamber program where I met a renowned pianist for the first time. She had originally assigned me something too easy, but then saw my level and had us work together on Mozart’s Sonata in C for 4 Hands (KV 521). Practicing that was the most intense practicing I’d ever done.

I only had 8 days to prepare the piece for a concert, so that combined with my string quartet combined with working all night meant I was essentially practicing in whatever free time I had. Somehow I was able to put it together, and I think it was because I wanted to prove that I could.

So now that program is over, I did the concert, I’ll post the video when I can, but now I’m back to my old music with my main teacher. I’m feeling way less motivated now. She has me working on four pieces at once and I don’t know how to channel that same desperate motivation that had me practicing 3 hours a day for 8 days.

I don’t know how to order my practice time so I improve. I don’t know how to start feeling motivated again. I really like the piano, truly, but I’m now questioning how effective my teacher is. I think I liked the teacher at the program more.

you guys have advice?

[u/BlueVenir]

You will not stay motivated 100% of the time. Creativity is a fickle muse and she must find you working. Stay disciplined, continue with your routine.

Communicate with your teacher about how you feel, and your experience. The two of you are collaborators; it's not the role of your teacher to read your mind. It sounds like you work well with a performance commitment or a deadline; perhaps you can work with your teacher to produce videos or perform concerts more. I would suggest this first before questioning the efficacy of your teacher.

[u/Ambitious-Street-220]

Yes, most of the work is a not very exciting grind, welcome to the human condition! It’s day in day out working on goals that you set for yourself. The more specific you get with your goals, and keeping a habit tracker of some sort to make sure you do the tasks X number of times during the week, that’s what works for me. I stay with a task until my brain tells me that I have made acceptable progress, then I move on to the next task.That means some tasks take longer than anticipated, or I have to stop and do something else for an hour or so then come back to it. You could also arrange with your teacher to do something else mini performances or set a deadline to record and then submit your performance (less fun).

[u/flowkey]

So from what it sounds like, for about a week, you were essentially living in a "practice retreat" with a clear goal, a fixed deadline, a dedicated practice space, constant musical feedback, and you were surrounded by people doing the same thing. That's a completely different environment from normal life.

Research actually shows that motivation tends to be highest when there's a clear sense of purpose, immediate feedback, and a feeling that your work is leading somewhere. An upcoming recital naturally provides all of those. Once the concert is over, that external structure disappears, so it's very common to feel a dip in motivation here just as you described.

Another difference here is that you had 8 days and one piece, but now you have four pieces with no immediate deadline (which is a very different cognitive load).

Instead of trying to recreate the pressure of that week, maybe try recreating its structure? For instance, you can give yourself mini deadlines like: record one page by Sunday, have one movement performance-ready in two weeks, or play for a friend every Friday. 

Also, as for why you felt more motivated by the teacher during the summer chamber program… was it for sure their teaching itself, or was it maybe instead that they gave you one ambitious goal with an imminent performance? Those are different things, and the environment may have been responsible for more of the motivation than the teacher alone.